|
By Sherryl Anne G. Quito, Senior Researcher,
Honey Madrilejos-Reyes, Senior Reporter and Meryl Mae S.
Marcon, Researcher
Second of three parts
So many things have been said about pyramid
schemes and warnings issued against them by government agencies led
by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In fact, since 2002
the SEC has been issuing cease-and-desist orders to investment firms
found selling securities to the public without proper licenses. And
if these orders are uncontested, the commission’s next move is to
file criminal charges against the firms.
Criminal charges have already been filed against
Multinational Telecommunications Investors Corp. (Multitel) for
violating the requirement of registration of securities under the
Securities Regulation Code.
The SEC issued cease-and-desist orders also to
12 companies owned by the businessman Jesus Tibayan for violating
the Code. These were the Tibayan Group Investment Co., Inc., TG
Asset Management Corp., Matcor Holdings Co., Jetcor Equity Co., Sta.
Rosa Management and Trading Corp., Westar Royalty Management and
Trading Corp., Starboard Management and Trading Corp., United Alpa
Management and Trading Corp., Global Progress Management and Trading
Corp., Athon Management and Trading Corp., Diamond Star Management
and Trading Corp. and Tibayan Management Group International
Holdings Co.
The SEC has also warned Five Vision Consultancy
Inc., Intercontinental Services Inc., Conrad Group and Associates
Inc. and Servlink Cargo Inc. A thorough review discovered that these
companies were not licensed by the SEC to engage in investment
consultancy, investment taking, lending activities and trading in
securities.
Not to be missed out were Glasgow Credit and
Collection Services Inc. and Mateo Management Group. Only Glasgow
was known to have returned at least 70 percent of the investments it
got from its clients, because the SEC freezed its accounts with the
help of the Anti-Money Laundering Council.
As for the other clients of the other firms, the
SEC has committed itself to going after their bank accounts. It
vowed to be more aggressive in providing the public with the
information and skills necessary to make intelligent investment
decisions by issuing “investment alerts” and advisories
regarding fraudulent investments.
Ruining relationships
The pyramid scheme ruins not only people’s
pockets but also relationships. Innocent lives have suffered from
the consequences of this treacherous activity.
A psychologist who has counseled victims of
pyramid schemes says the scam has wrecked thousands of homes,
including the lives of children who witness the gradual breakup of
their family owing to their parents’ constant arguments over
pseudo-investment firms.
The psychologist cited two main reasons why
couples end up fighting over phony lending companies: (1) the
husband does not know of the investment and (2) couples blaming each
other although they made a mutual decision.
One couple whose relationship went haywire
because of the pyramid scheme were Anna and Jason. Anna invested in
MTST without Jason’s knowledge. When Jason knew about his wife’s
unilateral decision, he went berserk.
Anna knew her husband would forbid her to take
part in such an undertaking, so she kept her investment a secret.
“Alam kong hindi papayag si Jason, kaya
nagpasiya na akong mag-open ng account kahit hindi niya alam,” she
said.
Anna declined to disclose the exact amount of
her investment, saying only that she invested more or less half of
the family savings.
Besides the tempting 15-percent monthly
interest, what convinced Anna was the several big-time PNP officials
who signed up for MTST, which, according to her, guarantees the
stability of organization.
“Kasi kung magkalokohan man, merong mga
makapangyarihan na lalaban para sa amin,” she said.
Two months after she made her initial
investment, news of MTST’s collapse reached her. This prompted her
to inform Jason of what happened.
Anna tried to defend herself by saying that what
turned out to be her failure couldn’t be enough ground for her
husband to consider her a totally unreliable person.
“Halos araw-araw nag-aaway kami dahil sinisisi
niya ako sa nangyari. Inaamin ko naman na kasalanan ko, pero hindi
naman yata dapat na mawalan na siya ng tiwala sa akin. Sayang naman
ang pinagsamahan namin,” Anna laments.
After their arguments became more frequent, Anna
decided to pack her bags and stay with her parents’ home, leaving
her two sons in Jason’s care.
Anna’s children lived a life apart from her.
