SEC warns of 3 more Ponzi scams

The Securities and Exchange Commission is warning the public not to invest three firms offering investment schemes online that appear to be Ponzi scams.
In separate advisorites, the Commission warned the public to stop investing in schemes being offered by E-Ton Trading, Sophia Francisco Trading and Zydex Trading, and Moneyfescent Global Ventures.
The SEC said E-Ton Trading, Eton Phil Trading, E-Ton Trading: Profit Sharing are not authorized to solicit investment from the public since these are not registered corporations and do not have licenses to solicit investments.
The E-Ton firms allegedly deal with the selling of frozen goods and the public can invest by finding an account handled by an admin then choosing their desired option with investments ranging from P5,000 to P100,000 and can earn P1,250 to Php39,062.5 or 20 percent up to 50 percent per month.
Meanwhile, the SEC said the illegal solicitation activities of Sophia Francisco Holdings OPC, Financial Consultancy Services Sophia-Franscisco, Sophia Francisco Trading, and Cryptogix are now continued through Zydex Trading.
The Commission has already issued Advisories on the previous trading platforms under the Sophia Francisco names and eventually issued a Cease and Desist Order for its investment-solicitation activities.
Zydex is a trading service company that offers competitive returns to their investors through two types of profit plans: the “Beginner Plan” which earns 40 percent profit in 15 days and the “Expert Plan” which earns 90 percent profit in 30 days.
On the other hand, Moneyfescent is engaged in direct selling of products through two different kinds of packages: Brand Ambassador Package worth P350 and VIP Package. The VIP Package is further separated into “VIP PACKAGE B” and “VIP PACKAGE C” which have specific benefits.
The SEC noted that the investment plans of the three groups have the characteristics of a “Ponzi Scheme” where money from new investors are used in paying “fake profits” to prior investors and are designed mainly to favor the top recruiters and prior risk takers and are detrimental to subsequent members in case of scarcity of new investors.
“The offering and selling of securities in the form of investment contracts using the ‘Ponzi Scheme’ which is fraudulent and unsustainable, is NOT a registrable security. The Commission will not issue a License to Sell Securities to the Public to persons or entities that are engaged in this business or scheme,” said the SEC.