Ponzi scams and celebrity endorsers

EYES WIDE OPEN

- IRIS GONZALES

The surprise arrest of actress Neri Naig has once again put the spotlight on the prevalence of get-rich-quick schemes in the Philippines. Proponents of these fraudulent investment activities have been luring innocent people to invest their hard-earned money with them.

As it turns out, part of their scheme is to use celebrity endorsers to make their products or offerings more attractive and popular.

This, according to Neri's husband Chito Miranda, was what happened to Neri, who was merely an endorser of Dermacare-Beyond Skin Care, the company at the center of the controversy.

This is not the first time that a celebrity endorser got embroiled in such a scandal. There was also Ricardo Cepeda who spent 11 months in jail because of a syndicated estafa charge lodged against him for being a brand ambassador of a company that turned out to be fraudulent. Luis Manzano was also dragged into something similar but managed to clear his name.

My sources said Neri herself went to the Securities and Exchange Commission last year when there were already complaints about Dermacare to explain that indeed, she was just an endorser.

The SEC had warned her then that the company she was endorsing was engaged in the illegal sale of securities.

Against this backdrop, it is unfortunate that endorsers like Neri are behind bars while the main proponents of these investment scams are still out there.

The SEC must work double time to bring the masterminds to justice. This would send a message to others engaging in similar activities that they could end up in jail.

Greed

At the core of all this is greed for easy money. Both proponents and victims want easy money.