The Securities and Exchange Commission warned investors against investing in a company called My Community E-Commerce System Inc. which it said was not authorized to solicit investments from the public.
The SEC said in an advisory posted on its website that it received reports that My Community, also known as My Community Credit Cooperative, was engaged in soliciting investments from the public by promising investors of a compounded 5-percent monthly interest rate on investments.
Based on SEC records, My Community was registered with the corporate regulator as a non-stock and non-profit association.
Its registration with the SEC only pertained to the primary license of a corporation which gives it a juridical personality but not an authority to solicit investments, an activity that requires secondary license from the SEC.
The SEC said aside from soliciting investments, the company was also into lending activities without a certificate of authority from the regulator.
“In view thereof, the public is hereby advised to exercise self restraint in investing their hard earned money int such high-yielding risk investment scheme and to take the necessary precaution in dealing with individuals representing the above named entity,” the SEC said.
The SEC said salesmen, brokers, dealers or agents of My Community who helped in selling and conniving people to invest in the “fraudulent scheme” would be prosecuted and held liable.
Under Section 73 of the Securities Regulation Code, violators will be penalized with a maximum fine of P5 million or maximum penalty of 21 years or both.
The SEC urged people who invested or were approached to invest in the scheme to report to the commission for further investigation. The regulator earlier issued a warning on unregistered investment scams operating through social media.
It said a number of investment scams like pyramiding and Ponzi schemes had proliferated using popular and free social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Linkedln to lure investors.