Sunshine Empire - Too Good To Be True?
Blogged By: Low Hang Wei @ October 2nd, 2007 - 4:38 pmIf you have heard of Sunshine Empire, then you would know of the insane returns that they have been projecting. While most of their merchants do acknowledge that these returns are not guaranteed, it does not change the fact that many people who buy into the program are expecting those returns. Many people are unaware of the potential risks of putting their money in a program like Sunshine Empire.
Firstly, the benefit illustration that their merchants are using in their presentations exceed a 100% annualized return, which is around three to five times the performance of top investors like Warren Buffett and Peter Lynch. That alone is enough ground for people to shout ‘too good to be true’. Additionally, their customer rebate program sounds just like a Ponzi scheme, since it basically takes only 10% of membership fees to rebate current members. In short, people who joined later are paying people who joined earlier. In order for a ponzi scheme to sustain, the amount of members need to grow at an exponential speed month after month. That alone is enough reason to drive rational investors away.
However, I recently decided to get a slot in Sunshine Empire and paid for the membership fees and GP fees of $11,800 just today.
Do I think that it’s a wise investment to make?
Not a chance, Sunshine Empire is not even recognised by MAS as an investment vehicle in the first place.
Would I refer anyone to put their money in Sunshine Empire?
Fat hope, why would I refer anybody to something that I do not think is a wise investment.
Why did I put my money in Sunshine Empire then?
- The desire to grow my money made me blind.
- While their customer rebate program sounds like a Ponzi scheme, their customer loyalty program does make a bit of sense. If you don’t know what these are, don’t bother to find out, since I do not recommend anyone to put their money in.
- This amount of money is what I made in investments for the year and I can afford to lose them.
Basically, the last point is the most important point. Never put your money in these type of schemes if you cannot afford to lose them. I sincerely feel that this whole thing is very risky, but I’m willing to take the risks. I don’t know about you, but my advice to anyone would be… stay away unless you are prepared to part with your money forever.
Blogged Under: Income Opportunities
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May 15th, 2008 at 5:48 pm
but the fact is.. wifi build by emcom has completed and is giving out trail now… so its very contridict to wat the news has been reported and at the same time.. everyone has been recovering their money BEFORE cad step in… so i really wonder.. wat the hell is going on.. well.. since stuck with se hav no idea when can get money back where as jump into em max still get chance… so if for me..hahaha..! i would not wait …
so i think its time to see wat CAD and MAS is up to…
i won’t comment for a person’s bad history.. for no one is born to be champ from the very beginning.. just like china in the past and now…just like singapore in the past n now and the japan in the past and now… look at the issue n not the person…
May 15th, 2008 at 5:42 pm
but the fact is.. wifi build by emcom has completed and iw giving out trail now… so its very contridict to wat the news has been reported and at the same time.. everyone has been recovering their money BEFORE
May 14th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
this website is crap…post still need to be moderated.. it means.. it only fills with what it wans to show here…
May 14th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
The key thing is that SE’s accounts have been frozen. And there shd be no transaction whatsoever at least for Singapore’s SE. It does sound fishy that Emmax is set up with SE members in mind (they probably want to set up another company to continue business, etc). The thing that has been bugging me is the time taken by MAS / CAD to do the investigation and little progress has been done.
May 13th, 2008 at 11:20 pm
MAS is the monetary governing body of Singapore. CAD is a branch of the Police.
They won’t anyhow investigate people, especially commercial entities. When they freeze accs means something is very suspicious.
Seriously just check the background of Phang. See if he can be trusted.
May 13th, 2008 at 11:17 pm
Ask around. How many people had recovered their capital before “cad froze accounts”?
If accounts got froze, how did people still buy GPs from it?
What happened to Emcom taichung they were so enthusiastically promoting few mths ago? Say WILL earn XXX in YYY mths?
May 13th, 2008 at 7:57 am
Emmax is set up to facilitate the returning of members’ $$$ because MAS has indefinitely frozen SE’s accounts.
This sentence really doubting !
