(With pics) Wanted: Cyrus Hao of Royal Manchester Five Trading Corp.
March 11, 2008
The manhunt is on for 28-year-old Cyrus Yap Hao, said to be the president of Royal Manchester Five Trading Corp. (RMF), a foreign currency investment company that duped thousands of investors of money amounting to more than P2.1 billion (US$51 million).
Several investors trooped to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) this week to complain that the checks they are holding have been dishonored and that Cyrus Hao, who hails from Pilar, Sorsogon, and Renato San Juan, company vice president for marketing, could not be located. The two are feared to have already fled the Philippines on Tuesday, March 4.
Other officers of RMF — Vice Presidents Joesedev Colina, Edwin Rosas and Joseph Bualoy, and Vice President for Finance Rowena Uy — claim they have also been cheated, but investors say they do not believe them.
RMF is a currency-trading investment program that enticed investors with a guaranteed return of 4-5% every month. Minimum investment amount is P200,000 ($5,000).
Celebrity-investors said to be victims of the scam include professional basketball players and an actor. They are:
- Ginebra Gin Kings player Rafi Reavis (P8.9 million plus $330,485.40)
- Johnny and his wife Mary Ann Abarrientos (P6.9 million, plus another P2.5 million from Johnny)
- Mark Macapagal (P2.5 million)
- former Purefoods Hotdogs coach Eric Altamirano and wife Marissa (P1.2 million and P0.889 million, respectively)
- Alaska cager Edward Juinio (P7.2 million)
- actor Rustom Padilla ($47,000)
Scam confirmed: RMF Trading Corporation
March 7, 2008
In the beginning, there was FrancSwiss.
Then came Performance Investments Products Corp. (PIPC) and Performance Foreign Exchange Corporation (PFEC).
Now, the latest multi-million peso scam to emerge is Royal Manchester Five, also called RMF Trading Corporation.
Several RMF agents and investors posting in the Royal Manchester Five discussion thread in the PMT Forum are confirming that the company is now officially a scam after the CEO and owner, 28-year-old Cyrus Hao, purportedly ran away with millions of dollars worth of investors’ money.
Says PMT member faithfully: All of the issued checks lately bounced kaya nag trigger na puntahan sa house na yung Chairman (Cyrus Hao) kase they can’t get hold of him and he’s the only one who has access sa bank accounts… it’s confirmed, the chairman ran off, the directors can’t find him anymore.. the house is empty and all bank accounts are closed.
Says suzette07: mukhang sa zamboanga daw dumaan then malaysia…
The development is strikingly similar to that of another fallen company PIPC, whose Singaporean owner Michael Liew allegedly fled the Philippines and disappeared with between $140 million and $250 million of funds in tow.
12DailyPro investor? You only have until January 31 to file for refund
January 4, 2008
If you previously invested and lost money in the online investment program 12DailyPro (12DP), you only have until the end of the month to file for a refund claim.
You need to log in to the 12DailyPro Investor Web Portal on or before January 31, 2008 and accept or dispute your Claim Amount. If you indicated that you “Dispute” the Claim Amount, you need to submit supporting documents also before that date in order to be eligible for the refund.
A guide on the 12DailyPro refund process is here.
PIPC agents and officers charged with fraud
December 4, 2007
The Philippine Daily Inquirer reported today that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed charges against the officers and agents of the forex investment firm Performance Investments Products Corp. or PIPC after it found the company in violation of certain securities laws.
PIPC grabbed the headlines in July this year after its Singaporean owner Michael Liew fled the Philippines and disappeared, taking with him more than $250 worth of investors’ money.
According to the Inquirer report,
the SEC found that PIPC Corp., its officers and agents were liable for violation of provisions of the Securities Regulation Code (SRC) under Section 8 or the illegal sale of unregistered securities; under Section 28 for failing to register brokers and agents to solicit investments, and under Section 26 for fraudulent transactions.
Named respondents were Singaporean national and PIPC Corp. chair Michael H.K. Liew, directors Cristina Gonzalez-Tuason and Cristina Jurado, and agents Eugene Co, Maria Pamela Morris, Michael Melchor Nubla, Luis Aragon, Mayenne Carmona, Anthony Kierulf, Renato Sarmiento Jr., Barbara Garcia, Jonathan Ocampo, Deborah Yabut, Victor Jose Vergel de Dios, David Chua-Unsu, Stanley Chua-Unsu, Nicole Ortega, Oudine Santos, Mia Legarda, Nicoline Amoranto Mendoza, Christine Yu and Herly Hesultas.
Beware of these scammers
November 28, 2007
For several months now, we have been receiving emails from people around the world reporting the scam activities of some Filipino scumbags. Unfortunately, there is nothing much we can do but to advise these victims to contact the Philippine National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to file complaints.
