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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January 26th, 2008 at 9:58 am
Precisely! we must help our own Singaporeans from falling into such scams…CAD this time must really do something!
January 25th, 2008 at 11:14 pm
I should have stopped my mum to put her hard earn money…into…she looks sad everyday….
What a sad episode…and to those retirees with all of their CPF money…into drains
January 21st, 2008 at 11:07 am
I’m interested to know a few things:
1) Where does SE put money into? Emcom, emall, EPV, or somewhere else? All “investors” or whatever term they use agents, merchants have the right to know this. The excuse they give is “private limited company”
2) What is SE’s monetary payout now
3) Is it true it’s still accepting payments?
January 21st, 2008 at 9:11 am
JA, it will be a “peaceful” CNY indeed…cos no accountability no payout from SE !
January 21st, 2008 at 2:15 am
can this be a peaceful CNY season?
January 20th, 2008 at 9:07 pm
Sunshine Forever, will your friends whom you “psycho” them to join come after you and red stone if red stone stop paying you & your friends?
If you alone loses money to scam is just too bad, but where is one’s conscience when one’s friends & relatives suffer same fate?
January 20th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
Sunshine Forever, say I was to say I’m building 100 storey condo on Pulau Tekong, and my ROI is 1000%, would u put money with me? And would u come after me if I were to stop paying you saying my plan to build 100 storey condo on Tekong was not approved and I had went bankrupt?
January 19th, 2008 at 8:51 pm
red stone, you must say someone from SE finally admitted SE is a scam
January 19th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
looks like someone finally admitted SE is scam!
January 18th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
Money does not fall from the sky, dear folks and hence, I support the owner of this blog in his comments…I am also in the Banking & Finance industry and there is no legal form of investment which has yield such highly impossible profits without having to achieve any sales target or whatsoever…so my advice to Sunshine supporters is….read up and be educated about the real finance world first before claiming to be more knowledgeable than anyone here…or wait a minute, you are still gagged up by your over-domineering superiors? =)
January 18th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
Ah, Sunshine Forever, you had admitted that SE is a scam! This is great evidence.
So, can I take your money, say $100K and run away later, giving it to my friends, who also ran away… Would you be angry?
Phang Wah had cheated thousands of people millions of dollars. Not only that he’s a bloody cult father who gives people false hopes. He deserve to be condemned again and again. This is not the first time he’s involved in scamming people. What’s so great about him that people still worship him?
Oh, I’m wrong. He’s great. A great scammer!
January 18th, 2008 at 8:55 am
Sunshine forever…how can you say we curse him? This is a matter of fact! He cheated many singaporeans of their hard-earned money, not just this time only…have you think about those poor singaporeans who got cheated?
And you say who’s fault when the scam is exposed? 0f course him! Definitely not the media. The media have done a good deed by publicity, to prevent more singaporeans from such scams! He is the one who started all these scams, and you are blaming the media for his scams? Strange you!
January 18th, 2008 at 12:19 am
I know of some church pastors involved in SE investment and have aggressively persuaded their church members to invest heavily in SE. One of them even bought a Mercedes benz car under the SE car purchase scheme. He is now trying to sell off the car as he is not able to service the car loan obviously when the SE accounts are frozened. Many SE members also paid huge downpayments when they committed to purchase Se properties in Kuala Lumpur. They are still paying the instalments and the contract amount to about RM$300K!
January 18th, 2008 at 12:14 am
sad case
January 17th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
SE’s wireless project had been exposed as fake:
http://www.commsday.com.au/Archive/2007/cdg071120.pdf
Should Reuters or AFP carry this article?
January 17th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
true… karma.
Not the first time Phang is involved in such stuff. Do a search on him. He’s too infamous. But there’s still people believing and worshipping him. Cult…
January 17th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
true… karma.
Not the first time Phang is involved in such stuff. Do a search on him. He’s too infamous. But there’s still people believing and worshipping him. Cult.
January 17th, 2008 at 12:45 pm
Can someone from Singapore let us know what is the latest status on CAD investigation ? is JP’s or SE’s account freeze?
January 17th, 2008 at 3:10 am
I think u all very mean to curse him.
