By Joann Villanueva
MANILA – The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has revoked the certificates of incorporation of two firms over alleged illegal investment schemes and imposed a PHP1 million fine on each of their officials.
In a news release Monday, SEC identified the two firms as Valtoro Spartan Consultancy Corporation and Reason Land Ventures and Realty Development Corp.
Valtoro Spartan, according to SEC, was found to have offered, through its website and social media pages, five lock-in subscription plans promising investors returns ranging from 7.5 percent to as high as 912.5 percent within 15 days to one year, for a minimum capital of USD50 (approximately PHP3,000).
The company also offered a direct referral bonus, or a 5-percent commission for every person directly invited who joined the scheme, as well as a multi-level referral bonus of 1 percent from the investments made by invitees of one’s direct referrals, up to the tenth level.
As a result, all incorporators, stockholders and officials of Valtoro Spartan were ordered to pay a PHP1 million fine each for the unauthorized offering of securities. Its incorporators, along with its corporate secretary, were also disqualified from serving as directors, trustees, or officers of any corporation for five years due to investment fraud.
“Considering that the act of offering investment to the public is not included in the primary purpose of [Valtoro Spartan], the declared primary purpose was done with fraudulent intent due to the large disparity of its declarations in the AOI (Articles of Incorporation) and its actual business operation,” the order issued by the SEC Enforcement and Investor Protection Department (EIPD) reads, as quoted in the news release.
Meanwhile, Reason Land Ventures and Realty Development Corp. was likewise stripped of its certificate of incorporation, with its officials also directed to pay a PHP1-million administrative fine for allegedly offering unregistered securities.
According to the SEC, the company offered passive income for 30 years through its hostel business, requiring a minimum capital of PHP30,000 per share from prospective investors.
The SEC said the scheme bore hallmarks of a Ponzi operation, noting that its “profits or payouts were derived from investments of incoming investors or additional pay-ins of its existing members, as it does not have any underlying legitimate business.”
“Considering that nowhere is it stated in its primary purpose that [Recson Land], is authorized to engage in the selling or offering for sale of securities to the public…the activity of [the company], of selling or offering for sale of investments is considered an ultra vires act and therefore constitute serious misrepresentation,” it said. (Joann Villanueva/PNA)