Here’s the contact info of the NBI:
National Bureau of Investigation
NBI Building, Taft Avenue, Ermita,
Manila, Philippines 1000
Tel. Nos. (02) 523-8231 to 38 (Local); (+632) 523-8231 to 38 (International)
Fax Nos. (2) 526-1216, 523-7414 (Local); (+632) 526-1216, 523-7414 (International)
Email Address: director@nbi.gov.ph
We are reprinting below some of these emails in order to warn others against the modus operandi of these scammers.
(12DailyPro update) How to file a refund claim
November 17, 2007
If you were an investor of the erstwhile online investment program 12DailyPro, you now have a chance to file a refund claim and be able to get some money back if you lost money in this online scam.
Thomas Lennon, Court-appointed Receiver for the 12DailyPro (12DP) autosurf investment program, recently announced the opening of a Web Portal where investors can submit a refund claim.
12DP was an autosurf program that promised investors 12% return on their invested funds every day for twelve days. As an autosurf program, members were to run a program on their computer that would automatically view certain websites and thereby purportedly generate advertising revenue.
12DP Investors have until January 31, 2008 to login to the portal and accept or dispute the amount of the claim.
Investor claims will be calculated using the Money-In-Money-Out (MIMO) formula, which means the claim amount is equivalent to the net amount of investments (money in) and distributions made to the investor (money out).
Here is a step-by-step guide on the 12DailyPro refund process.
FrancSwiss promoter murdered?
November 8, 2007
In the discussion thread This is sad… maybe FrancSwiss-related, PMT member pinoynetworker posted that currently making the rounds in the local networking scene is the news that a certain Christopher or Cris Irabon has been identified as one of the victims in a salvage incident early this week.
Irabon is said to be a “power leader” in the Philippine networking scene who allegedly actively promoted the FrancSwiss investment program that eventually turned into a scam.
Local daily People’s Journal has the official news on the killings.
THE four salvage victims stuffed in a sack found atop a bridge in Taytay, Rizal Monday (October 5) have been identified by their relatives, police said yesterday.
The victims were identified as Maricel Sena, 24, five months pregnant, her sister Robilyn, 19, Christopher Irabon, 33, and Rolando Lopez, 35, live-in partner of Maricel.
Estrelita Sena, mother of the siblings, said they last saw the victims alive on October 31.
Police said the victims were tortured before they were killed.
Were the murders motivated by the FrancSwiss scam? That is a question for the police to answer.
In any case, we offer our condolences to the families of the victims.
Related reading:
- Discussion thread - This is sad… maybe FrancSwiss-related
- Discussion thread - HYIP: FrancSwiss
- Article - Is FrancSwiss a scam?
- Scam Programs Discussion Board
- List of Popular Scam Programs
Bryan Marsden and wife charged in online investment scam
September 30, 2007
Former PIPS CEO and owner Bryan Marsden and his wife became the first people in Malaysia to be charged with operating an online investment scam, reports a Malaysian newspaper.
The Star confirmed that Briton Bryan John Marsden and Malaysian wife Phan Sew Ken on September 25 pleaded not guilty in a Kuala Lumpur court to charges of illegally collecting deposits through two Internet-based companies between 2004 and 2005.
The couple are accused of collecting deposits from investors around the world without a valid license, including at least 18 Malaysian depositors who were allegedly duped of 650,000 ringgit (US$185,710).
PointShareXtreme (PSX) payments to resume?
September 22, 2007
At the same time PSX investors are engaged in fiery debates about Henry James Banayat's letter in the article "PointShareXtreme (PSX) admin responds to scam accusation," an announcement was posted at Compumatrix.biz announcing that PointShareXtreme.com and other related sites will be offline during the weekend supposedly in preparation for the upcoming processing of member payments.
How to file for a 12DailyPro claim
September 11, 2007
Lost money in 12DailyPro?
You now have a chance to take part in the remaining assets of 12DailyPro, which could reach as much as $17.5 million, as per the 12DailyPro Receiver's latest report.
Thomas F. Lennon, Court-appointed permanent receiver for LifeClicks LLC and 12DailyPro (12DP), filed a Court report last month stating that they are currently holding a balance of $317,018.79 in unrestricted cash and $5,206,207.82 in restricted cash. They are also currently pursuing the recovery of approximately $12 million more funds of 12DP being held by StormPay's credit card processors, Global Payments Direct and NovaInformation Systems.
In the same report, the Receiver outlined how people who invested in 12DailyPro can file a claim for refund. However, only those who suffered a net loss are eligible.
If you are qualified, read more to find out how you can file for a 12DailyPro claim.