He allowed many early bird to make money. whose fault that the scam exposed?
strait times/ new paper
So very strange to curse him
January 16th, 2008 at 8:15 am
Hope so…
January 11th, 2008 at 11:11 pm
I believe retribution, what ever he takes now will have to return one day, either on him or his children or children’s children…
January 10th, 2008 at 5:48 pm
Ah Wah isn’t the god of fortune. People are the gods of fortune for him. Received millions in donation for poor people.
January 10th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
But it is prosperous & happy CNY for SE boss?
January 10th, 2008 at 2:12 pm
When CNY comes, everybody wants their money back for the CNY.
Otherwise it will be ugly CNY?
January 9th, 2008 at 7:06 pm
Now SE already happily keep their members’ hard-earned money & plan to bankrupt?
January 9th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
Behold the power of cult worship, pressurization and hard selling.
People, use your head, use your logic. Would a property by a newly start up company which is beside a highway viaduct and slipway flyover have such high sales as proclaimed? And what’s more the design is horrible and they actually changed the colour scheme midway.
Change colour nevermind. What about shifting whole buildings? Like the Melaka theme park? Or say the promo video actually shows the wrong site.
I can say I’m building 100 storey condo on Pulau Tekong, put $1 with me and get $1000 back in a month. You believe?
SE doesn’t show its accounts, no statistical reports, no balance sheets, but has all kinds of motivational pitch glorifying the “Great” “Father” and “Leader” the guy with a history of scamming people (Magic Kingdom) and reportedly linked to Swiss Cash as one of the masterminds, the infamous James Phang Wah who thinks hes some sort of emperor (see how he decorates the office), with a huge ego and cult of personality.
FYI even private investment companies show statistical reports. SE, show your audit statements by E&Y, KPMG or PWC leh. Nothing to hide right?
January 8th, 2008 at 4:32 pm
Haiz…fanciful talk & some dummy construction startup can actually scam so many people…we need to be extra caution when investing our hard-earned money!
January 8th, 2008 at 2:33 pm
It seems that all the SE people over at HWZ and Sgforums had vanished. If at this point in time there’s still people believing in Phang as the Father, god of fortune or satan kluas, sorry i mean santa claus… I pity them. Being brainwashed by a cult father with the likes of Mao, Hitler, and the Turkmenbashi.
Someone did some CSI-ing on the projects in Melaka over at Sgforums. Very interesting. How a property developer can shift whole buildings and change designs after the property is being sold.
January 8th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
We need to prevent such scam to happen again in Singapore!
January 8th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
SE payout suddenly dropped til damn low.
This already shows beyond doubt its a scam.
January 8th, 2008 at 8:44 am
SE will say they lose more money than the members…how to pay back…dun believe? You see for yourself.
January 7th, 2008 at 11:02 pm
SE will return money to all members before closing down? Fat hope…
January 7th, 2008 at 12:34 am
I do hope the authority could quickly announces the investigation and
SE could return money to all members before closing down….
January 6th, 2008 at 12:38 am
SE members, ask yourself this question…do you really help your friends/relatives when you ask them to join SE? Or you do not care if they will lose all their hard-earned money or not?
January 5th, 2008 at 11:55 pm
latest news from M’sia; more and more people are coax to join SE. They did, and each of them are rewarded- rebate they call it. If you managed to recruit you will have more. i took the oppurtunity to ask one of the recruiter, about the ‘principal’ of the investment. He said that, no amount is allocated for the initial money you invested. Meaning unlike any investment where you can get you principal investment whether you lost or gain, lost mean smaller amount, gain means more. In SE once you join, no way back. Judt hopes that JP can keep payin’ you guys..and that no downline come looking for you for their money back..with an axe..
January 4th, 2008 at 12:38 pm
CEO already took most of the money & the plan is to bankruptcy the company…similar to what he did for the previous venture
January 3rd, 2008 at 10:11 pm
Kat, I think the “CEO” should come out and say something to the members what is his next plan. He can’t just leave the members in the lerch if he is really claimed he is god… he is father or somebody…
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:50 pm
to post 263
need to change inflation to deflation sorry…
January 3rd, 2008 at 7:22 pm
Kat, how can it be no report when authorities find nothing against SE? If no report, it means something very big is wrong against SE such that CAD requires more time to investigate.
