THE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued advisories against three illegal entities offering "investment contracts" promising unrealistic returns.

In a series of advisories last week, the regulator said Vividzoo, Roark Fund, and JF Investing and Financial Services (JFIFS) were not authorized to solicit investments from the public because they were not duly registered and did not have the proper licenses.

It said that Vividzoo, purportedly an animal protection movement headed by a certain "Thomas Brady," was actively enticing the public via social media to invest in the company. The company recruits potential investors who are then urged to invite other recruits in order to receive bonuses. It also allegedly offers its investors an "income commission" program.

Roark Fund, meanwhile, presents itself as an artificial intelligence trading robot that promises its investors returns from 180 percent to as much as 7,200 percent within just one month to one year. Investors are also promised a bonus based on the number of recruits they successfully invite to the supposed AI-based "fund."

JFIFS and its purported CEO, Jeanniza Flores, lastly, were said to be enticing the public to invest via social media with a promise of an 8 percent to 48 percent profit released monthly within a six-month lock-in period.

The SEC said the three firms' offerings had the characteristics of a "Ponzi scheme," where investments from new investors are being used to pay the "profits" of prior investors.

The SEC added that investment fraud, defined as any form of deceptive solicitation of investments from the public, are prohibited by law and that those found liable face a maximum fine of P5 million or a maximum penalty of 21 years imprisonment, or both.

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