BAGUIO CITY – The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC( here ruled all companies registered with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) are absolutely not authorized to solicit money investments from the public with high interests in a short period of time.
Lawyer Annie Gonzales Tesoro, director of the SEC Baguio extension office, explained when the company offers a product to the public, its registration will be under the DTI but if it does not involve the sale of products, the company will be under the jurisdiction of the SEC and that their solicitation of money investments require a secondary license from the SEC.
“We reiterate our warning to the public to be circumspect in deciding where to invest their hard earned money because numerous DTI and SEC registered companies are now being lined to the operation of Ponzi schemes that tend to defraud the public of their investments in the future,”Tesoro stressed.
She claimed while the companies are registered with DTI, their operation might fall under pyramiding because they might be selling a worthless product to the public with the recruitment of members as the primary source of commission.
Gonzalessaid the public must be vigilant on what companies are offering legitimate services to their customers and which among the companies are the ones involved in the offering of Ponzi schemes that tend to defraud them of their hard earned money in just a wink of an eye.
Of the 12 non-SEC registered companies that were subjected for verification of their DTI registration, 9 firms turned out to be duly registered with the latter but they are not absolutely allowed to solicit money investments from the public.
Among the DTI-registered companies include Wisdom Expresswealth Wellness and Trading, Greenwealthgold Wellness and Trading, Greenwealthgold Automotive Services, Greenwealthgold Real Estate, Greenwealthgold Salon and Spa, Stifrop Trading, Mimshack Trading, Mimshack Trading International and Mimshack Security Agency.
The SEC Baguio official said based on a DTI report submitted to their office recently, Stifrop Trading and Mimshack Trading International allegedly closed operations prompting individuals who were hoodwinked by their reported investment schemes to seek the assistance of law enforcers and concerned government agencies for them to recover their hard earned investments that were infused to the company with a promise of high return of investment.
According to her, the public must also be aware of massive recruitments being done by some enterprising individuals and groups to invest their money with a company with a promise of high interests and that the basis of the commissions will be based on the number of recruited individuals.
“We can only go as far as informing our people on what are the legitimate and illegitimate investments schemes being offered by authorized companies in order to protect them from wasting their hard earned money. After being informed of what are the legal and illegal schemes, the decision now lies on the concerned individuals whether or not to pursue placing their money to such schemes,” Tesoro stressed.
She appealed to the public to verify with the concerned government agency the veracity of the numerous investment schemes offered to them by different companies.
