Ponzi Scheme by IDS International: Some Ringleaders Are Arrested!

As we all know, countless illegal forex platforms engage in forex trading in disguise but pyramid schemes in fact. Traders are apt to be tempted by the fraudulently lucrative trading charts which are Ponzi schemes in essence.

IDS International was rammed into unavailable withdrawals in the wake of the meltdown and delayed withdrawals of PTFX, brutally locking margin calls for 8 days and exclusively allowing deposits. This forex platform has accumulated nearly 1.2 million dollar within a year or so!

At present, some ringleaders involved have been arrested and sentenced, the news gladdening peoples hearts!

Review of the Ponzi scheme by IDS International:

Established in March 2019, the website was in a joint operation, a mode similar to that of PTFX. IDS International adopted the membership referral system in the beginning, activating membership by making deposits worth at least USD 1,000 on the heels of veteran member referrals, membership registration, and verification, which directly led to the relationship between old hands and novices equal to that between superior and subordinate.

In the aftermath of PTFXs meltdown, IDS International restricted investors to withdrawals and profits. The broker even locked margin calls in a coercive manner right after an announcement, the content of which is presented as following:

1. Transactions of all MT4 accounts submitted by members are ceased from December 19th,2019. No withdrawal is available.

2. Trading profits arrive in the MT4 wallet of members after settlement on every Monday. Members can transfer, reinvest and withdraw these as usual (whereas the last operation can be conducted but never successful).

As for the above-mentioned content, the excuse made by IDS International was that the trading tactics and points of profit-gaining boasted by its clients could be impacted.

IDS International saw its membership surging to 31,354 just within the period from March 20th, 2019 to March 20th, 2020. The amounts of deposits had totaled around 1.2 million dollar by March last year.

Accused by Peoples Procuratorate of Weidu District:

Li Zong (escaped criminal from Singapore), in league with Huang Youhui (escaped criminal from Malaysia) and Chen Junhao (escaped criminal from Malaysia), recruited 15 core members in January 2019, including Ji, Yan, Tang, Guo, Tong and Xu. The website and APP of IDS International, funded by Li Zong, was developed and finally launched in use on January 16th, 2019.

The membership referral system on the online platform of IDS International was indicative of being active members by making a certain amount of deposits following veteran member referrals, membership registration, and verification. The process was passed on and repeated in IDS International. Naturally, novices, registered as members, were subordinate to veterans who lured them to the platform, which constructed the hierarchical relationship. This was divided into 8 ranks based on the number of members recommended and the amounts of deposits, which were listed from high to low as OIB, SIB, DIB, PIB, MIB, IB, TR, and MEMBER, or general membership.

The Court took the view that culprits, including Li Zong, Huang Youhui and Chen Junhao, conducted the fraudulent dissemination in forms of online lectures, offline investment fairs and stuff, taking the Internet as a vehicle and the forex trusteeship as a gimmick. They claimed that at least 7% of monthly returns could be enjoyed as long as deposits were made while more investment one made and more subordinates he/she developed, higher profits he/she would embrace, ramping up members through registration after referrals and setting up the dynamic reward system for rebates, such as trading commission, contract commission, level bonus, and profit bonus, based on the number of members directly or indirectly recommended to the platform. Therefore, IDS International was deemed to have wantonly reaped profits by multi-level marketing in the manner of profiting from beginners.

Five defendants as aforementioned in this pyramid scheme gang jointly or partially shouldered responsibilities of management, dissemination, promotion, training and the others, having convened relevant activities with the capacity of over 30 gang members and ranked among the top 3 levels. As a result, their wrongdoing constituted the crime of organizing and leading pyramid selling activities. The public prosecution organ charged the accused with the clear facts of organizing and leading pyramid selling activities, and the irrefutable and sufficient evidence, finding them guilty on all charges.

On December 18th, the Peoples Court of Weidu District sentenced the accused to fixed-term imprisonment ranging from 3 years to 1 year with fines ranging from CNY 100,000 to CNY 40,000 for organizing and leading pyramid scheme activities based on the facts, nature and circumstances of the crime, the degree of harm to the society, and their performance of confession and repentance after the crime was committed in accordance with relevant laws and regulations.

According to the investigation and results, ringleaders sentenced this time are only one group of the gang, and other culprits are still on the run even without being placed in a case on file.

As we all know, the officials never investigate without peoples appeals. Please take the initiative to protect your legitimate rights and interests once they are infringed. Only in this way can we bring swindlers to justice for the best results!