It was very difficult for her to see her sons suffer the
consequences of her action, but she believes this is the best for
them.
Anna declined to divulge further details about
her separation.
What keeps her busy these days are hearings
which investors are entitled to attend. She is considering taking
further action against the perpetrators.
All in the family
Often, victims fall prey to ignorance.
Government officials, however, concede that the wide reach of scams
also indicates a morally troubling trend—investors who couldn’t
care less how they earn so long as they earn plenty—and fast.
One of the first victims of these
“investment” firms was a family in Nueva Ecija. Jay, an
engineer-businessman, invested a total of P300,000, P100,000 of
which came from his wife’s four-month earnings as a caregiver in
the United States.
A family friend had urged Jay to join One Heart-Multitel,
a Nueva Ecija-based cooperative under the Multitel group of
companies. Many factors made him invest in the company. One of these
was company stability.
Jay was impressed with the investment
counselor’s presentation, which was backed by documents, sales
literature and contracts. Multitel’s own materials touted it as a
supporter of the second-largest industry in the
world—telecommunications. It claimed to have a tie-up with the
so-called Multinational Lending Corp. of New York, its
“principal.”
“Ipinakita ng counselor sa amin yung nature ng
company at company history. Nagsimula daw yung kompanya noong 1998,
tapos ipinakita pa sa amin yung papeles sa SEC at mga press releases
sa diyaryo,” Jay said. “Aside from having a US-based mother
company, ang paliwanag sa amin ay lending firm ang Multitel—nagpapahiram
daw ito ng pera at nagfi-finance ng construction sa Middle East.
Naka-joint pa nga daw si Baladjay sa New York Stock Exchange.”
“Bumilib pa nga ako sa kompanya kasi inendorso
ng mga pulitiko. Ang natatandaan ko ay kasama sila Sen. Loren
Legarda at Sen. Edgardo Angara sa mga pulitikong bumati sa
anniversary celebration ng Multitel sa PICC noong 2001,” he said.
Jay had no hint that Multitel was pyramiding,
because the counselor showed him a product—a top-of-the-line,
gold-plated Nokia cell phone worth P20,000-P30,000.
What made him take the plunge was the tempting
promise of a 6-percent monthly interest.
“Sabi ng iba, kasalanan daw namin itong
nangyari dahil sa ganid, pero hindi ako naniniwala. Halos lahat ng
nabiktima dito sa Nueva Ecija ay dahil sa dala ng matinding
pangangailangan. Napakalaki ng diprensiya ng interes ng bangko sa
interes ng Multitel,” he said.
At first Jay invested P200,000 in early 2001. He
was issued a renewable, postdated check (six months) for P200,000,
in case he wanted to withdraw his investment.
“Naisip ko, wala akong talo kasi me hawak
akong cheke; kaya lang nung ie-encash ko na, closed account na,”
Jay said.
From the time he joined in 2001 until July 2002,
Jay regularly got a monthly check of P12,000. In late July he was
informed the interest would be increased to 10 percent if investors
added a minimum amount of P50,000 to their accounts, so that’s
what he did. He added P100,000 to his account in August 2002.
“Hindi ko na natikman yung ipinangakong 10
percent monthly interest, kasi hindi na ako nakatanggap ng checke sa
kanila. Wala akong nabawi sa investment ko ni isang kusing,” he
lamented.
When his wife found about the collapse of
Multitel, all she could do was cry.
“Hindi ko siya masisi kasi tinrabaho niya yung
perang yon sa Amerika. At saka iniipon sana namin yung interes para
sa college education ng apat naming anak. Nilalaan din sana namin
yung pera sa pagpapagamot sa isang anak naming may sakit sa baga,”
he said.
“Wala na kaming magawa. Ang hinahabol namin
yung counselor na nag-recruit sa amin. Kung magde-demanda kami, lalo
lang lalaki ang gastos. Ipinapasa-Diyos na lang namin itong nangyari
sa amin.”
Jay and his wife are trying to pick up the
pieces. His wife will go back to the United States this year to take
on another job as a caregiver.
Tempted to join
Because of the financial rewards Jay was
getting, his parents, siblings and friends were tempted to join One
Heart-Multitel.
