PH SEC: Scam Alert | BitThroughCash – Bit2Cash Trading Inc

January 30, 2019 – The Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission warns the public against investing in BITTHROUGHCASH / BIT2CASH TRADING INC. According to the Commission, BIT2CASH is not authorized to solicit investments to the public because it does not have the license to do so.

As per SEC’s investigation, BITTHROUGHCASH / BIT2CASH TRADING INC is operated by a person named “Jayson Saquing Pugiao” from Tuguegarao City. BIT2CASH posts on social media their supposed SEC Registration but it turns out the document is actually fake.

SEC reiterates that even if a business has the Certificate of Incorporation, that certificate only grants “Juridical personality*” but it does not grant them to engage in activities like offering and/or selling securities, like what BITTHROUGHCASH is doing.

*A juridical person is a non-human legal entity, in other words any organization that is not a single natural person but is authorized by law with duties and rights and is recognized as a legal person and as having a distinct identity.

BITTHROUGHCASH / BIT2CASH OFFER SCHEME

There were 2 options:

1. Invest, Wait, and Earn Option – 50% weekly income depending on the amount invested, which ranges from Php 1,000 to Php 500,000. The investor also has the option to reinvest.
2. Referral Reward Option – 10% direct referral bonus when referring others

Howey Test

As clearly seen, the investor does not need to exert effort other than the payment of the fee in order to earn. SEC uses the Howey Test in order to determine fraudulent investment schemes. It is worth repeating it here:

1. There is an investment of money
2. There is a common enterprise
3. There is expectation of profits
4. The profit is primarily from the effort of others.

Review the Howey Test in this article.

Still as per SEC’s investigation, the contributed funds will be used by BITTHROUGH CASH / BIT2CASH TRADING INC as trading capital to 1. Casino Finance 2. Forex Trading 3. Real Estate and 4. Adsense.

Because BITTHROUGH CASH / BIT2CASH TRADING INC does not have proper registration and/or license to solicit investments from the public, everyone is advised from investing with the company. Also according to the SEC: Those who act as salesmen, brokers, dealers, or agents of BITTHROUGH CASH / BIT2CASH TRADING INC in selling or convincing people to invest may be prosecuted and held criminally liable and penalized with a maximum fine of Php 5 million or a penalty of 21 years of imprisonment in pursuant to Section 73 of the Securities and Regulation Code (SRC).

Report scams to the SEC via epd@sec.gov.ph

BIT2CASH SEC Advisory can be found here.

This article is first published on BitPinas: PH SEC: Scam Alert | BitThroughCash – Bit2Cash Trading Inc