The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has ordered Unity Premier Business Group OPC to stop soliciting investments from the public through its supposed beauty product business.
In an order, the SEC told the company, which also operates under the name UnityPremier Beauty and Wellness Products Trading, to cease and desist from its operation which includes giving commission for successful recruitment into its scheme.
The SEC said its Enforcement and Investor Protection Department (EIPD) discovered Unity Premier to be offering investment packages worth P100 to P50,000 each, with promised returns ranging from P3.50 to P1,750 daily to the public.
Investors only needed to create an account through Unity Premier’s website and pay for the investment package of their choice. Investors were also promised a 15 percent commission when recruiting people into its system.
The SEC said Unity Premier’s scheme involves the sale and offer of securities to the public in the form of investment contracts, whereby a person invests his money in a common enterprise and is led to expect profits primarily from the efforts of others.
“At the outset, the Commission notes that contrary to the primary purpose of Unity Premier of direct selling beauty products, there is no information or evidence showing what products are for sale, product description, prices per product as well as where the products are being sold,” it said.
“What is evident in Unity Premier’s advertisements is the focus on the sale and/or offer for sale of various investment packages with an insignificant inclusion of soap products,” it added.
The SEC also said the EIPD discovered that Unity Premier has been consciously misrepresenting itself to have acquired a secondary license from the SEC, supposedly reinvesting money from its investors in the stock market, foreign exchange market and cryptocurrency trading.
“While Unity Premier is a duly registered corporation with the Commission, it has never secured a secondary license as issuer of securities or broker dealer nor registered any securities for public offering pursuant to the SRC (Securities Regulation Code),” the SEC said.
