SEC warns public on 3 investment scams

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has flagged new investment scams being peddled by three groups that do not have the authority to solicit investments.

In separate advisory notes, the SEC issued a public warning against investing in the following entities: Bitthroughcash/Bit2Cash Trading Inc., AVP88 Coturnix Egg Farm/AVP88 Trading Inc., and 727-Tycoon/1Tycoon.In an advisory dated Jan. 29, the SEC said Bitthroughcash/Bit2Cash, operated by one Jayson Saquing Pugiao, was falsely claiming to be duly registered with the SEC by using a fake SEC certificate on its Facebook post.

It added that individuals or groups claiming to represent this investment scheme were promising returns based on two options under its compensation plan.

One option is to invest from P1,000 to P500,000 with a lock-in period of one month, with a promised 50-percent weekly income depending on the amount invested. The investor may also opt to reinvest another slot after the one-month lock-in period.

The second option, the referral reward option, allows the investor to earn a 10-percent direct referral bonus by referring other investors to the company.“Simply, an investor is entitled to receive passive income from the pool of investment gathered, while active income is acquired from recruitment bonuses,” the SEC said.

In the case of AVP88 Coturnix Egg Farm/AVP88 Trading, the SEC said people were being enticed to invest with a promise of a 1.5 percent daily profit for 120 days.

This scheme is operated by one Alberto Vargas Pascual, the SEC said.

In a separate advisory dated Jan. 29, the corporate watchdog noted that these entities did not secure prior registration and/or license from the SEC to solicit investments from the public.Multilevel marketing

The SEC also warned against an entity that calls itself 727-Tycoon/1Tycoon, which claims to be a multilevel marketing company.

The SEC said that 727-Tycoon/1Tycoon was not registered either as a corporation or a partnership.Further, it is not allowed to solicit investments from the public since it has not secured prior registration and/or license from the SEC.

The corporate watchdog warned that people who act as salesmen, brokers, dealers or agents, or claim to act as such for these entities in selling or convincing people to invest in their investment schemes—including solicitations and recruitment through the internet—may be prosecuted and held criminally liable under Section 28 of the Securities Regulation Code.

The penalty is a fine of P5 million or 21 years’ imprisonment, or both.Individuals who invite or recruit others to join or invest in such ventures or offer investment contracts or securities to the public may also incur criminal liability, or otherwise be sanctioned or penalized accordingly, the SEC added, citing the Supreme Court ruling in the case of Securities and Exchange Commission v. Oudine Santos (G.R. No. 195542, 19 March 2014).

The SEC said the names of those involved would also be reported to the Bureau of Internal Revenue so that the appropriate penalties and/or taxes can be assessed correspondingly.