THE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) warned the public against several groups that have been luring investors in exchange for unrealistically high returns.
In an advisory, the country’s corporate regulator advised the public to be cautious against Broilerpreneur Corp. The company is engaged in the poultry business using the “farm to fork concept of broiler,” and promises to double investors’ capital within two months.
For instance, an investor will get P2,000 back after investing P1,000 into the firm for two months. This same capital will yield the investor P12,000 after 12 months.
Another group called ADA Farm Agri Ventures was also found to be enticing the public to invest by purchasing a minimum of 10 chicks for P500. Investors are guaranteed a profit of 80% in 60 days.
The SEC noted that while both Broilerpreneur and ADA Farm are duly registered as corporations, they lack the necessary permits to offer securities or investments to the public.
The Securities Regulation Code requires firms offering securities to secure a secondary license, as well as another license for the securities to be offered.
“The public is hereby advised to exercise caution in investing their money in these types of schemes which may turn out to be fraudulent investment schemes, involving the sale of unregistered securities,” the SEC said.
People who act as salesmen, brokers, or agents of Broilerpreneur and ADA Farm may be prosecuted and held criminally liable under the SRC, with a penalty of up to P5 million or imprisonment of up to 21 years.
At the same time, the SEC called out Ever Arm Any Marketing for supposedly encouraging the public to invest their money in high-earning products. The group was found to be offering investments in exchange for a 500% return of investment in less than a month.
The SEC said Ever Arm is not a registered corporation, and advised the public to be prudent before investing their money on Ever Arm.
The commission also listed down 22 alleged investment companies that have been using social media channels to attract investors. The list includes:
• Mga Business Enterprises
• Coophub Multimedia Services
• Jogle Innovative Marketing
• Global Dream Zion
• Grappler
• Sherpan
• BCT Marketing
• RTM/ RTM Pharmacy and General Merchandise
• Diamond Marketing
• Fusion Marketing
• FMarket
• Cirfund
• Vibearn
• Onepro
• BCC/BCC Cosmetics Trading
• Unlishop Compensation Plan Marketing
• VUCC
• Bitrain
• TCoin
• Crowd Royals
• ADA Farm
• Nermie Marketing/ Nermie Health and Beauty Products Trading
The SEC said that these groups have been offering investment contracts through Facebook or other social media platforms, with unrealistic returns of 10% to 400% per month. It noted that such investments “ordinarily collapse as fast as they are created while leaving its investors behind and unable to recoup their investments.” — Arra B. Francia
