SEC shuts down company operating get-rich-quick scam
The Securities and Exchange Commission has shuttered Silverlion Livestock Trading Corp. for allegedly operating a get-rich-quick scam.
The corporate watchdog, in an order dated Jan. 5, cancelled the certificate of incorporation of Silverlion for illegally selling investments to the public.
Investigations by the SEC’s enforcement and investor protection department (EIPD) and its regional office in Zamboanga revealed that the company was enticing unwitting victims with “guaranteed” profits of 35 percent in 15 days.
The SEC added the ploy appeared to be a classic Ponzi scheme, a type of scam that generates “returns” by using money collected from newer investors instead of any legitimate investment activity.
“The scheme being offered by Silverlion Livestock Trading Corp.…promising a return of 2.3 percent per day or 35 percent after 15 days has the characteristics of a Ponzi scheme. Such scheme is prohibited under Section 26 of the [Securities Regulation Code],” the order read.
“The investment scheme of [Silverlion] also operates to defraud investors as it deceives the investing public by making it appear that they have the authority to deal in securities,” it added.
The SEC said Silverlion also violated provisions of the SRC when it sold investments to the public without obtaining the necessary licenses from the corporate regulator.
The company’s activities were discovered after the SEC and National Bureau of Investigation seized cash and vouchers from Silverlion following a successful raid last year.
The SEC subsequently filed a criminal case against Silverlion before the Department of Justice on December 2, 2022, implicating its CEO Ryan Cagod Ladoing, incorporator Renan Lara Ladoing its officers and agents identified as Rosemarie Alvarez Guzman, Neña Ewayan Algoy, John Paul Dellara Lopez and Michael Villalobos Berja.
“While charges have been filed against Silverlion Livestock Trading Corporation and its officers and agents, its incorporators Ryan Cagod Ladoing and Renan Lara Ladoing remain at large,” the SEC said.
