THE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) warned the public against putting money in three entities, which are soliciting investments without first securing a license.

It identified the entities as Elizabeth Esty Save Lives Binary Option Trading, Inc., Bitprime Computer Software Trading, and Upsys Daily Trading.

In an advisory, the SEC said Elizabeth Esty, which also transacts as ElizabethEstySaveLive, has been enticing the public with a 100% return on investment and 10 times profit.

Investments in Elizabeth Esty start from P1,000 to as high as P17,000 with promised earnings ranging from P10,000 to P125,000 depending on the amount of investment.

According to the SEC, the company’s chief executive officer claims that “she is engaged in Bitcoin trading and Binary Options Trade.”

The regulator also found out that the corporation has been posting a certificate of incorporation with a company registration number that belongs to another corporation.

In a separate advisory, the SEC said that Bitprime, which also operates under Ariane Estolonio-Bitprime Software One-Person Corp. (OPC), has been representing itself as a cryptocurrency service in cloud mining.

“The said entity allegedly generates income through cloud-mining investments. The investment from partners will be invested in ‘Cointrust-mining company’ to gain profits,” the regulator said.

Investments in Bitprime start from P500 and can go up to P100,000 with a promised 45% earnings for 15 days.

Meanwhile, Upsys was found to have been offering investment schemes ranging from P500 to P150,000 with a promised 2% up to 4% daily earnings.

Its investors were also told that they can earn a 50% direct referral bonus for first-level referrals and a 1% unilevel bonus for second levels and above.

According to the commission, Elizabeth Esty and Upsys both operate without registration, while Bitprime is a registered OPC.

However, the regulator clarified that all three entities have not secured a permit to sell or offer investment contracts to the public.

In another advisory, the SEC warned the public against impersonation scams amid rising reports about entities that pose as reputable financial institutions.

The commission emphasized that any business entity must secure prior registration and a secondary license to solicit investments.

“The mere fact that an entity has no secondary license granted by the SEC makes their investment-taking activities illegal,” the advisory read. — Justine Irish D. Tabile

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