Dear Friends,
This message is to create a warning on Empire Alliance Group (EGA).
The company has a subsidiary, Sunshine Empire (SE), which mainly
functions as Multi-Level Marketing Company. It is selling e-points
which can be used to purchase products on their website. The scheme
started 2006, August. Prior this project, EGA (or rather J*mes
Ph*ang) has another project called New-Trend International (NTI)
& Magic Kingdom (which claims to invest in Indonesia property)
in Singapore which also functions somewhat similar, and it is now
diminished in Singapore.
Sunshine Empire is on MAS consumers alert list
(http://www.moneysense.gov.sg/check_our_list/Consumer_Portal_IAL.html).
If you ask any of the SE members, they?ll tell you it?s not an
investment company, but their proposal & key attraction work in
that nature, using the word ?partnership?. Using wordings to find
legal loopholes does not indicate legitimacy.
SE?s scam revealed in China:
http://www.pincom.cn/action/eliteview?elite_id=1000000000225351
SE is located in Singapore, HDB Hub, Biz 3, BLK 490 Toa Payoh
Lorong 6 hub, #07-10, s310490.
Anyone passing by TPY, would probably heard of Emcom or Sunshine
Empire. The customers of the company is overwhelming people are
literally queuing up to purchase (Gold Partnership) GP, currently
costing at $11,520, to enjoy Customer Rebate Privileges (CRP) &
Customer Loyalty Privileges (CLP) which is the main attraction of
this scheme.
All of the people I know bought a few, some even ten, twenty, or
more GP. The company claims they have more than 30,000 members each
holding 1 or more GP which translate to at least $345.6 million SGD
used to purchase GP. And their numbers are indeed convincing for
anyone who stepped in their office before.
The money from GP is said to invest in a wireless project in
Taiwan, Emcom. I highly suspect that the company is using the word
?rebate? & ?products? to cover meaning of dividends or
investment returns or ponzi scheme. A Ponzi scheme usually offers
abnormally high short-term returns in order to entice new
investors. The high returns that a Ponzi scheme advertises (and
pays) require an ever-increasing flow of money from investors in
order to keep the scheme going
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponzi_scheme#Overview).
As far as I know, the key activity in Singapore is financing, so is
their function other countries establishment.
The proponent:
1) Basic membership (SM) cost $1,240 SGD
2) Customer Alpha purchases 1 Gold Partnership (GP) at $11,520
SGD.
3) Alpha will get $2,500++ SGD the following month,
4) Alpha gets $1,300++ SGD every following month till total rebate
of $19,200 SGD in about 15 months, guaranteed.
5) The company is able to payout such high returns from their
?other sources of income?
6) Sunshine Empire payout is based on how many people purchases GP
every month (Multi-Level Marketing). SE uses new GP to pay existing
GP > contravenes MULTI-LEVEL MARKETING AND PYRAMID SELLING
(PROHIBITION) ACT (CHAPTER 190)
7) Once Emcom project launch in Taiwan, they?ll take 50% of the
profit to share with each GP, till a total return of another
$96,000 SGD. Expected to be over 5 ~8 years.
All ?partners? are encouraged to bring in more
friends & relatives to purchase GP.
The contract, as attached with this mail, does not mention about
the returns, any guarantees, or cash returns, which does not match
their verbal presentation. All clauses seem to cover up for the
company. Even if the project did exist and profits, the company is
not obligated to pay the ?partners? anything.
He will get $ from ponzi schemes; All/Most Ponzi Scams WILL payout
as promised as long as new members/investment are enrolled into the
program, until the members/investment can no longer sustain the
payout. It is designed to make people believe, & sign without
reading the contract. If SE is sincere of their promise (for long
term), the contract will not be written in such?
Even if he did made $ from ponzi schemes (by joining early &
stop reinvesting early), it is unethical & unlawful money as it
is cheated from his ?downlines?.
To summarize:
1) SE is promoting Multi-Level Marketing, using new GP to payout
existing GP. > contravenes MULTI-LEVEL MARKETING AND PYRAMID
SELLING (PROHIBITION) ACT (CHAPTER 190)
http://statutes.agc.gov.sg/
Someone told me about MLM exclusion:
http://app.mti.gov.sg/data/pages/81/doc/frm_LEG_MLMOrder_Act.pdf
But maybe he can?t read & understand SE?s GP costs $11,500
already fails to meet any standard in the exclusion.
