In what may be another case of Ponzi scheme, a 21-year-old man, who claimed to be an investment banking expert, has been arrested by Special Fraud Unit (SFU) of Lagos state police command for diverting investors’ funds worth over N2 billion.
The suspect named Dominic Joshua Ngene, who is the managing director of an investment company, Brisk Capital Limited, was arrested following petitions to the unit by several investors and after verified intelligence gathered on his activities including banking records emerged, DailyTrust reports.
Joshua, who is a native of Ebonyi state but was bred in Cross River state, operates from Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital, according to police.
CP Anderson Bankole, who is in charge of Police Special Fraud Unit (PSFU), in a statement, said the suspect lured his victims on social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and Linkedin, as well as via newspaper publications.
In the publications, the suspect claimed to be a financial investor of repute and that he managed funds for over 100 individuals and companies.
The CP explained that the victims were conned to invest in Bitcoin, forex trading, real estate and oil and gas with a promise of prompt and accurate 60 per cent Return on Investment (ROI) per month on every sum invested, plus a guarantee of the invested principal.
It would be recalled that MDB in a recent report about how to easily detect Ponzi schemes stated that extraordinarily high “guaranteed” returns is used to attract investors.
According to the report;
Ponzi schemes usually offer abnormally high and “guaranteed” ROI of more than 20% per annum and some go as far as promising to pay profits monthly. The attractive returns are used to lure investors to invest in their supposed products. However, even the most powerful and established financial investment companies never give their investors any guarantees.
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In addition;
If you promised high returns on your investments no matter what the circumstances are, it’s likely a fraud. There is no such thing as guaranteed returns in this world, even the money in your savings account, because there is always some degree of risk to every investment.
Bankole said;
The funds which belong to over 500 investors was diverted to sponsor extravagant lifestyle, parties, exotic cars, luxury watches and real estates in Abuja, Lagos and PortHarcourt.
He added that the suspect confessed to the crime but pleaded to be given time to return the monies.
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Some of the properties/items purchased with the diverted funds have been recovered as exhibits while the suspect will be charged to court as soon as the strike by Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) is called off.
Bankole then advised the public to be wary of investment/portfolio managers that promise very high returns on investments.
Olalekan Ajimoti – Blogger, Content Writer, and Digital Marketer helping brands and retailers build 8-figure e-commerce since 2016.
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