May 12th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
My upline said that SE is not closing down per se. Emmax is set up to facilitate the returning of members’ $$$ because MAS has indefinitely frozen SE’s accounts.
The key issue now is, what is taking MAS so loooong? No news of any progress at all! Best part is, James Phang’s passport has been returned to him. Does that actually mean anything?
May 9th, 2008 at 12:41 am
Sunshine Empire Website is sold to somebody in Dubai, and they are closing all offices in Malaysia and Singapore,because they started new company em-max for East Asian countries ….
May 5th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
they are all lier… all those poor bastard will trust “THEIR” father (James Phang)? And u might not study history too , Hitler was the guy that start tell his citizen that everyone in Germany is his SON. so probably YOUR father follow someone and who is the loser is those ppl that think that they could earn money fast but they still stuck in that place… without a government’s excess then how could a damn small company wanna build so many stuff in asia. DREAMING AGAIN.
May 4th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
sorry for many typo error…such as harder is hard.. etc..hahaha..! type too fast..
May 4th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
miss out one thing.. even if its stolen note..who cares man? but once again..wat if the serial number is recorded down? u will think.. no one will be so careful to check the serial number lah…and so on.. on this point.. let ask u again.. do u really care abt the history of this thousand dollar note? i dare say.. majority of u won’t..
May 4th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
think everone is going to crazy abt this SE issue liao… show this and show that..why not ask other lady to show u that she is a virgin to u when u r not he one marring them and the lady need not answer to u?
ppl here r not toking sense..just base on rational..emotion and leave the brais behind… and forum are just nuts.. cos ppl in forum need not be responsible for their own action..anyhow bom can liao.. sue u sue them sue anyone.. and very soon.. u will realise u will be the one su(lost)… be a smart singaporean and think… the basic logic is “when there is a arguement.. everyone one say things that only defend themselves” but many ignorance ppl just believe what ppl just say in the air.. bo bian.. thats how things begins to get messy… look at it..is everyone doing thingd really fair and square? u or anyone? the answer is no one. money only those who minds and power.. o matter who earns it. so long its customer earns/get wat it promise can liao wat.. do u really bother that much? for example.. if u step on a thousand dollar note..probably u only think if it is real or fake note.. but ever wonder if it is stolen note?
I think CAD already hav all they cn get ..which include satistic acounts etc liao…stop slendering anyone here.. for ask urself fro mthe very beginning.. be itSE supporter and non SE supporters.. are u happy with the result today? ever happy? challenging ppl to make police report and making police report and in the end no one earns anythings…happy?? i dare ee the gov also not happy.. y?they got pressure from public..non SE cannot stop JP..SE ppl no money..and those not in these 3 group. are those who worries for their friends or family members who got stuck in SE.. halo..some REALLY wake up calls…wat r u all trying to proof? “ee wat i say is right?” ya. even if so .. what good does it do for u? if u all really that smart… y not u be the one who save ppl from having better life? and if life is really good .. no one will join JP for whatever plan he got isn’t it? so stop argueing here liao…there is no point at all…if ppl here really care abt others.. just em max run the whoe show..hopefully earn enough to refund the money…think this way.. at least the gov will get lesser pressure from the public..public got money back to spend in singapore and ppl who worries abt their friends or family also off the load and if anythings happen.. let em max got no excuse…
anyway.. i will say.. even if em max don’t exist (remain in SE)… it will be harder to get back money… just look at NKF..that person in jail.. but where has the money he took goes to? charity or return back to the donators? remain in his bank? or some top secret person? so jump or not jump..just leave it to the person involve with SE.. no one has the right to advice them to jump or not from outside..
is this really a graceful city? and (something to laugh abt) i think the judge in the justice court is going to worry for his/her rice bowl.. cos many ppl here supposely pressume they can take over their position.. hahaha..!
May 3rd, 2008 at 6:02 pm
I heard that SE is not closing down per se. it is because since the $$ is frozen, we will have to wait till ‘CAD happy’ before they release the funds. So, instead of waiting indefinitely for CAD to complete their investigations, it is ‘better’ to transfer the account to the HK side because the HK side is still functional and $$ is rolling in. So, in abt 10 months (minimum projection), they will gather enough $$ to refund the accounts. So in that sense, they are giving the members an assurance that the $$ is not gg down the drain (they claim).
