The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) it has canceled the corporate registration of Bill Ford VIP Trading Inc. for operating what appears to be a ponzi scheme.
The SEC said its Enforcement and Investor Protection Department (EIPD) found the group engaged in investment-taking activities by selling or offering securities to the public without the secondary license from the agency.
BillFord Trading’s investment scheme involved the sale of pigs for P2,500 each, with the promise of returning the investment that would then amount to P4,375 three months later.
With this, an investor who buys five pigs worth P12,500 is guaranteed to get P21,875 by the end of three months, while someone who invests in 40 pigs worth P100,000 will get a gross profit of P175,000 after the same period.
The EIPD said BillFord Trading’s main strategy is to earn from the recruitment of new members or investors, with the piggery business used as a front for its scheme.
“Necessarily, this scheme is unsustainable, as it must rely on a continuous inflow of new investors in order to make payouts to earlier investors,” an SEC order dated April 14, 20201 to revoke the company’s registration read.
“To exacerbate matters, the scheme being offered by BillFord Trading Company/ Bill Ford VIP Trading Inc. is clearly in the nature of Ponzi scheme, where the profits or payouts shall be taken from incoming investors or additional pay-ins of existing members-investors considering that it does not have any underlying legitimate business from where it could source its promised return on investments to its investors,” it added.
