There are many warnings and newspaper report on SE. You can visit this forum for all the info you need http://mlmg.sgforums.com/?action=thread_di...d=276414&page=7

When it is on the alert list on SC, it means that SC already investigating the company. Swisscash had been operating for few years before SC got all the evidence it needs to shut it down and sued those people that cheats. Just a matter of time.

You may want to read what Singapore newspaper report on this company



ELECTRIC NEWS

SO WHERE DO SUPER RETURNS COME FROM?
MAS ADVISES INVESTORS NOT TO DEAL WITH BLACKLISTED FIRM
By Alvin Chiang

October 29, 2007




THE returns for this investment is supposedly so 'good' that even famed billionaire investor Warren Buffett can't hold a candle to it.

MrJames Phang, Sunshine Empire's international president, had told The Straits Times in an interview earlier this week that he was a 'legend'.

'I'm very good - better than Warren Buffett,' he declared.


And the company's promises are indeed sweet. It told people at its talk this week that they would get back their $12,000 investment in a year, plus $1,000 every month for the next seven years.

That roughly translates into a 700per cent profit within eight years - compared to Buffet's 21 per cent a year.

That's not all. Each investor would also get $21,000 worth of mobile talktime with Emcall, a local company with links to Sunshine Empire.

The claimed returns are mind-boggling and 20,000 people have signed up here since it was set up last July.

Responding to The New Paper on Sunday's queries, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) advised investors not to deal with Sunshine Empire.

Noting that the company was put on the Investor Alert List last month, a MAS spokesman said 'entities on this list are not authorised by MAS to conduct regulated activities'.

'In making financial investments, we urge all investors to deal only with persons regulated by MAS,' the spokesman said.

'If investors choose to deal with persons not regulated by MAS, they forgo the protection afforded under laws administered by MAS.'

The concern seems to be that Sunshine Empire, unlike other multi-level marketing firms, allows its members to notch up what seem like profits without buying or selling products. This makes its business model look like a pure financial investment scheme.

MrPhang had said that Sunshine Empire is not an 'investment firm'.

If so, then how does it give such super returns to its investors?

A LawNet check showed that MrPhang - described as 'international president' on the company's website - is not listed as a director or shareholder of Sunshine Empire.

It also showed that Sunshine Empire, which changed its name from Niutrend International in January, is a company 'providing entrepreneur and self-improvement courses'.

It has a paid-up capital of $150,000.

On its website, it said it is involved in 'network marketing' and is interested in 'wealth redistribution'.

It also listed offices in Malaysia, Thailand, Korea, Indonesia, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

There are reasons that MAS raises caution to those who guarantee high returns in a short time. In the US, for instance, some get-rich-quick schemes are known as 'Ponzi' schemes, named after convicted conman Charles Ponzi.

He took US$10million ($14.6m) from 10,000 people in Boston in the early 1920s by guaranteeing investors 50 per cent returns on investments in postal coupons after 45 days.

The website of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) noted: 'A Ponzi scheme is essentially an investment fraud... Instead of investing victims' funds, the operator pays 'dividends' to initial investors using the principle amounts 'invested' by subsequent investors.

'The scheme falls apart when the operator flees with all the proceeds, or when a sufficient number of new investors can't be found to allow the continued payment of 'dividends'.'

In other words, money is taken from Ah Kow to pay initial investor Ah Seng. No goods are bought and sold. Neither is the money collected invested in anything.

Ah Kow's position is riskier than AhSeng's as Ah Kow joined the scheme after Ah Seng. This is because the purpose of recruiting AhKow is to pay Ah Seng, but there is no guarantee someone else can be recruited to pay Ah Kow.

But if everything goes smoothly, no one will complain so long as they are paid on time.

Mr Leong Sze Hian, president of the Society of Financial Service Professionals, thinks that such schemes are normally too good to be true.

He said: 'It's very rewarding and lucrative to those who join at the start. But the funds will dry up eventually and the company will close and set up shop elsewhere, or in another country.'

This news from Singapore newspaper will shed some lights on their investment.


The Electric New Paper :

WHAT WATER THEME PARK PROJECTS?

Blacklisted S'pore MLM company unveils lavish M'sian developments. But M'sian authorities say...

