A 24-year-old businessman has lodged a report at the Yan police station in Pendang, Kedah, claiming he is the victim of a forex scam involving about RM3.5 million.
A report in The Star quoted Kedah Commercial Crime Investigation Department chief Supt Chan Teck Paing as saying the businessman had been promised returns of at least 50% every fortnight.
But neither he nor others received any payment. The man was introduced to the scheme in March last year.
“He invested RM50,000 and by March this year, 500 people had also joined the scheme. According to the businessman, the amount deposited by their members totalled about RM3.5 million,” Chan was quoted as saying.
“We found out that the suspect has been using his personal account for the scheme,” he said.
Meanwhile, The Star reported that some of the 10 “generals” who had helped JJPTR founder Johnson Lee recruit members for the investment scheme which collapsed last month do not have faith in his latest scheme.
About 10 “generals” helped Lee recruit investors when he launched the scheme in May 2015.
One of them, a businesswoman, told The Star they did not only promote JJPTR but also invested in it, as it promised a 20% return each month. She claimed to have had about 100 downliners under her.
She said some of the main recruiters had lost faith in Lee and would not be joining a new scheme, also called JJPTR, to be launched by Lee soon.
According to the report this is probably due to recent warnings from the authorities to stay away from such schemes and Lee losing his “magic charm” after the earlier scheme failed and investors lost their money.
She claimed that Lee recently told her she would see returns in two months if she were to invest in his new scheme.
“I’m not willing to part with my money now as I still have about RM300,000 stuck in the failed scheme. Unless I get back some of my capital, I’m not so keen. Actually, I’ve lost faith,” she was quoted as saying.
She said some members of the scheme had said they would not attend a May 20 company dinner even though they had bought tickets costing RM400 each.
The Star report quoted another long-time member, called Ah Gooi, as saying Lee should earn their trust back before launching the new scheme.
He was quoted as saying: “We once believed in him but he betrayed our trust. I convinced about 200 of my family members, friends and colleagues to join JJPTR, saying that it was a good investment plan. Now, every time I see them, I just don’t know what to say.”