Pyramiding scam victimizes over 100 Cotabato residents

Over 100 residents in Kidapawan City in Cotabato have filed complaints before the National Bureau of Investigation, claiming they have fallen victims to a pyramiding scam.

A report on "Unang Balita" said the complainants alleged they were recruited to join the PBB Lanmar investment group by a certain Lanie Gahum-Agapo.

The supposed victims, the report said, were asked to shell out P1,500 in payment for two bottles of food supplement. 

Each recruit needed to recruit two other people who would also be asked to pay P1,500 for the food supplement and for the membership, and the same recruitment process would go on and on.

PPB Lanmar promised each member that the P1,500 initial investment would become P10,000 after 15 days.

A member with unbroken recruitment chain would earn more, and the longer the down-line chains of the pyramid become, the bigger the earnings would be.

The complainants said the payments for members went well in the beginning. But later, payments were not coming and they can't find Agapo anymore.

Meanwhile, NBI authorities said owners of PBB Lamar could be slapped with large-scale estafa if proven guilty of the victims' charges. — LBG, GMA News