THEIR presentation was certainly designed to impress and strike awe.
By Hedy Khoo
29 October 2007

THEIR presentation was certainly designed to impress and strike awe.

With just $12,000, you stand to make many times more by being part of a 'global' company that has stakes in many high-profile projects in the region.

These include a trading portal that is supposedly better than eBay, as well as majestic theme parks in Malacca and Sabah that boast floating villas and underwater hotel rooms.

To prove the point to about 100 people who attended Sunshine Empire's talk last week, a slide show titled Anything Is Possible was shown.

Without any explanation, the audience was shown several pictures, including one of an overcrowded bus in India with some passengers on the roof and others with legs dangling out of the windows.

Another photo showed square watermelons from Japan.

WOULD YOU BELIEVE?

The audience was told: 'To believe or not to believe is up to you.'

Sunshine Empire, a multi-level marketing (MLM) firm, is now on the radar of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Though MLM companies are legal here, MAS has included the firm on its list of unauthorised companies that investors should avoid.

The Securities Commission in Malaysia has also listed Sunshine Empire on its investor-alert list. It advised the public not to make any investment with companies that are not licensed or approved by it.

The commission's website noted: 'Offers often come in the guise of seemingly attractive investment opportunities or schemes and may also be camouflaged as direct-selling or business opportunities.'

In Singapore, a visit to Sunshine Empire's office in Toa Payoh Hub saw several people there holding stacks of cash, presumably to pay for their investment.

One man had a thick stack of Indonesian rupiah.

Earlier, they had been given a brief overview of 'the Empire', as it is called, detailing its ventures in a range of businesses from telecommunications to health to property.

A representative showed various slides of the company's regional projects, including two impressive marine theme park developments in Malacca and Sabah.

Graphics of the park in Malacca showed an intricate network of floating villas and structures on the water which formed the shape of a lion's head. The park also has an adjoining condominium project.

Artists' impressions of the park in Sabah, called The Magic Kingdom, showed a lavish underwater hotel.

An aerial view showed a network of structures in the water which took the shape of an lobster. These structures are purportedly underwater hotel rooms.

'You can open the curtains to your room and see your friends swimming outside,' the representative said.

However, the Malaysian authorities appeared to be unaware of the projects.

When contacted by The New Paper on Sunday, the press secretary to the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment Sabah, MrFrancis Au Chee Thong, said he had not heard about the Empire's plan to build a water theme park in Sabah.

Mr Au said: 'To our Ministry's knowledge, we have no information relating to a water theme park project.

'And, at this point, there is no such project that is under construction or in progress in Sabah at the moment.'

As for the project in Malacca, Datuk Zaini Md Nor, the mayor of Malacca City Council, told The New Paper on Sunday that the council had indeed received an application in August for approval of a piece of 0.87-ha land (slightly larger than a football field).

The land, located at Pekan Klebang, is listed under developer Empire Property Venture, an affiliate of Sunshine Empire. It is supposed to be for a commercial building.

However, the mayor said the application is still being processed.

On the water theme park, Datuk Zaini said: 'No application has been made to the city Council for the building of a water theme park till today.'

Nevertheless, the Empire's projects were not the only thing that impressed visitors.

Its sprawling office on the seventh floor of Toa Payoh Hub exudes opulence. Crystal chandeliers cascade from the ceiling and the marble walls are trimmed in gold.

The company's logo - a lion's head - is imprinted everywhere, from the carpet to a painting spanning an entire wall of the lobby.

At the reception was a stream of people queuing up to hand money to the receptionists. At least two people in the queue held wads of $50 notes.

The New Paper on Sunday had earlier phoned the number listed on the Sunshine Empire website and the woman who answered said it was not an investment company.

She also asked for the name of our 'introducer' and recommended we attend the 8pm presentation.

YOUNG SPEAKER

At the presentation, the speaker was a young woman who appeared to be in her mid-20s. She was dressed smartly in a black blazer over white business shirt and skirt.

The talk took the tone of a motivational speech with the speaker running up from the back of the room to the stage energetically.

The audience of about 50 (with 50 more in another room) appeared to come from all walks of life. There were housewives in their 50s, 20-somethings in office wear and a handful of teenagers. Among them were several people dressed in black suits.

