From: OngBak3
Subject: 8,000 fall for get-rich scam
They invested in firm that claimed to be a junket operator and offered
500% returns
GEORGE TOWN - ABOUT 8,000 people across Malaysia have fallen prey to a
get-rich-quick scam that promised returns of as much as 500 per cent
on their investments.
They suffered losses of millions of ringgit after investing in a
company which convinced them that it was a profit-making junket
operator.
Junket operators are middlemen who, for a fee, bring in high rollers
from all over the world to casinos' VIP tables. The company claimed it
was also paid commissions each time the high rollers bought chips to
gamble.
Up to 30 per cent of the commissions was to be shared among the
investors, according to two victims who claimed they were cheated of
about RM4.5 million (S$1.8 million) by the company.
Former manufacturing manager R. Prakash, 46, who lost about RM3
million, said that in the beginning the company paid investors the
returns as promised. This prompted him to increase his investment
amount and persuade his friends to join the scheme, he said at a press
conference at the Consumers Association of Penang office here last
Friday.
'Everything seemed genuine and I even went on 10 free trips to Macau
from the time I joined in December 2008 to September last year.
Everything was complimentary, from the food to the lodging,' he said.
'I also received gifts such as Rolex watches, diamond rings and
bracelets as inducements to make me invest even more,' he said.
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