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PETA IN BUSINESS FINANCE Ranier Macaranas 12 – St.Thomas/ABM

The Aman Futures pyramid scam

Aman Futures was reported as a pyramid scheme by the National Bureau of Investigation of the Philippines that duped some 15,000 people in Mindanao and the Visayas of P12 billion (US$ 295,000,000 est.). Authorities from the Philippines have set a manhunt for Manuel K. Amalilio, the founder of the company who left the Philippines for Sabah, Malaysia. The "doubleyour-money" was a phrase being pitched to join the network. NBI has said that there is about 8,000 complaints filed against the company and over 100,000 Filipino families were victimized. Irate victims of Aman Futures have ransacked an office rented by the company in Pagadian City.After the manhunt for the brain behind the scam was launched, two of the company's employees surrendered. Maria Donna Coyme, who is reportedly the chief finance officer of Aman Futures; and Jacob Razuman, one of the firm’s top brokers, are currently being investigated for their role in the scam said the National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine National Police.

Twenty one Filipino police officers and two fire officers filed syndicated estafa complaint against the company. They said they were promised a return of their investment within eight days and a 50 percent to 80 percent profit for 17 to 20 days. The Malacañang Palace has assured that the victims of Aman Futures should not take matters of their own, as authorities are doing their work to put to jail those responsible for the pyramid scam that duped thousands in the Visayas and Mindanao area. Gunmen related to the 14 December 2012 gunshot in Zamboanga City were possible employees from Aman Futures. Investigators said it was possible that the attack may be linked to the Aman Futures that is known to have victimized thousands, including many policemen.

In 2013, the founder of Aman Futures, Manuel K. Amalilio, was caught in Malaysia after pleading guilty to charges of holding false travel documents. He was then supposed to be deported to Manila on Friday, 25 January at estimated time of 19:45 PST to be jailed the NBI said. However, the Malaysian authorities stopped Amalilio's deportation and was sentenced a two-year imprisonment in Malaysia. Some of the members of the Malaysian opposition in the Philippines disagreed in the Malaysian authorities' stopping of Amalilio's deportation during an interview at ANC. They also have questioned the jail sentence handed down to him in Malaysia.

1. Why do you consider it as a scam?

The Aman Future Group is offering things that are so good to be true. They tricked and steal some money on 15.000 plus Filipinos in Visayas and Mindanao. NBI also has said that there are about 8,000 complaints filed against the company and over 100,000 Filipino families were victimized. They gave “investment offerings” that yielded a 62% interest return in just 20 days and they also have an offer for some “investors” that has a 70% interest in just one week. Compare these numbers to the stock market of the Philippines that only generated a year-on-year (from November 2011 to November 2012) return of 26.8%. That’s already considered above average. Time deposits in banks usually offer a measly 1%-3% interest per year, while bonds and bond fund investments offer yields of around 3-6% in a year. Looking at these you can already see that the Aman Future Group is nothing but a fraud offering things that are not realistic 2. What were the returned promised by the scheme? The Aman Future Group promised it’s investors an “investment offerings”. One “investment product” yielded 62% return in just 20 days while another “investment” gave investors 70% interest in just one week. What they are doing is called the “Pyramid Scheme” or “The Ponzi Scheme”. The Pyramid Scheme or the Ponzi Scheme is promising a certain amount of money to its members. For example the recruiter of the scheme will recruit 10 members and those 10 members will give the recruiter a certain amount of money. Those 10 who are recruited will also recruit members so that they can gain profit. This process will continue until the bottom part of the pyramid has insufficient recruits to support them because of its large number.

3. Explain why these returns are not realistic

No genuine investment program can sustain very high returns on investment. Yes, it’s possible to earn 50%, even 100%, in a week if you do stock or futures or forex trading, but this cannot be achieved week after week after week. The concept of “investment” itself carries with it “risk” and part of that risk is the possibility of losing invested capital. Pyramid scheme are destined to fail and collapse. There are only a limited number of people in a community so pursuing a pyramid scheme is impossible to succeed. This will be a waste of time and money if you’re planning to invest.

4. What are the main reasons why individuals were tricked into putting their money on this scheme? We let our greed take over our mind and because of this we can’t think properly. We just let our greed take over the whole situation and the outcome of this is very bad. We need to teach ourselves to don’t believe on things that are unbelievable because it is most likely not true. As a human being we want to reach our goals in our life, one of which is to be wealthy and because of this we will take any opportunities that are given to us even if it is not good. That’s why many of us human beings, especially us Filipinos are falling for these kinds of scam. You can’t blame those people because all they wanted is to support their necessities and their families. They wanted to escape their financial problems and because of this they saw this scheme as a way out of their problems.