The Commission has received information that individuals or group of persons representing SECRET2SUCCESS (S2S) are enticing the public to invest in the said entity online or through the internet.
Based on the information communicated and gathered by the Commission, S2S, headed by Mr. Rafael Garcia De Andres (a.k.a. Coach Raf), allegedly invites people to join S2S by just enrolling in its ONLINE ACADEMY by paying Two Hundred Fifty Pesos (Php250.00), entitling a member purportedly to the following benefits:
1. Online Academy for Financial Education (money management, different marketing strategies in network marketing, how to earn money, manage & grow money, how to invite without rejection, how to invite negative people, how to close 10 or more referrals in just 1 week, and etc.);
2. Best MLM Trainings;
3. Online account to monitor your earnings;
4. Unlimited income up to 85% commission;
5. Paymaya (VISA ATM card/Load Discount);
6. Insurance;
7. Discount on Coach Raf’s other business such as Tshirt; soap, perfume, etc.;
8. Gadget & Travel Incentives; and
9. Free Lifetime Facebook Autoposter.
S2S promises its members income opportunities through its five (5) Ways to Earn, to wit:
1. Referral Commission where a member who recruits another prospective member shall earn an unlimited Forty Pesos (Php40.00) for every referral to the Online Academy;
2. Group Sales Match Bonus where a member who matches two (2) new recruits is entitled to a total of 80 points (65 points in Cash; and 15 points in Product Voucher) for every match. Maximum earnings for 12 pairs per day is Php960.00 or Php6,720 per week or Php28,800 per month. For a maximum account of 31 per member, the latter is entitled as much as Php892,800 commission per month.
3. LineUp Royalty Bonus where a member despite of lack of recruits, may earn as much as Php20.00 on his 15th downline;
4. Company Benefits which will be available once a member hits his/her minimum encashment of Php1,000.00 such as Company Assistance (i.e. 5k Fire Assistance and 25k Life Cover), PayMaya where the same shall be used as an ATM in debiting the S2S’ commissions; and
5. Gadget and Tour Incentives where S2S members who qualifies are entitled to gadgets and/or tour incentives.
In addition, aside from Php250 package (a.k.a. Marketer plan), there is Businessman Package worth Php2.988.00 and Investor Package worth Php15,888.00 which have higher returns and incentives.
Likewise, S2S is starting to promote the use of bitcoins as platform for the investment and/or distribution of commission/bonus.
The public is hereby warned that such investment schemes whether with the use of bitcoins or money are considered as securities subject to the regulatory authority of this Commission. The recruitment of investor members under the guise of sponsoring a person into the system is likewise considered a form of investment solicitation or a sale of securities. The offering or sale of securities to the public without a permit or license from the Commission is a violation of Section 8.1 of the Securities Regulation Code (SRC).
Regarding the use of Bitcoin in the investment scheme, the public is further informed that pursuant to Memorandum Circular No. 944, s, 2017, “The Bangko Sentral does not intend to endorse any VC (virtual currency), such as bitcoin, as a currency since it is neither issued or guaranteed by a central bank nor backed by any commodity. Rather, the BSP aims to regulate VCs when used for delivery of financial services, particularly, for payments and remittances, which have material impact on anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT), consumer protection and financial stability.”
The public is hereby informed that SECRET2SUCCESS or S2S, despite having been registered with the Commission as a corporation, is NOT authorized to solicit investments from the public as it has not secured the necessary license or permit from the Commission as required under Sections 8 and 12 of the Securities Regulation Code (SRC).
Consequently, those who act as salesman, brokers, dealers or agents of SECRET2SUCCESS n selling or convincing people to invest in the investment scheme being offered by SECRET2SUCCESS including solicitations or recruitment through the internet may likewise be prosecuted and held criminally liable under Section 28 of the Securities Regulation Code and penalized with a maximum fine of Five Million pesos (P5,000,000.00) or penalty of Twenty One (21) years imprisonment or both pursuant to Section 73 of the SRC.
Accordingly, those who invite or recruit other people to join or invest in this venture or offer contracts or securities to the public may be held liable or accordingly sanctioned or penalized in accordance with the Supreme Court decision in the case of SEC vs. Oudine Santos (G.R. No. 195542, March 19, 2014).
In view thereof, the public is hereby advised to exercise caution before investing in these kinds of activities and to take the necessary precaution in dealing with SECRET2SUCCESS or its representatives.
Should you have any information regarding the operation of the subject entity, please call the Enforcement and Investor Protection Department at telephone numbers 818-6047.
For guidance of the public.
Related: [List] SEC Warning to the Public Against the Following Entities
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