The Securities and Exchange Commission showed its teeth again with officers of Tagum City-based Rigen Wellness Product Marketing who have been sentenced to life in prison for syndicated estafa because of unauthorized investment-taking activities. In a statement, the SEC said the Tagum City Regional Trial Court Branch 2 convicted Rico John Colorines Garcia and King Paul Bryan, chief executive officer and auditor of Rigen Marketing, respectively, for the crime of syndicated estafa in two criminal cases dated April 11 and May 2. Garcia and Auditor were sentenced to the penalty of life imprisonment in both cases, alongside payment of actual damages totaling P2.01 million and moral damages amounting to P120,000, plus an interest of 6 percent per annum. Their co-accused Rosenda Colorines Garcia, Christine Palijo, Romen Samuel Wabina, and Jemeilyn Tacay remain at large. The cases stemmed from the complaints of two individuals who were enticed to invest in Rigen Marketing, after it allegedly promised income returns of up to 400 percent within a span of 30 days. Rigen Marketing claimed that profits were generated from investments in cryptocurrency and foreign exchange trading. “It has been held that where one states that the future profits or income of an enterprise shall be a certain sum, but he actually knows there will be none, or that they will be less than he represents, the statements constitute an actionable fraud where the hearer believes him and relies on the statement to his injury,” the court held. The court noted that Rigen Marketing employed fraud when Garcia, Auditor, and its officers pretended to have the authority to solicit investments from the general public when it did not have such authority. “[T]he promised high-yielding venture was unsustainable, as Rigen Marketing was not really engaged in any legitimate business,” the decision read. Section 1 of Presidential Decree No. 1689 provides an additional punishment of life imprisonment for the crime of estafa, as provided in Articles 315 to 316 of the Revised Penal Code, if committed by a syndicate consisting of five or more individuals if the defraudation results in the misappropriation of money solicited by corporations/associations from the general public. “The totality of the testimonies of the witnesses, documentary evidence on record, and findings of the SEC all point to both accused Garcia and [Auditor] as the perpetrators of a grand scheme to defraud investors of their investments in their company, Rigen Marketing,” the court ruled. The SEC has warned the public against investing in Rigen Marketing as early as May 24, 2019 through an advisory posted on its website. The Commission subsequently issued a cease and desist order on June 11, 2019, directing the group to stop engaging in investment solicitation activities unless it secures the necessary licenses from the Commission. The Commission is actively prosecuting 375 individuals in 56 cases for violations of Republic Act No. 8799 or the Securities Regulation Code, and three cases for violations of the RPC.