Editing by Nathaniel Cajuday

After the SEC issued a public advisory about Lele Gold Farm and tagged its investment scheme as Ponzi, known social media influencers and content creators have been said to remove their content about the game. Opinions were divided on the SEC’s advisory, with some praising it and others viewing the Commission as an adversary. Is the SEC acting in the best interest?

Following the advisory issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against LELE GOLD FARM/LELE GOLD COIN/GOLD FARM and its illegal and Ponzi scheme-like investment solicitation activities, known social media influencers and content creators that promoted the mobile game are said to have removed their content about Lele Gold. The advisory also garnered different reactions from the public. 

Lele Gold Farm is a mobile application that can be downloaded from the Google Play Store, which offers investors to earn money by just playing games and inviting others to also join the game. 

The Facebook post published by BitPinas regarding the news has been flooded by netizens sharing their thoughts concerning the advisory; comments appear divided, with some expressing surprise and disappointment, while others claim to have known about the scheme’s fraudulent nature. 

One of the commenters in the post stated that the Commission was just flagging the entity to earn money through taxes and was just displaying “crab mentality” as the application was gaining traction with the people:

“Ito ang problema sa Pilipinas, kapag my sumikat lang na source of income ay ilista agad ng Securities and Exchange Commission Philippines as Scam…para ano? Sila ang magkapera? Kasi dapat nakabayad ito sa kanila para kumita sila? CRAB MENTALITY nga naman. Ang daming nailista ng SEC na hindi naman talaga scam pero dapat mag close kasi nga ‘Illegal’ ang operation kahit na nakatulong sa bayan. Kung kilala niyo si Xian Gaza, nagreklamo din (‘yun) kasi (yung) XNC niya (ay) scam daw… eh hindi naman; talagang gusto lang nila magbayad. Meron din akong isang kilala, ganun din nangyari. Nag-close sila, pero my source talaga, dahil lang sa na-brand sila ng SEC as scammer.”

[“This is the problem in the Philippines, if a project is popularized and becomes a source of income for some Filipinos, the SEC will immediately list it as a scam project. For what? For them to collect the money? Because the Commission wants these projects to pay them and will be the one who earns. It is a purely crab mentality. There are a lot of projects out there that the SEC has not tagged as scams but should be closed because they are operating illegally, even if these projects are helping the community. As you know, Xian Gaza also complained because his XNC was tagged as a scam, which it is not, the SEC just really wanted Gaza to pay due taxes. I also know someone, who closed their business because SEC branded their entity as scammer, but they really have the source of income.”]

The netizen who commented above was talking about Xian Coin, or XNC, the cryptocurrency coin launched by the self-proclaimed “pambansang scammer” Christian “Xian” Gaza, which was flagged by the SEC in 2021 for illegal solicitations of investments. 

Another agreed with the prior comment stating that the regulators seeing everything new as a form of scam keeps the country from progressing. Then, another one stated that “non-believers will soon cry.”

Despite the support the platform is still receiving, the streamers that initially joined the bandwagon and promoted the application are now deleting their content, according to one netizen. In December when the application started to make noise on social media, a Reddit user collected data that shows how several streamers eagerly endorsed Lele Gold farm. 

On the other hand, others have been explaining why the Commission flagged Lele Gold farm, insisting that the platform is implementing a Ponzi scheme. It is a fraudulent strategy that takes money from new investors to be used in paying “fake profits” to prior investors and is designed mainly to favor its top recruiters and prior risk takers and is detrimental to subsequent members in case of scarcity of new investors.

“Nakakaawa ‘yong bina-bash ang SEC, tapos, ‘pag nag-rugpull sumbong kung saan-saan. Bago ka mag-invest, isipin mo san (nila) nakuha ng pera na pang cash out? Kadalasan, ‘yung naca-cash-out mo galing do’n sa mga bagong papasok. Pag wala nang nag-invest, wala na silang papa-cashout. Mas maging mausisa na sana tayo,” a netizen stated.

[“Pity on those who are bashing the SEC; if the project is rugpulled, they will complain anywhere. Before you invest, just think first about where those projects get the money for cash outs. Mostly, the money that you earn came from new investors. And when there will be no more investors in the project, they will not have the money for cash outs. We should be stricter in things like this.”]

However, some netizens pointed out that Lele Gold Farm is an online casino and does not necessarily profit from invitations. Nonetheless, under the Interactive Gaming Act of 2003, the issuance of Philippines Online Casino Licenses is regulated by the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority and upon checking, Lele Gold Farm and its affiliations are not registered or licensed to operate as an online casino in either CEZA or The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR).

Accordingly, as the advisory stated, the SEC is encouraging the public to be cautious of investment scams such as LELE GOLD FARM/LELE GOLD COIN/GOLD FARM and to always do their due diligence on any investment opportunities before investing.

Last year, several Filipinos fell victim to investment applications, and the Philippine National Police – Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG) reminded the public to be cautious when dealing with investment offers and be wary of fake cryptocurrency investments.

In November, around 1,000 individuals fell for an alleged investment scheme leveraging cryptocurrency through a mobile application. Most of the victims invested hundreds of thousands of dollars and even their life savings. (Read more: Alleged Crypto Scam Deceives 1,000 Victims )

In another report, a man also lost a total of ₱230,000 after he was enticed to invest in an online application. The victim identified the application as Flint.com.ph—which brands itself as the “first,   tech-enabled low-cost Philippine Real Estate Crowdfunding Platform and allegedly South East Asia’s largest business financing platform.” 

(Check out more SEC Advisories on BitPinas.)

This article is published on BitPinas: SEC Advisory vs Lele Gold Farm Draws Mix Reactions From Public, Influencers Allegedly Remove Lele Gold Content

Disclaimer: BitPinas articles and its external content are not financial advice. The team serves to deliver independent, unbiased news to provide information for Philippine-crypto and beyond.

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Filed under: Bitcoin - @ January 17, 2023 4:00 am