Actually, my upline himself didn’t know the matter very clearly. It was my upline’s upline whom I met. He was said to have just returned from HK (last month when I signed the form) and that the HK market is gg strong.
The form that I signed was something like I agree to quit SE (which will be approved immediately) and I would like to transfer my account to the HK company (whatever the name is). The forms will then be sent to HK’s HQ and be approved.
This whole thing sounds very solid at the beginning. They seem to care abt how members feel abt their $$ and they make it sound like they are trying their best to return the $$. When I discussed the matter with my friend, he said that maybe the HK side is just an empty shell for us to transfer the acounts over. Since done, Singapore can’t do anything abt it.
Now, the whole HK option starts to sound extremely fishy.
May 2nd, 2008 at 9:35 pm
Harry:
If the money goes to HK and something happens, you might not be able to get it back so easily. JP claims he doesn’t know about Emmax? We’ll see what happens.
Did your upline say why SE is closing down?
May 2nd, 2008 at 9:32 pm
LEGALLY Phang may not part of it. he can get anyone to register it. Means in the company records it’ll list whoever as CEO or what and Phang will be “consultant”. Like SE / EGA
I would never trust any company which has any link to James Phang.
Just check his background.
May 2nd, 2008 at 1:50 am
I heard from my upline that the forms that members are supposed to fill in to transfer their accounts to HK has been confiscated by CAD. I didn’t think so much when I signed the form and after that I was worried because transferring it to HK means that CAD cannot do anything. Good that now it is confiscated. I probably won’t sign the form again even though my upline is planning to let members sign a new one.
But why is CAD is not making any progress at all? Do they really need so long to complete the investigation? It’s been months!
And Why James Phang claimed that he duno abt the HK option? How can he not know? Especially when I heard from my upline that he has been released by the CAD with passport back.
May 1st, 2008 at 11:27 pm
multi-sequel bad movies
May 1st, 2008 at 3:13 pm
Is EmMax thrustworty???who knows it is just another way out to lur ppl to hk
May 1st, 2008 at 3:11 pm
Got to know abt EmMax too…but howcome
JP said in stimes that he dont know anything abt it…?????
May 1st, 2008 at 11:26 am
I’ll just sit back and watch the show. NOP, NTI, Magic Kingdom, NTI changes name to SE, EGA, now Emmax.
It’s like watching a multi sequel movie.
April 30th, 2008 at 10:12 pm
CAD perhaps want to sue both the person who say that & also sue SE ?
April 30th, 2008 at 9:29 pm
The most slanderous thing I’ve heard was someone claiming that CAD decided to clamp down on SE cos “govt dont want too much funds going out” what utter crap.
April 29th, 2008 at 9:02 pm
hahaha
April 29th, 2008 at 6:27 pm
Our dear you-know-who can’t produce proof about their own projects. Pot calling kettle black? Ma bu zhi lian chang?
Someone said CAD is investigating cos “SE invited them to do so”… someone said Miss Lorna Tan “has bad blood with SE”, thats why she exposed them… Slander wor… civil suit wor….
April 29th, 2008 at 8:11 am
color stone, someone will tell you if you have no proof, you cannot say things like that, else it is slander, and subject to civil suit. You know who i am referring to
April 28th, 2008 at 11:45 pm
Whatever is done cannot be undone. What’s important is lesson learnt & not repeat the same mistake. Be gd to yourself & others, do not cheat nor be cheated!
Before making any investment, handle your hard-earned $ “with care” by:
1) Doing research on product, company & buyer’s protection
2) Getting 2nd / 3rd Opinion
3) How much risk / uncertainty involved? Worst case scenario? Be mindful when greed creeps in.
4) Ask yourself: can u sleep well at night?
April 28th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
Well, the sun is setting now, as we had predicted. Now Emmax.. here we go again.
