SEC sues Seatoo for illegal investment solicitation
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a criminal complaint against two companies found to have been illegally soliciting investments from the public through a sham e-commerce platform.
New Seatoo Corp. and Seatoo Information Technology OPC (Seatoo OPC), its officers and agents were charged with violating the Securities Regulation Code (SRC).
The corporate watchdog said in a statement over the weekend that the companies had used YouTube and Facebook to operate a “drop-shipping e-commerce platform” scheme, with investors shelling out as much as P2.3 million after they had been promised generous returns.
According to the SEC, the Seatoo Group urged potential investors to become online sellers on its platform as long as they deposited money.
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Profits ranging from 7 percent to 12 percent of the amount invested were promised, the SEC said. An affiliate program likewise offered existing investors a 3-percent referral commission.
“This scheme affirms that the deposited funds are, in reality, investments, since they are not limited to transactional payments directly tied to specific purchases,” the SEC noted in its complaint filed before the Department of Justice (DOJ), adding that these were considered investment contracts.
“In fact, complainants demand for the return of their investments plus profits,” it added.
No license
The Seatoo Group had not secured a license to offer and sell investment contracts to the public, violating Section 26.3 of the SRC.
Among those charged in the complaint are company officers and agents: Anna Rose Jangao Tero, Jonathan Tuazon Garcia, Danny Tuazon Sudaria, Lew Yean Yee, Seow Kai Shend, and Dylan Lim and Jayson Corono Clidoro, Seatoo OPC’s sole stockholder.
The SEC revoked the certificates of registration of both New Seatoo and Seatoo OPC last June following complaints from investors.
On Dec. 26, the regulator’s commission en banc denied the companies’ memorandum of appeal of the foregoing order of revocation for lack of merit. —Meg J. Adonis
