The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has secured the indictment of three groups that solicited investments from the public without the necessary licenses.
In separate resolutions, the Department of Justice (DOJ) found prima facie evidence to file criminal complaints against Eton Phil Non-Specialized Wholesale Trading, SCET Colleens Corporation, and the group of casino junket operator Hector Aldwin Liao Pantollana, as well as their respective directors and agents, for violating Republic Act 8799 or the Securities Regulation Code (SRC).
The groups were charged with engaging in unauthorized investment-taking activities without securing the necessary licenses from the SEC, in violation of the SRC.
Sections 8 and 28 of the SRC provide that securities shall not be sold or offered for sale without a registration statement duly filed and approved by the Commission, and expressly prohibit the sale of such securities by a company or broker without the proper registration and licenses issued by the SEC.
Meanwhile, Section 26 makes it unlawful for any person to employ any device, scheme, or artifice to defraud the public in connection with the sale of securities. Persons found guilty of the provisions of the SRC shall suffer a fine of up to PHP5 million, or imprisonment of up to 21 years, or both.
Eton Trading
For Eton Trading, state prosecutors recommended the filing of a criminal case against its founders Elton John Malabarbas and Princess Samson Frias. Also implicated were the company’s agents.
State prosecutors charged its proprietors for violating Sections 8 and 28 of the SRC, after the SEC found Eton Trading to have offered investment contracts covering frozen meat products for a monthly profit ranging from 20 to 50 percent, with capital investment of P5,000 to P100,000.
“In this case, respondents 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 resolution read.
SCET Colleens
The DOJ recommended the filing of cases against SCET Colleen’s directors, Shara Jane Chavez, Earn Saguindel and Edith Francisse Tablante.
SCET Colleens and its directors were indicted for violating Sections 8 and 28 of the SRC, and for 28 counts of violating Section 26 of the same law, with each count representing each illegal transaction made with an investor.
The SEC filed the criminal complaint against SCET Colleens and its directors in May 2024, for offering investment opportunities with a promise of returns ranging from P3,800 to P1.08 million, or a return on investment between 5 to 8 percent per month, without the proper licenses.
“Respondents Chavez, Saguindel and Tablante committed fraud or deceit upon their investors by publicly offering and selling investment contracts without a secondary license or approval from the SEC,” the resolution read.
Casino junket operation
For the group of Hector Aldwin Liao Pantollana, state prosecutors implicated him together with Zeus Liao Pantollana, Reymond Lacsamana Galang, Quarry Quieng and Erwin L. Bangalan.
The group of Pantollana was found to be soliciting investments from the public to finance their casino junket operation and casino financing activities.
The group allegedly issued loan contracts to investors with a promise of guaranteed profit ranging from 60 percent to 111 percent per annum, with the payment of profits and return of capital guaranteed by postdated checks.
The investment solicitations were made through three unregistered companies, namely the Philippine National ESports League, Horizon Players Club, and Team Z.
PIXABAY PHOTO