SEC uncovers another investment scam

Another investment scam has surfaced, leaving hapless individuals holding an empty bag.

Besieged by complaints from enraged investors, the Securities and Exchange Commission is poised to file a criminal complaint against the owners and directors of the Mateo Management Group or MMG International Holdings Ltd. for fraudulent sale of securities to the public.

Hundreds of investors trooped to the SEC this week to formally file a complaint against MMG for failing to cover promised payments. They complained that the checks issued to them by MMG had bounced and that officials of the pseudo-investment firm have refused to talk to them, keeping them in the dark as to when they could get their money back.

Tomas Syquia, head of the SEC’s Compliance and Enforcement Department, said a criminal complaint is now being prepared against the owners and officers of MMG for selling securities without prior registration with the SEC.

SEC chairman Lilia R. Bautista, for her part, said the Commission will not let the officers and owners of MMG off the hook due to the gravity of the offense committed by the erring firm. "It is not a mere registration of securities problem because it has gone through fraud already. They have failed to pay back their investors," Bautista said.

Headed by engineer Ervin Mateo, MMG has similar operations as Glasglow Collection & Services Inc., Multinational Telecom Investors Corp. (Multitel), and ICS Exports, which offer high interest rates for a minimum placement of P50,000. MMG’s head office is located at the Madrigal Business Park in Ayala, Alabang.

MMG (formerly known as Mateo Management Group Holding Co.) was issued a cease-and-desist order on April 1, 2002 for selling unregistered shares in violation of the Securities Regulation Code. The firm’s motion to lift the CDO was denied by the SEC on April 18, effectively making the order permanent.

Despite the existing CDO, MMG continues to accept investments from the public, most of the whom are located in Cavite, Ayala Alabang, Bacolod, Baguio, Batangas, Bulacan, Cagayan de Oro, Cainta, Rizal, Dagupan, Pampanga, Davao, Iloilo, Las Piñas, and Albay.

MMG also reportedly duped investors from San Diego, California USA, Hong Kong, and Brunei.

One investor reportedly put in P50 million into MMG on the promise of hefty profits. Another invested P3.5 million.

Syquia has urged others who have been defrauded by MMG to come out in the open and file the appropriate charges against the company’s officers. "We’re encouraging the public to file estafa cases against MMG officials," he said.

Prior to setting up MMG, Mateo was part of the Tibayan Mateo Compact Group until he severed his ties in 2000 due to a falling out with his partners.

Mateo has various businesses ranging from gasoline service to real estate development (Mateo Realty). This was the reason why thousands of investors had been lured into MMG’s investment scheme. They felt that Mateo’s assets would be more than enough to cover their investments.

Mateo also has investments in restaurants (Spectrumzone), cemeteries (St. Mathew’s Memorial Garden and Calatagan Memorial Cemetery), hotels (MMG Hotel), appliance store (Compact Appliance Store), rural bank (Rural Bank of Lipa), skin care services and beauty consultancy (Lady-E Salon and Syarikat Roslinah), pawnshop (MMG Pawnshop), cinema complex and department store (MMG Mall), and golfcourse and waterfront facilities (Iloilo Waterfront & Yacht Club).

Apart from this, Mateo is also engaged in financial services, construction, shipping, trading, motorcycle sales (MMG Brunei Sendrian Berhad), construction, air charter services, and film producing and TV production.

In addition, Mateo has a 24-hour convenience store, computer school, purified drinking water firm, travel agency, maternity hospital, and medical clinic, and a promotion and advertising firm.

With the need to earn extra money becoming increasingly urgent, various investment proposals are dangled before the public, promising get-rich-quick schemes with little or no effort on the investor’s part.

SEC said the public should not be swayed by these fast-talking promoters or they may end up with nothing but an empty savings account.