The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ordered four companies to stop selling illegal investment plans to the public.
In a statement, the corporate regulator said the firms were BeastnessAllDay Corp., Sophia Francisco Holding OPC, Financial Consultancy Services Sophia-Francisco, and Sophia Francisco Trading.
The SEC issued the cease and desist orders after the companies continued to sell investments without the necessary licenses.
It previously released separate advisories against BeastnessAllDay and the Sophia Francisco Group on Feb. 3 and Sept. 22, respectively, warning the public not to invest in the said entities.
Sophia Francisco Group is registered as a one-person corporation. The SEC said the order covers Sophia Franciso owner and agent Sophia Maria Andrea Francisco, president Gregorio Ramirez, nominee Yolanda Ramirez and alternate nominee John Mark Henarez Francisco.
Included in the order against BeastnessAllDay were owner and CEO Angelo Diaz Parian and all “operators, directors, officers, representatives, salesmen, agents, promoters, uplines, and influencers” engaged in the illegal sale of investments.
An investigation by the SEC Enforcement and Investor Protection Department found that Sophia Francisco Group has been actively offering or selling unregistered securities.
These involved investments starting at P500 with a “guaranteed” daily profit of 3 percent for 20 days. The companies also offered a 5-percent referral fee to invite new investors into the group.
BeastnessAllDay is a registered corporation with the SEC. However, it has never been issued a secondary license that would authorize it to offer or sell investments to the public, the corporate regulator said.
Following its investigation, the SEC said it learned BeastnessAllDay offered investment packages worth P50,000 that promised 10- to 12-percent monthly returns over a period of five months.
The proceeds supposedly would be used to purchase gadgets, real and personal properties, luxury vehicles and shoes. “The products and business are however all a sham, and are utilized to entice the public to part with their hard-earned money,” according to the SEC’s enforcement arm.
It added that Parian has been previously “arrested for practicing financial activities without the requisite license and for money laundering, according to a post by the Ministry of Interior-Qatar.”
“[I]t is clear that BeastnessAllDay’s business model which promises high return of investments is not sustainable and can only be carried out as long as new investors continue to come in,” the SEC said.
“This is a fraudulent scheme which will likely cause grave or irreparable injury or prejudice to the investing public,” it added.