THE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has cautioned the public against investing in SK Pools Mining Corp. and SOAO, saying these entities are not authorized to solicit investments.
In two separate advisories on its website, the corporate regulator said that the two entities do not have the necessary license to offer and sell securities.
SK Pools Mining is allegedly enticing the public via social media to purchase a cloud mining machine, ranging from P700 to P75,000, with promised daily earnings of P70 to P1,950, the SEC said.
The SEC also said that SK Pools Mining is using a fake certificate of incorporation to establish its legitimacy.
“The scheme employed by SK Pools Mining has the characteristics of a Ponzi scheme where monies from new investors are used in paying fake profits to prior investors and is designed mainly to favor its top recruiters and prior risk takers and is detrimental to subsequent members in case of scarcity of new investors,” the SEC said.
Meanwhile, the SEC said that SOAO, SOAO Technology, SOAO-TechnologyCo.Ltd. Advertising OPC, SOAO Energy and SOAO Group are reportedly offering investments through a power generator rental scheme.
The entity allegedly promises earnings of P9 per kilowatt for 24 hours of rental.
“The amount and duration of rental and power output per 24 hour varies depending on its offering posted on their social media account and website,” the SEC said.
“An investor will also earn a commission from recruitment of new investors/partners up to level C,” it added.
According to the SEC, only SOAO-TechnologyCo.Ltd. Advertising OPC is registered with the government as a one-person corporation. However, all entities are not authorized to offer and sell any investments to the public.
“Such activities require a secondary license from the commission and the securities or investment product should likewise be registered with the SEC before they can be offered or sold to the public under Sections 8 and 12 of the Securities Regulation Code,” the SEC said.
BusinessWorld sought the comments of the two entities but has yet to receive a response as of the deadline. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave