SEC Warns Public Against Sun Power Boss App for Potential Ponzi Scheme

Editing by Nathaniel Cajuday

• The SEC has issued a public advisory against Royal Bull Master Trading International, also known as Royal Bull Master, warning the public not to invest in the company’s products.
• The SEC has determined that the following products offered by Royal Bull Master are securities in the form of an investment contract: Starter Plan, Amateur Plan, Side Ways Plan, Bullish Plan, and referral commission.
• The SEC has warned that all individuals involved in selling or promoting the investment scheme offered by Royal Bull Master, including through the internet, may be held criminally liable and penalized with a maximum fine of PHP 5 million or imprisonment of 21 years, or both.
• Individuals involved in the scheme will be reported to the Bureau of Internal Revenue for assessment of appropriate penalties and taxes.

As technology advances, scammers also do.

In a media release published by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), addressing the reports received as well as the information gathered by the Commission itself, the SEC warned the public against the mobile application SPBOSS/SPOWER/SUN POWER as it entices the public—through social media—to invest in said entity.

“Based on the Commission’s database, SPBOSS/SPOWER/SUN POWER, is not registered as a corporation or partnership and operates without the necessary license and/or authority to solicit, accept or take investments/placements from the public nor to issue investment contracts and other forms of securities defined under Section 3 of the Securities Regulation Code (SRC),” the SEC wrote.

The application requires its investors to register first; then they can now choose from any of the eight (8) types of investment plan worth: ₱8,000, ₱10,000,  ₱30,000, ₱90,000, ₱200,000, ₱500,000, and ₱800,000. The validity period of these investments is one year, during which the investors are enticed to earn ₱276 up to ₱32,000 daily, or ₱100,740  up to  ₱11,826,000  profit for one year.

According to the SEC, the application can be downloaded from the Google Play store and brands itself as an investment management platform. 

However, the Commission stressed that the scheme employed by SPBOSS/SPOWER/SUN POWER has the characteristics of a Ponzi Scheme. This kind of scheme takes the money of investors to pay “fake profits” to prior investors; ultimately, it is designed to favor its top recruiters and prior risk-takers and is detrimental to subsequent members in the case of a 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,” the Commission stressed.

Following this, the SEC reminded the public, “NOT TO INVEST or to STOP INVESTING in the investment scheme being offered by SPBOSS/SPOWER/SUN POWER, and its representatives.”

Find more SEC advisories here.

This article is published on BitPinas: SEC Warns Public Against Sun Power Boss App for Potential Ponzi Scheme

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