Infographic: The ins and outs of a pyramid scam

Published November 19, 2012 4:20pm

Some people never learn. Despite widely reported scandals in the past involving pyramid schemes, another one has come into public attention after the Justice Department announced last week that it was launching an investigation into a P12-billion scam involving Manuel Amalilio’s Aman Futures Group.

The group is reported to have victimized around 15,000 people in Visayas and Mindanao. Operating mainly from Pagadian City in Zamboanga del Sur, the scheme had spread to other cities including Dipolog City in Zamboanga del Norte, Iligan City, Cagayan De Oro City, and Kidapawan City in Cotabato.

The Department of Interior and Local Government is conducting a parallel investigation to find out if the internal revenue allotment of affected provinces, cities, and municipalities were "invested" in the pyramiding scam.

Meanwhile, authorities are pursuing possible links between the Malaysian-led group and another P247-million scam, supposedly maintained by the Jachob “Coco” Rasuman group.

The pyramid scam's operators recruited people from all walks of life – market vendors to professionals to government officials – all hoping for whopping investment returns in just a short time for their hard-earned income and life savings. Now that the fraudulent scheme is slowly unraveling, many have belatedly realized that getting rich quick and earning easy money is simply too good to be true. In this GMA News Online infographic, learn what a pyramid scam is, how it works, and where to report possible fraud in case you think you've been conned. — Infographic produced by Candice Montenegro and Den Fajardo/Research by Rouchelle Dinglasan/YA/VS, GMA News