SEC warns public on investment scam related to agriculture

Promising 50% profit

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has bared an investment scam related to agriculture sector, enticing potential investors to pour in money in "virtual farming" where they can easily earn as much as 50 percent in profit.

In its recent advisory, the Commission advised the public against FarmOn Agricultural Production (FarmOn).

Through its website (http://www. farmon.ph), FarmOn is inviting investors to invest in an agricultural enterprise by "providing investors or players with virtual space where they may experience farming for real" and earn at least "50 percent in the profit" from the sale of their crops and livestock.

An investor's investment would correspond to specific crops and livestock which real farmers would cultivate in actual farms.

On its website, FarmOn is claiming to have "revolutionized" the farming sector by giving everybody the chance to farm without really having to leave their present occupation.

"FarmOn may seem to be a mere game console to many. But at the heart of it, you can see that it is a movement that will revolutionize farming in the Philippines and later on making us become self-sufficient in agricultural production for the generations to come," Teodulo Otoman II, Managing Director of FarmOn, said on the "Message from the Founder" portion of the website.

"Through FarmOn, we shall create a new organic farming culture which will involve the whole Filipino community and bring on a new generation of farmers," it added.

But according to SEC, FarmOn is not a registered company or a partnership.

"The public is informed that FarmOn is not registered with the Commission as a corporation or as a partnership. There being no primary license, it is likewise not authorized to solicit investments which requre a secondary license as provided under Section 8.1 of the Securities and Exchange Commission," the Commission specified.

"The public is advised to exercise self-restraint from investing their money into such high-yield high-risk investment scheme and to take the necessary precaution in dealing with individuals representing the above-named entity," it added.

SEC further told the public that if they have more information or concerns about FarmOn, they should contact the agency's Enforcement and Investor Protection Department (EIPD).

FarmOn has been sought for comment but they haven't got back to Business Bulletin yet as of posting time.