I predict before end of 2009, Emmax will be investigated by HK government, and it will close down before 2012. Wanna bet?
Don’t put money into dubious firms. Don’t ever ever put money into dubious overseas companies. If something happens, a lot of problems to get your money back from an overseas entity.
April 28th, 2008 at 4:08 am
Hi all…Sunshine Empire is now HISTORY as it’ll be closed down for good but replacing SE will be EM-MAX and sorry to say it’s just the same like SE run by the conman James Phang.
I really do not understand why the authorities couldn’t nail these people as they’re real con artist.Is the govt really so INCOMPETENT???
April 27th, 2008 at 11:08 am
color stone, yes Phang is the Robin Pui, who want to close up the gap between the rich & him only!
April 26th, 2008 at 6:10 pm
Oh you should take a look at Sgforums. Its… beyond logic. Someone says Phang is “Robin Hood” and wants to “close gap between rich and poor”. WTF?
April 26th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
And if we have people still promoting SE at this point of time, this is getting too much! These people never care about others losing their hard-earned money. You know who you are!
April 26th, 2008 at 5:33 am
Mister X,
sorry i just notice, u mean ‘did he get his interest after SE got into trouble?’ for the answer, unfortunately, he get nothing after SE in trouble. and he did as many people gonna guess, he moved his entire team to another company, everything start over and over again.
i agree with with u Mister X, company like SE never survive for long. all they can do is collect as many as fund and escape. if i not mistaken, SE use to tell how many big project they have and how many company join them for good… but all this turn into a question mark. simple as Mr.Low said, the return is too high for a common sense, and its too good to be true.
all the best.
goldfish
April 26th, 2008 at 5:22 am
Mister X,
Hi there, sorry for late reply.
well, according to him, sure he did made profit. any how i believed he did. he have one of the biggest SE group in malaysia, if he not gain profit, i wonder who else did.
well, any one have reliable news and update on SE case?
takecare and all the best.
goldfish
April 24th, 2008 at 10:13 am
Walk up call,
you look around the forum postings, there were good samaritans who wanted to clear up the doubts and misinterpretations but were simply ruthlessly shut down by disbelievers. No matter what they said no one listened with an open mind. How come? Extreme negativity.
Yes, i did have some doubts before but later i did wake up, because when i saw pple posting with extreme negativity without proof, i finally understood why the company was affected.
If you’re one of the affected SE members, by all means i don’t mind assisting u to take back the money, because not only its possible, but it’s just a matter of time. But if you’re not related to SE, yet vehemently spread so much poison without proof, i can only shake my head, because such people are incurable.
The truth will be out one day. And it won’t be from the CAD.
p.s. pls dun ask me to wake up cos if the majority of the pple i talk to agree with my viewpoint, i’m obviously not the least bit delusional.
April 24th, 2008 at 2:27 am
Jeez,
Dun give excuses and blame others for SE’s own failure.
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:49 pm
Hey Jeez, it is time you should wake up!
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:48 pm
Jeez, you look around the forum postings…there are so many doubts & misinterpreting for SE, how come you do not make clarifications for these doubts & misinterpretations? Oh, or your clarification is those critics who post here cause the downfall of SE? HA HA
April 23rd, 2008 at 12:22 am
Point is..money is the root of all evil.
Just chill and enjoy life.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:04 pm
Walk up call,
if u wanna talk about investments, i can refer to u proven ones like Aviva and AIA where u can apply your ‘basic rules’. Let CAD determine whether SE is a disguised investment scheme or not, not you. Unless you’re CAD. If they have not given a verdict yet, what right have u?
But if you wish to add oil to the fire that’s burning, i must say you’re not doing a bad job.
A company gets stuck when sales drop drastically after pple lose confidence. The investigation is 1 factor, but those thoughtless pple adding oil to fire without proof, creating fear in others is another big factor.
April 22nd, 2008 at 9:50 am
Psychologist view: James Phang has inferior complex because of his one-eye. To overcompensate, he exerts a superiority complex and talks big.
Issue: No personal issue. Only issue is people believe what he says.
