DOJ indicts 3 firms for running illegal investment schemes
Three groups found to have been engaged in illegal investment schemes will face charges for soliciting money from the public without the necessary permits, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The corporate watchdog on Wednesday said the Department of Justice (DOJ) had found sufficient evidence to indict Eton Phil Non-Specialized Wholesale Trading, SCET Colleens Corp. and the group of casino junket operator Hector Aldwin Liao Pantollana for violating the Securities Regulation Code (SRC).
Under the SRC, companies may not offer or sell securities without a registration statement duly filed with and approved by the SEC.
It also makes it illegal to employ any “device, scheme or artifice to defraud the public” in connection with the same securities.
According to the SEC, the DOJ has recommended the filing of a criminal case against Eton Trading founders Elton John Malabarbas and Princess Samson Frias.
More than 10 of the company’s agents were likewise implicated.
The SEC found Eton Trading to have offered investment contracts covering meat products, promising monthly profits ranging from 20 to 50 percent of their capital investment.
Investors are required to chip in P5,000 to P100,000, the SEC said.
“In this case, respondents (Eton Trading) publicly offered their investment contracts without securing the necessary licenses or accreditation, thereby operating outside the regulatory framework designed to protect the investing public,” the DOJ was cited as saying in its resolution.
No licenses
Meanwhile, the DOJ also recommended the filing of cases against SCET Colleen’s directors, Shara Jane Chavez, Earn Saguindel and Edith Francisse Tablante.
This stems from a May 2024 criminal complaint the SEC had filed against SCET Colleens and its directors after the company offered investment opportunities, promising gains ranging from P3,800 to P1.09 million. It did not have the proper license to do so, the SEC said.
This resulted in the “investors’ damage and prejudice,” especially since several people had already “parted with their hard-earned money to invest in unregistered securities,” the DOJ said.
Pantollana and four others were likewise found to be soliciting investments from the public to supposedly fund their casino junket operation and casino financing activities, the SEC noted.
According to the commission, they issued loan contracts to investors and promised profits ranging from 60 percent to 111 percent a year. These were distributed through postdated checks, and solicitations were made through three unregistered companies, the agency added.
Entities found to have been violating the SRC, or Republic Act No. 8799, may be fined up to P5 million or imprisoned for up to 21 years, or both.