At regular intervals, the speaker would urge the audience to applaud themselves.

She would ask: 'Who is here to learn how to make more money?'

When some in the audience responded with a show of hands, she exclaimed: 'Give yourselves a big round of applause!'

A 17-year-old student, who wanted to be only known as Tan, told us he was approached by a friend from the company two weeks ago.

He said: 'My friend told me about a part-time job with many benefits and I can start with just $2,000.

'All I need to do is to keep the money in the account for 11 months and every month, the company would pay me a sum.

'At the end of 11 months, I would get my money back, and the company would still pay me a monthly sum. My friend said he earned $1,000 in two weeks.'

In the end, Tan said he did not sign up as he did not want to have his money tied up for 11 months.
Copyright (C) 2005 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. Co. Regn. No. 198402868E. All rights reserved.
Privacy Statement and Conditions of Access

MLM man linked to abandoned Indonesian club project
1,000 people lost $2m in the project that was called off just before it opened[/b]
Straits Times, The (Singapore)
Prime News
November 7, 2007
Author: Lorna Tan, Finance Correspondent

MR JAMES Phang, the man behind controversial multi-level marketing (MLM) firm Sunshine Empire, is linked to a failed investment scheme that resulted in 1,000 Singaporeans losing about $2 million in total.

About six years ago, these investors had paid up to $3,800 each to become members of an Indonesian country club, PT Magic Kingdom Island Resort Paradise.

Mr Phang's firm NOP (Number One Product) was the marketing agent for the club, which was never built.

The resort was to have been developed on a 200-ha piece of land in Rempang, which is linked to Batam by bridge, and promised a hotel, chalets, a golf course and even a 1,000-sq-m shopping mall.

Some investors had paid the club membership fees via monthly instalments of $300.

The resort was set to open in July 2003, but the project was called off in May 2003.

It is believed that the investors never received any refund on their investments.

Mr Phang is adviser to Sunshine and founder of Empire Group Alliance, of which Sunshine is an associate.

Recently, Sunshine made headlines after it was placed on an investor alert list by authorities, both here and in Malaysia, as a result of concerns over its business practices.

In response to queries from The Straits Times, Mr Phang confirmed that NOP was marketing memberships of Magic Kingdom around 2001. He said NOP is now inactive.

Mr Phang said he knows many investors believe he is the 'dishonest businessman' behind the project. But he begged to differ.

'I'm a victim of the failed project too. I was the one who reported to the police when the project was abandoned...I collected over $1 million from investors but I lost more than $6 million. I was in debt because of this project but I've paid up almost all of the debt.'

He said the debt included paying off NOP's tax and banks' credit facilities.

Mr Phang said that his younger brother was the chief executive of the project, but declined to elaborate.

He said he never hid the information that he owns NOP. 'I'm not in the wrong and I'm not scared. I stand upright.'

In a letter in 2004 to the 1,000 investors, PT Magic Kingdom blamed the Sept 11, 2001 terror attacks on the United States, the Bali bombings in 2002, the Iraq war and Sars for the project's failure.

Only $16,931 was left in its coffers, it stated.

When contacted, the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) said it had received seven complaints on the failed project. In January 2004, Case met NOP representatives, who said they could not refund investors as it had suffered big losses in the project.

Investors were advised by Case to file their claims in Indonesia, where Magic Kingdom was incorporated. Some investors also filed complaints with the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD). The police were unable to respond to queries on its probe into PT Magic Kingdom by press time.

On Oct 24, The Straits Times cited sources as saying that Sunshine was being investigated by the CAD.

Sunshine has attracted the attention of the authorities as its activities appear to be like a pure investment scheme - but it is not licensed for such operations.

Incidentally, Mr Phang has recently claimed that Empire Group Alliance's property arm is involved in building a marine theme park, called The Magic Kingdom, in Malaysia.

I thought this thread already dead. Since it is up again, you may want to know Spore Govt is officially moving in to investigate the company. All these are reported in the Spore Press

MLM FIRM INVESTIGATED
'Man in black' guards office door

Toa Payoh office closed, visitors refused entry, people inside seen packing
SORRY we are closed. Come back at 7pm or the next day.

