Ponzi scheme operator ‘elopes’ with over 500 customers’ cash

With the present economy of the country, some individuals have been pushed to run to ponzi scheme for succor. However, in recent times there has been a lot of negative news from the so called “miracle” schemes.
New reports have it that over 500 residents of Umuahia who are customers of a Ponzi scheme called Digital Currency have been thrown into confusion and tears as the scheme operator closed business abruptly with millions of customers’ cash in its possession.

The Ponzi scheme office located at the Umuahia Urban Plaza along Club road started operations in January 2018 but abruptly closed shop, leaving many people who had come to claim their money stranded and confused, the Nation reports.

It was gathered that some of the customers who had come to claim their money had attempted to break the shop after several attempts to reach the official phone number of the scheme operator failed but were repelled by the officials of the plaza.

One of the victims, who identified herself simply as Glory, said that her friend was paid last week before the unfortunate incident.

Glory who claimed to have invested about N50,000 in the scheme said she was due to be paid 10% of her investment after one week, only to meet their shop closed.

She said:
“I actually did the MMM thing, but after what happened, I decided not to get involved in anything ponzi again. My cousin who invested twice and was paid persuaded me to try my luck. After having listened to her and other persons who also testified to being paid by the scheme, I decided to try my luck. “I came here this morning just like every other person who was supposed to be paid today only for us to meet their shop locked. Many people have gone, it is just a few of us that you are seeing here were still waiting to see if there could be a miracle. Their number has not been going and that is the only line that you can reach them on.”

Another victim also claimed that she invested N200,000 into the scheme and wondered why she has been so unlucky with anything associated with Ponzi and lottery.

She recounted her ordeal: “Others played MMM and GetHelp and were paid. But when I tried my luck in MMM and GetHelp, my money went missing. Now, I have tried my hands on this one and yet they have made away with my money. “This is a money I was hoping to use to buy some of the things that I would need for my saloon shop after being assisted by my brothers to raise some money for the saloon project. “My life is shattered and I don’t know what to do at this moment. What really surprised me was that they were paying people even when I made my deposit.”

“But what happened and why they suddenly closed shop is still a surprise,” a source who gave her name Gift stated.

It can be recalled that the Senate urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigerian stock exchange and the Nigerian deposit insurance corporation to launch awareness campaigns telling Nigerians not to invest in bitcoins.

The upper chamber of the national assembly resolved to urge the CBN, NDIC and the NSE ”to make an unequivocal statement across all the news platforms in all dialects on the dangers of bitcoins as a store of value in Nigeria.”

The Senate also called on the national orientation agency to ”spread the news against all forms of wonder banks and Ponzi schemes operating in Nigeria.”