January 2nd, 2008 at 10:14 pm
what i hear from sunshine empire is almost like what it says in wikipedia “a pyramid scheme” stated in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyramid_scheme , how could we simply let a company to manage our money when we pay membership fees to the company. If everyone in this world get recruit, of course the company earn the most moneys, not the members, because there is nobody to recruit. There is one thing i believe about a chinese phrases called ” there is no free lunch in this world “, it means that everything you earn must come from hardwork not by buying GP and let it grow more moneys. If everyone in this world are buying GP, they will no need to work and let more income come into their pocket, then our country’s economic will become worse because there is nobody working and causing inflation in our country. So, would it be possible to buy GP to get rich ? Everyone wants to be rich even me. So, i hope everyone know what is right and what is wrong.
January 2nd, 2008 at 8:53 pm
Hi I heard the authorities couldn’t find out anything against SE, that’s the reasons till today no report.
Which is which, I am confused!
January 2nd, 2008 at 3:27 pm
Anyone have any idea .. how long it will take to clear the charges…..
January 1st, 2008 at 11:47 pm
Ask your friend what’s so good about SE. I would like to hear the excuses he gives.
January 1st, 2008 at 11:24 pm
i had written letters to the major newspaper but no report has been done on the SE. My friend is busy recruiting and no authorities seem to care.
January 1st, 2008 at 5:57 am
SE is a cult. Fancy turning a scamming business into a cult organisation.
Phang treats himself like a father, a god and king. Shameless self glorification, with ego bigger than his head. These kind of people should be condemned.
December 30th, 2007 at 10:04 pm
Are all of you the SE victims as well?
I wonder how soon CAD can release the investigation?
December 30th, 2007 at 9:53 am
Sad…this time round, another group of Singaporeans going to lose millions too?
December 30th, 2007 at 7:30 am
Take this.
Empire state tower shifted location once, from one side of KL to the other. After being announced. Take a look at the location, beside a highway viaduct and slipway flyover. Extremely bad site, with the highway bridges only few metres from your house? I won’t buy, even if its airconed. The design is terrible, almost as if done in a hurry. Renderings show curved glass panels from the interior, but the building is completely squarish from the outside. Colour scheme wise, changed from blue to gold.
Melaka theme park. Floating villas. Okay, see this, the Melaka Straits is the busiest sea traffic route in the world, and the area is near some industrial areas, so how do you expect the water quality to be? Lion shaped? No commentson the design, BUT the prongs containing the villas are so close together? Privacy issues. I’ve seen the floor plans. Another case of lousy design.
Sabah hotel… underwater hotel? Any idea how much that is going to cost?And furthermore, if such an underwater hotel project exist, it would be picked up by magazines, from engineering, design, luxury, property, business to tourism journals. But all “news” comes from within SE itself.
No experience in property development, and yet dare take on such huge projects all at once? Sounds fishy to me. FYI there are lots of abandoned construction sites in M’sia. Just look at JB. Const start doesnt mean it will be completed. Already had a few cases lately. James Phang was the boss of Magic Kingdom scam few years ago. People lost millions.
December 30th, 2007 at 7:20 am
John:
Apparently no one can even answer the most basic question, where does such high income come from? Before the projects are sold. And btw, did you ever notice that all the property projects keep changing?
Empire state tower changed location once, and design changed once too. The location is horrible and it claims majority had been sold.
Melaka theme park, the site shown in the promo video is the wrong site. And the design of the theme park changed. the building shifted. In the news clip, that machine used for land reclamation is only used for large scale works, not such small scale works like the theme park. FYI now melaka is doing some reclamation to its coastline.
Does SE ever show statistics of annual reports? Private company? Even private investment companies show statistical reports.
If it is true that payout depends on GPs sold, doesnt that make it a pyramid scam?
December 30th, 2007 at 12:06 am
John,
All the projects are either bleeding or incomplete or no money to complete.
How to earn money for you…
SE people may say all they want, but in the end, the books and figures do not lie, unless deliberately made to do so.
e.g.
1. wireless project, now FOC, how to earn, you bleeding to death day by day from operation cost
2. china photar acquired by EMwhatever bleeding (listed company can always check quarterly results)
3. Properties in Malacca? Is it built, if SE so good why buy durian plantation.
I tell you what was a good investment, buy 1 degree 15 (at Sentosa) membership at SGD15-30K 1st half of the year, now already SGD60-70K, and it is all real, club already there, you can go and see for yourself.
Malacca? too far away, I don’t even know what will happen when i am away, maybe some monkeys will stay…