By Hedy Khoo
15 November 2007

SORRY we are closed. Come back at 7pm or the next day.

This was what visitors to Sunshine Empire's office were told yesterday.

Inside, people could be seen packing and sealing boxes.

Yesterday, police announced that the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) is investigating the multi-level marketing (MLM) firm, which is located in Toa Payoh HDB Hub.

CAD might also ask those who have placed money with the firm to help in investigations.

Sunshine Empire has reportedly attracted 20,000 people here since it was set up last July.

In September, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) placed the firm on its investor alert list. The list, which is updated regularly, warns people of unauthorised companies which may be offering products regulated by MAS.

A few months back, Malaysia's Securities Commission had also put the firm on its alert list.

When The New Paper visited Sunshine Empire's 7th-storey office yesterday, the glass doors to the back entrance were locked.

At the front entrance, the doors, though unlocked, were kept closed.

Several men in office attire were packing what appeared to be files and papers into boxes and sealing them.

At about 1pm, people who wanted to enter the office were turned away.

A middle-aged couple who tried to go in were told by a man in a black suit that the office was closed for the day.

He told them to return at 7pm or the next day.

When they asked for an explanation, he was overheard telling them that the management was helping with investigations. Later, he told them the management was helping with a survey.

Twenty minutes later, a group of four women turned up.

This time, two women in black suits told the visitors the office was closed, that all classes were cancelled for the day, and told them to return at 7pm.

When the visitors refused to leave and continued probing, one of the women in black answered her impatiently in Mandarin: 'The office is closed. Nobody is here except some managers. You can come back at 7pm when we will open for business as usual.'

NO COMMENT

Half an hour later, the man in black who had been seen earlier returned to stand in front of the entrance.

When The New Paper approached him for an interview, he politely replied that he could not comment.

Multi-level marketing companies are legal here, and they usually invite people to pay cash for the right to market goods to other people, or they get cash for recruiting other marketers.

Sunshine Empire came under the spotlight when it also offered high profits without members having to buy or sell products. This makes its business model seem like a pure financial investment scheme.

Police advise those who have invested in the company to wait for further updates from CAD.

More information will be released in due course.

Copyright, 2007, Singapore Press Holdings Limited

---

Added on November 19, 2007, 10:29 amThe so called investment by SE

SUNSHINE EMPIRE SAGA
NO SUCH DEALS?
THE affairs of some companies linked to Sunshine Empire have come under the spotlight again, this time in Taiwan.
New Paper, The (Singapore)
By Hedy Khoo
19 November 2007

THE affairs of some companies linked to Sunshine Empire have come under the spotlight again, this time in Taiwan.

An 'affiliated company' of SunshineEmpire, Empire Communications Technology (Emcom), has claimed on its website that it plans to invest more than $20million in a broadband project there.

The company, whose registered office is at the Toa Payoh Hub, has 'invested heavily into Taiwan' to build 'a seamless wireless broadband that will cover more than 95 per cent of the city of Taichung'.

It claimed that the project will be completed by the end of this year.

However, a check with the Information Management Section of the Department of Planning of the Taichung City Government showed noevidence of this.

Ms Huang Hui-Ming, chief of the section, told The New Paper on Sunday that Emcom does not have any partnership with the Taichung City government.

She said the company had never contacted its department regarding the broadband project.

Ms Huang noted that while it is true that the city's government plans to build a wireless Internet network, it is part of a project proposed by the Industrial Development Bureau of Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs.

And this government-initiated project is being handled by Asia Pacific Telecom Group (APTG).

Ms Huang said: 'After contacting APTG about Emcom, we understand that EmCom is not involved in the government-funded M-Taichung project.

'As for other plans, such as Emcom's wireless network construction in Taichung, we at the city government cannot confirm itsauthenticity.'

On Sunshine Empire's website, EmCom is listed as an affiliate company.

The Taiwanese official's comment comes in the wake of a Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) probe into the affairs of Sunshine Empire.

Earlier, Sunshine Empire made news when the Monetary Authority of Singapore placed the company on its investor alert list in September.

Malaysia's Securities Commission also put Sunshine Empire on its investor alert list a few months ago.

