The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has ordered UPSYS Daily Trading to immediately stop offering and soliciting investments from the public, which promise high returns within three months.
In an order released on April 4, the Commission en banc directed the company, which also goes by UPSYS Daily Trading Management OPC and UPSYS Daily Trading Management Consultancy, to desist from engaging in the illegal solicitation, offer, and/or sale of securities in the form of investment contracts without the necessary license from the SEC.
The SEC also barred the firm from conducting any business transactions using the funds held in its depository banks, and from transferring, disposing, or conveying any related assets to ensure that the assets of its investors are safeguarded.
The order covers its director and president Mark Uy Contreras, single stockholder and registered owner and agent John Rey Baldenas Villarino, nominee Michael Reyes Puente, and alternate nominee June Mendoza Samson, as well as all officers, operators, administrators, promoters, representatives, salesmen, agents, investment team planners, mentors, enablers, influencers, assigns, conduit entities, and subsidiaries.
The move follows an investigation by the SEC Enforcement and Investor Protection Department, which discovered that the firm is offering investment packages worth P500 to P150,000 that promise daily returns ranging from 2% to 4% over three months.
Investors stand to earn returns from P900 to P540,000, depending on the package availed, in addition to a 50% direct referral bonus for recruiting members and commissions on referrals made by their respective recruits.
The scheme constitutes the sale and offer of securities to the public in the form of investment contracts. Securities cannot be sold or offered for sale or distribution in the Philippines without a registration statement duly filed with and approved by the SEC.
