Bryan Marsden and wife charged in online investment scam

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).

One of the online get-rich-quick schemes that Marsden ran was PIPS, a High Yield Investment Program (HYIP) that paid investors 2% of their principal every day. The program started in 2003 and continued payments until 2005.

Here are excerpts from The Star regarding the charges against the Marsdens.

The two were said to have accepted deposits from the depositors without a valid licence under Section 6(4) of the Banking and Financial Institutions Act 1989 to carry on banking business, finance company, merchant bank or discount house.

Marsden, who also represented for the said companies, was accused of committing the offences at Bandar Baru Nilai in Seremban between April 10, 2004 and July 4, 2005.

Phan, a former teacher, was alleged to have committed the offences at the same place and period.

If convicted, each accused can be fined up to RM10mil or sentenced up to 10 years’ jail or both under Section 103(1)(a) of the same Act.

…

Marsden had been charged at Seremban Sessions Court for 50 counts under the Anti-Money Laundering Act while his wife faced 48 similar charges there but could not higher bail imposed by the court and had to spend a year under remand.

[A court affidavit stated] that RM8.34mil worth of properties and company assets belonging to the couple had been frozen by Bank Negara.

Related Reading:

• Things you should know about HYIPs
• PIPS Discussion Folder (now under the Scams/Closed Programs Board)
• UK Newspaper Guardian’s article on the PIPS scam
• Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s warning against investing in PIPS
• US State of Alaska’s warning that PIPS is an illegal Ponzi