2) Such ?rebate income? is unregistered source of income and
partners in SE mentioned some money launderers chose to buy GP.
Verbal guaranteed rebate of 166% of initial purchase price,
suspecting using of wording ?rebate? to cover meaning of
?income?.
3) The proposal is promoted as mainly investment, but not
registered with MAS, however, product e-points are being sold, but
not the focus of the scheme.
4) SE as MLM, not direct-selling, nor registered under Direct
Selling Association of Singapore.
5) Verbal agreement does not match of written agreement, the
written agreement differs from verbal as,
a. There is no mentioning any form of cash returns.
b. There is no mentioning money used to purchase GP goes into Emcom
or any other projects.
c. There is no mentioning a promised percentage of EGA?s or SE?s or
Emcom?s profit will be used to rebate the customers.
d. There is no mentioning guaranteed returns
e. There is no mentioning principle protected.
f. The written agreement is designed as a normal purchase
agreement, whereas the verbal presentation & agreement is
promoted as a high yielding, returns guaranteed investment.
6) Suspect of a ponzi /confidence scam, a non-sustainable business
model that involves the exchange of money primarily for enrolling
other people into the scheme. Usually over 90% of the people who
get involved in pyramid/ponzi schemes never recoup their initial
investment. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyramid_scheme).
I have filed a report to CAD on Feb 2007 but still awaiting action.
According to his statement, CAD is eager to carry out investigation
on Sunshine Empire and filed to regulator MAS, however MAS haven?t
pass an order for investigation on SE.
SE can probably push everything to individual?s presentation fault
to avoid prosecution (that?s why the contract is different from
verbal agreement, to make use of "distributors"), however since all
members of SE learns and presents the same, there should be a
mastermind; either way, the activity, if illegitimate, got to stop.
Hope authorities can gather proof to prosecute the real masterminds
instead of fishing ikan-bilis due to legal loopholes, if
illegitimate.
Ponzi scams has existed more than a century, today's schemes are
often considerably more sophisticated than Ponzi's, although the
underlying formula is quite similar and the principle behind every
Ponzi scheme is to exploit lapses in judgment arising from an
investor's lack of information.
People cheated by thousands of scams around the world are not
fools, many of them are graduates from universities &
successful businessmen; swindlers tell stories like those you
heard, & some believes. Swindlers (at least some, rest simply
copy & modify) are clever, good mathematicians, good at
penetrating legal loopholes (if I can understand so much, pro
conmen can do better), and of course, lying.
The scheme has already affected more than 30,000 Singaporeans and
multiplying by the day, it may soon reach market saturation in
Singapore and may collapse, affecting the maximum population, and
usually over 90% of the people who get involved in pyramid/ponzi
schemes never recoup their initial investment.
No surprise we?ll know some people in SE, most people on the ground
are innocent (despite annoyingly high), please do not be angry with
them, although by participating & promoting they already liable
to charges. Tell them about ponzi scams & JP history &
senses, nicely.
Please forward this message to people you care about to warn about
such schemes, and if you will, write in your concern to:
Monetary Authority of Singapore
10 Shenton Way MAS Building
Singapore 079117
[email protected] email address is being protected from
spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it
Tel: (65)-6225-5577
Fax: (65)-6229-9491
Commercial Affairs Department
Address : 391 New Bridge Road #06-701
Police Cantonment Complex Block D
Singapore 088762
Tel : 1800 325 0000
Fax : 6223 3171
[email protected] email address is being protected from
spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it
..or relevant authorities to encourage their investigation.
No matter you are SE members or not, do encourage the
investigation. So if SE is legitimate from legal audits, opposes
cease; if not, we learn experience & move on. Or that day new
investors are unable to sustain pyramid model, we can all learn
from experience too.
Best Regards,
C S Ng
?What if five robbers were robbing for you, and they each recruit
five robbers to rob for you??
Attachment:
http://scams.myphotoalbum.com/view_photo.php?set_albumName=album01&id=ea_contract_f
