In the month of April 2023, the Commission began receiving inquiries and information from the public that individuals or group of persons representing an entity named “SEATAOO” was soliciting and/or collecting money from the public in the form of investments.
MY ANSWER:
As a Seller for more than a year, never pong nanghingi ng pera, nagsolicit ang Seataoo ng Pera sa mga sellers in the form of investment. We are earning money mula sa pagbebenta ng mga produkto na matatagpuan mula sa product warehouse ng platform (Seataoo).
Hindi ko po alam kung saang information ba nakuha ng nag-report na ang Seataoo ay nangongolekta ng pera in the form of an Investment. If there are people na makakasagot po at makaka-intindi sa platform ay walang iba kundi ang mga Seller ng Seataoo.
Once a seller starts a store, he/she just have to wait for a buyer to buy his/her products. However, it has been noted that a prospective buyer will not or there is no way he/she can find the store of each seller/member of SEATAOO. The link provided and scattered in social media particularly on Facebook is not the link to the store of each seller.
MY ANSWER
This is the link of my STORE: https://seataoo.com/shop/Etech-International-E-Commerce-Store-60219.
Ito ang link ng aking Store where buyer can lodge orders. I don’t know kung saan nakuha ang report na walang store ang mga seller.
If in the dashboard of each seller, there is a pending order, the seller will pay first the amount of the item that was allegedly bought by a buyer. After a few days or weeks, the money will go back to each seller’s wallet together with the profit.
My Answer:
Katulad po ng Upwork.com, Kung may isang tao o kumpanya na naghahanap ng isang professional analyst or writer. That Individual can post what he needs and his requirements on the platform. When there are professional who can actually perform the task posted by the company, maaaring mag-apply ang sino man at kung nainterview ng individual ang applicant at nag-agree sila, contract will Start.
Kapag nag-umpisa na ang kontrata, kailangang bayaran muna ng client ang applicant, BUT hindi pa ito matatanggap o ibibigay ng upwork sa applicant. Ito ay naka-hold o hinahawakan ng ESCROW ACCOUNT. Ire-release lamang ng Upwork ang pera sa Applicant kapag natapos na ang project.
In the Case of Seataoo which I already explained in many ways. More than 5 years ago ay gumawa ako ng sarili kong Dropshipping Business. Very costly ang gumawa ng dropshipping Store.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ja0HbvEy3Y
SUMMARY
The revocation order against New Seataoo Corporation and Seataoo Information Technology OPC issued by the Enforcement and Investor Protection Department (EIPD) of the SEC outlines several key points:
- Background:
- Seataoo Information Technology OPC was registered on October 4, 2022, and New Seataoo Corporation on May 12, 2023.
- Seataoo was advertised as a cross-border e-commerce platform offering dropshipping services.
- Violations:
- Seataoo engaged in unauthorized solicitation of investments from the public, which is prohibited under Section 8 of the Securities Regulation Code (SRC) since they did not secure the necessary registration and license from the Commission.
- The company was involved in investment fraud, violating Section 11 of the Financial Products and Services Consumer Protection Act (FCPA). The business model resembled a Ponzi scheme, promising profits sourced from the investments of other investors.
- Seataoo’s operations did not align with the activities permitted by its Articles of Incorporation. Instead of legitimate e-commerce transactions, they implemented a scheme where sellers were essentially investors expecting returns from their initial payments.
- Evaluation of Business Mechanics:
- The company’s business model involved sellers paying for products upfront and receiving their principal along with profit after some time, which qualifies as an investment contract under the SRC.
- The advertised dropshipping services were misrepresented, as sellers could not directly sell to customers and the provided links did not lead to individual stores.
- Consequences:
- The SEC imposed a fine of One Million Pesos (P1,000,000.00) on Seataoo for offering unregistered securities to the public.
- The company’s Certificate of Incorporation was revoked for serious misrepresentation and engaging in unauthorized investment activities.
- The order directed the company and its incorporators to pay the fine within fifteen days and mandated that the status of the corporation be updated to “revoked” in the SEC’s online database.
The revocation was deemed necessary to protect the public from the deceptive practices and unauthorized investment solicitations conducted by Seataoo .