Resolution: Only when no one falls for his tricks, will he learn his lesson. Otherwise, others have paid for their lessons. Life is fair.
April 21st, 2008 at 11:56 pm
I quote from a post in another forum:
The key phrase is:
“CRP is based on 10% of Sunshine Empire Global Turnover on the e-Mall Platform.”
The e-mall platform (http://www.emallempire.com/) is a dummy.
Here’s the statistics: 10,000 pax x US$750(est.) monthly CRP = US$7,500,000 payout monthly
US$7,500,000 is only 10% of emall sales.
So Total Emall sales monthly is US$75,000,000.
Which, anyone with some brains were to study the emall products, would say that it is easier to squeeze water from rock.
It’s a Ponzi scheme.
April 21st, 2008 at 11:00 pm
Goldfish:
Is your friend earning any money from SE now?
April 21st, 2008 at 10:58 pm
Goldfish:
Hmmm SE using psychological manipulation too? Calling people coward, etc. I thought that was the speciality tactic of Enyouth. Nvrmind that… birds of a feather.
If Sunset Empire is SO great, why don’t they show their balance sheets, financial statements? Show it, advertise in Wall Street Journal, reach out to the world!
If Sunset Empire is SO great, why don’t any of their properties have showrooms, or so I’ve heard?
SE is putting up a show, but giving the “pioneers” lots of returns, and use this to con people out of their money.
April 21st, 2008 at 9:59 pm
Jeez, if we do not talk about investment & returns, then we discuss about? This is a basic rule which everyone must understand and apply.
SE got stuck is because of their questionable model which result in CAD to investigate SE. Not because of the posts here.
April 21st, 2008 at 11:34 am
hi there,
it took me long time to read all the post. well, since the conclusion has not been announce by the authorities, i guess i can’t simply say that SE was scam, but it does facing a big trouble isn’t?
by coincidence, i met a friend last week, who is one of the top-ranking SE leader in malaysia, told me a fact that his group already loss hope with SE, and he glad that he decided to switch his group to another company, just months before SE get into trouble.
well, for my personal opinion, as Mr.Low Hang Wei said, compensation plan from SE is ‘too good to be true’. I comment this to my friend last year in his Benz S Class. and of cause, i was labeled as ‘coward’, ‘loser’, ‘idiot’, etc.
wealth is the main focus in my life, but i do trying hard to find a safer way to get my wealth. even warren buffet can only get about 20% return on his investment annually, what make all of us think we are better than him? i personally trade forex market for 3 yrs and i also, can only promise for 10-20% return monthly. it took me almost 5 yrs to increase my model from 2k to 20k.
i sincerely wish that, if unfortunately SE happen to shut down, every investor can at least get back part of their investment.
may god be with us.
blessing for all of u.
have a nice day.
goldfish
April 20th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
people are willing to risk their money for the sake of high returns.
that’s why drives SE, throw in some ‘legitimate’ looking projects and you make it easier to delude yourself that even if it is a scam, it can still run on and on and on…
unfortunately, you never know when the party is going the end and the last man out is left holding the baby.
in this case which is MLM no matter how you try to disguise it, many people will be left holding the baby.
April 19th, 2008 at 12:29 am
Up till now pple still talk about “investments” and “returns”.
If that’s the kind of off-tangent, careless commentary pple are giving, no wonder SE got stuck. Its all thanks to such pple.
April 18th, 2008 at 10:30 pm
by the way, Jp cannot even compared to our “lao lee”, dun say what warren buffett.
April 18th, 2008 at 10:27 pm
Y keep talking JP saying he self declare better warren buffet? He onli know how to talk big… We know it. By keep saying he and warren like comparing them and i feel damn disgusted. I just feel dat if Warren heard abt it, he will think bad of Sg pple when Jp is just a fucking malaysian. those hu wan to stand up for SE and remaining JP companies pls reply. Let a ex-member share his exp to you. Dun listen to the pple in SE say wat ex-JP members are polluted by pple outside mlm industries when they din do well there. use a empty cup mentality to listen to wat i got and be guilin, if you know wat i am toking abt.