The first person who was lured was his older
brother, Tirso. Enticed by the monthly interest checks Jay was
getting from Multitel, Tirso and his wife invested as well.
Tirso made his first investment in late 2001.
Because he was receiving his monthly checks, he continued to add to
his investment, which totaled P500,000. His goal was to get a higher
monthly financial return. Unfortunately, he suffered the same fate
as his brother’s. His checks stopped coming in August 2002; the
counselors could not explain why.
Tirso says it was difficult for him and his wife
to accept what had happened because the money they used as a first
investment was supposed to pay a loan they had made.
“Yung pinagbentahan namin ng lupa, yun yung
ginamit namin sa unang hulog namin sa Multitel. Gagamitin sana namin
yung pera pambayad sa loan namin kaya lang na-engganyo kaming mag-invest.
Akala namin makakabuti sa amin ’yun pala lalo pang nakasama.”
Tirso and his wife had to discontinue building
their house in Nueva Ecija because of their financial predicament.
“Nagkulang yung budget namin sa pagpapatayo ng
bahay kaya na-delay nang na-delay. Itinatabi pa din namin sana yung
pera para sa tuition ng mga bata.”
Despite the misfortune that befell him, Tirso
has accepted that he had been swindled by Rosario Baladjay’s camp.
“Noong una, talagang halos maiyak kaming
mag-asawa kasi pinaghirapan namin yung perang ’yun. Pero naisip
namin na masuwerte pa pala kami, hindi tulad ng ibang investors na
milyun-milyon ang inilagay sa Multitel,” he said.
Tirso was alluding to his mother, who invested
P1.4 million in One Heart-Multitel. From the very beginning, his
father, a retired lawyer, was against Tirso’s and Jay’s decision
to join Multitel. Nevertheless, his mother invested in the
cooperative.
Just like her sons, Aling Lucia was guiled into
investing in the cooperative by the same counselor who, from the
very beginning, had vouched for the credibility of the cooperative.
She deposited an initial amount of P500,000 in early 2002. As the
monthly interest checks came regularly and the firm’s promos
became more frequent, so did her deposits, which added up to P1.4
million.
“Pagkatapos ng P500,000 investment ko,
nagdagdag ako ng isa pang P500,000. Nung mabalitaan ko yung promo na
puwedeng umabot ng 10 percent ang monthly interest kung magdagdag pa
ang investors sa existing account, naglagay pa ako ng P400,000,”
Aling Lucia said.
That was in August 2002. It was also the last
time she received her monthly check. Aling Lucia said her husband
flew into a rage on discovering their losses. She doesn’t blame
him. She admits it was her own doing. Her only regret was that the
hard-earned money from their rice-mill business vanished faster than
a speeding bullet.
“Lahat ng inipon naming mag-asawa nawala na
lang na parang bula. Wala naman kaming pension. ’Yun lang ang
inaasahan kong gagamitin namin sakaling mag-retire na kami. Mabuti
pa sana kung nakuntento na lang ako sa interes ng bangko kahit mas
mababa,” Aling Lucia lamented.
Asked why she invested in Multitel despite her
husband’s warning, she said: “Doon ko kinukuha ang panggastos
namin sa pagpapagamot naming mag-asawa. At saka iniipon ko yung
interest na nakukuha ko mula sa investment para sa operasyon ko. Sa
katunayan, naka-schedule na nga akong operahan noong January 2003
para malagyan ako ng kneecap para sa aking rayuma, kaya lang hindi
natuloy dahil sa pagbagsak ng Multitel. Lalo tuloy akong nawalan ng
pag-asang makakalakad ako nang maayos.”
Aling Lucia has not yet recovered from her
losses financially and emotionally. “Hindi basta-bastang halaga
ang P1.4 million. Hindi ko alam kung makaka-recover pa kami. Masakit
talaga ang ginawa nila sa amin. Hanggang ngayon pinipilit kong
tanggapin ang nangyari, pero mahirap talaga,” Aling Lucia said
tearfully.
To be concluded tomorrow
Part 1
| Conclusion
|