While it maintains that it is not an investment company, some of its potential members have said that they were told that they could get returns of up to $96,000 in eight years if they put $12,000 into the company.

They claimed they were also shown various business 'projects' that a company, Empire Property Venture, is supposedly involved in, including a Malacca Empire Marine Theme Park and A Magic Kingdom theme park inSabah.

Empire Property Venture is listed as an affiliate of Sunshine Empire on the latter's website. But in an e-mail response to The New Paper on Sunday, Sunshine Empire's Asia Pacific president Jackie Hoo Choon Cheat said the two companies are 'legally unrelated'.

The CAD is now asking Sunshine Empire members to wait for further updates from the authorities and hope they can come forward to help in the investigation.

The authorities in Malacca and Sabah had earlier told The New Paper on Sunday that they have no information on the existence of theseprojects.

'NO PROPOSALS'

When contacted, the Mayor of the Malacca City Council, Datuk Zaini Md Nor, said that to date, they had not received any proposals for such a theme park there.

He added that he had received an application in August for the approval of a plan by Empire Property Venture to build a commercial and residential building of 510 units on 0.87 ha of land (slightly larger than a football field). But this project has not been approved.

The mayor added: 'If any developer begins building without approval from the City Council, we will put a stop toit. It is illegal to build without approval.'

This, however, has not stopped Empire Property Venture from supposedly marketing this development, as well as Empire Theme Park Service Suites and Empire Marina Villas, which are part of the Malacca Empire Marine Theme Park.

According to Empire Property Venture's website, the construction of the theme park and the Sunshine Villa project in Malacca was expected to begin about two months after the ground-breaking event on 9 Sep.

Each project has its own link to its price list and booking status.

That's not all - the company has also put up the Sunshine Villa project's blueprint on its website, indicating that 317 of the project's 510 units have even been sold.

The price of these units ranges from RM100,000 ($43,000) to RM300,000.

When contacted, a receptionist at the Sunshine Empire office in Toa Payoh Hub said the properties were available to the public.

However a receptionist who answered a call made to the Malaysian office of the Empire Property Venture International said the units of all the properties were only available to Sunshine merchants or members.

She said interested buyers had to go to the Sunshine Empire office in Singapore to sign up as a member before getting access to their merchant website to make the purchase of the properties online.

She also said that more than 300units of Sunshine Villa have been sold, with the seaview units fully booked.

When asked if there were any showflats available for viewing, the woman said there were none, but brochures were available online.

She also said there were units available for a higher-end project in Kuala Lumpur called the Empire State Tower.

The brochure on the company's website describes this development to be 'the most prestigious residential address right in the heart of the Golden Triangle Business District of Kuala Lumpur'.

This project which is supposed to be built on Jalan Tun Razak, purportedly has 290 units available for sale, with 147 units shown as 'sold' on the online price list.

However, a check with the City Hall of Kuala Lumpur revealed that no such project is in the works at present.

A spokesman said: 'City Hall Kuala Lumpur has not received any application for a property to be developed at Jalan Tun Razak called the Empire State Tower.'

Copyright, 2007, Singapore Press Holdings Limited

This post has been edited by cuebiz: Nov 19 2007, 10:29 AM

Time to bump up this thread

It is the end of this ponzi scheme

Sunshine chief charged
He and three others are accused of running a fraudulent scheme
http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNew...ory_334011.html

Sunshine Empire head jailed

SUNSHINE Empire kingpin James Phang Wah, 50, painted as a cunning and unscrupulous swindler by the court, was jailed nine years and fined $60,000 for masterminding Singapore's biggest Ponzi scheme.

He was described by the court as a man with no 'principles, scruples and morals' for running a fraudulent company that amassed over $180 million and for faking accounts.

District Judge Jasvender Kaur described his multi-level marketing scheme as a 'premeditated, sustained, sophisticated fraud on a large scale' which no 'unsuspecting mind could have easily seen through'.

Thousands who signed up will likely get little or nothing, as only $21 million has been seized by the authorities.

Only those who invested in the early months of the scheme made some returns, noted Judge Kaur.

Sunshine's bosses knew the scheme 'would go the the wall', yet Phang and the company's former director Jackie Hoo Choon Cheat helped themselves to millions.

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/S...ory_559812.html