Owner of suspected online investment scam insists business is legit

The president of Upwarm Limited Corporation, who is being accused of scamming over 100 people of more than P100 million, has denied the allegations against him.

Rodolfo Miranda Jr said in a report in GMA's “24 Oras” on Friday that his company is a legal direct selling business dealing in coffee and toothpaste products.



“Hindi naman lahat ng gagamit ng pangalan ng kumpanya namin at doon sila nagbayad sasabihin na [agad] nasa amin na 'yung pera,” Miranda said.

He also said the group leaders of their business system may be the culprits of the supposed scam.

“Nasa mga tao 'yung pera wala sa amin. Hindi namin nahawakan 'yung perang yan. Mas malaki pa nga 'yung kita nila,” Miranda said.

In the company's system, a group leader is allowed to manage up to 40 people. Checks are issued under the leader's name and the money is supposed to be distributed to other members of the group.

But some leaders don't remit the group's earnings to members, which causes the problem, Miranda explained.

Meanwhile, Miranda's wife Josephine also denied they were involved in Upwarm Limited's recruitment via Facebook that enticed potential members to invest in the alleged pyramid scam.

“Wala po kaming account na nagi-invite sa Facebook. Kasi kami may opisina kami. Puwede nila kami puntahan sa office directly,” she said.

The couple also said their company is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission contrary to what was previously reported.

“Lahat ng documents, meron kami. Sa mga tao na pinatanggap namin ng commission, lahat ng nagbayad sa amin, nasa amin ang file,” Miranda said.

Miranda is among the five officers of Upwarm facing syndicated estafa complaints at the Justice department. — Andrei Medina/JDS, GMA News