JJPTR Review: JJPTR, also known as JJ Poor to Rich, is an investment company founded by Johnson Lee in Penang, Malaysia.
The company offers high-return investment that promises 20% monthly profits on their participants’ capital. It has enjoyed a growing presence in Malaysia and Singapore since early 2016.
The investment amount ranges from $50 to $1,000 USD, but don’t rush head-on into the scheme before understanding its inner working.
In this JJPTR review, I’ll talk about its investment structure, the promises given by Johnson and his company, some obvious red flags, as well as my experience with similar schemes that should be enough to deter you from the scheme.
Name: JJPTR
Website: jjptr.com
Owner: Johnson Lee
Price: $50 to $1,000 deposit
Recommended? NOT RECOMMENDED
(full list of all reviewed scams)
JJPTR Review: What is JJPTR?
JJPTR claims to be a global company
JJ Poor to Rich, better known as JJPTR is a high profile investment company that has appeared all over the local Facebook groups and investment forums for their extremely high monthly ROI of 20%.
They claim to operate in Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, Brunei and multiple other countries with over 120,000 members and $95mil USD under their management.
They also claim to be a Forex investment company that derive their returns purely from trading profits. Keep in mind that even the best fund managers in the world do not achieve this level of profits consistently.
JJPTR promises extremely high returns on investment
It’s easy to join – fork out a minimum of $50 and you’ll secure yourself a membership, where you can enjoy a guaranteed $10 monthly return. Invest $1,000 and you’ll get $200 monthly profits.
Active members are also promised an extra 5% commission for an additional member that they bring in.
Obviously this sounds too good to be true, but it’s easy to get drawn into the money game if you are inexperienced with Ponzi schemes. In fact, JJPTR is not the first company that operates under this scheme. The scheme itself dates way back to 1920.
A Ponzi scheme uses the investment funds of new members to pay the high returns of the previous members. As long as the fresh investments outpace the promised monthly profits, a Ponzi scheme can usually sustain itself.
Typically, a Ponzi scheme promises well above average-return on the original investment using vague verbal constructs such as “hedge fund trading”, “Forex investment” or “high-yield investment programs”.
The main goal is to lure investors by taking advantage on their lack of investment knowledge or competence. Members are often kept in the dark, even after they have invested money into the scheme.
Members may be given a daily or weekly trading statement (which can be fabricated) with high returns to boost their confidence and keep them in the scheme, but it is merely a move to attract new investors and to lure current investors into adding more investment funds.
The company doesn’t even have to spend on advertising, as members who are enticed by the 5% introducer’s commission effectively become promoters to the scheme and bring in new members continuously.
JJPTR’s presence is growing rapidly
As of April 2017, JJPTR is still rising in popularity (especially in Malaysia), which means the participation rate of new members still outpaces the rate of withdrawal of current members.
As long as there is a supply of fresh money into the scheme, JJPTR can continue to pay out the promised returns and organize events (such as elaborate Gala Dinners) to attract new investors.
However, there will be a point where new investments slow down and the company starts having problems paying the promised returns. This is typically the tipping point for the scheme where it starts falling apart.
Such liquidity crisis often trigger panics, as more people start asking for money withdrawal, which is similar to a bank run.
Relying on a dangerous schemes with extremely high passive returns is never a good way to make money. If you want to build side income, consider building your own online business instead.
Red Flags in JJPTR Investment Scheme
There are red flags that we can observe for these schemes, but most people who have invested into the idea and vehicle simply choose to ignore them.
Again, these red flags apply not only to JJPTR, but to any investments and business opportunities that you may come across in the future.
Scrutinize and consider every opportunity rationally to protect yourself from other Ponzi schemes, because new ones are bound to appear eventually.
With that said, here are some of the major red flags we can observe from JJPTR:
- Unauthorized by both Malaysia’s Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and Singapore’s Monetary Authority Singapore (MAS) to conduct any kind of investment management activities.
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The investor’s alert list by monetary authorities is often a good indicator for an investment company’s credibility. While it is not a blacklist, it serves as a wake-up call for investors and would-be investors to keep away from unlicensed and unauthorized investment schemes.
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Most Forex investment companies that are marked by BNM and MAS are often revealed to be Ponzi schemes, including the infamous SingliForex and Maxim investment schemes that were active in Singapore circa 2014 – 2016.
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Make it a point to check BNM and MAS websites before you invest into any new scheme that seems to promise higher than expected returns. More often than not, they have already been listed on the investor’s alert list.
. - Classic signs of a Ponzi scheme’s collapse.
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On 22nd April 2017, JJPTR’s founder Johnson Lee shared a lengthy WeChat post admitting that the company’s trading account was hacked, resulting in RM500mil in losses.
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But is it real? Nobody knows, but this can be an early sign of a Ponzi scheme’s collapse. Time and time again, unauthorized investment companies claim to be attacked by external parties, resulting in their collapse and having problems fulfilling their promises to their investors.
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Of course, most of these are cover-ups and an easy way out for Ponzi scheme fraudsters when the scheme can no longer sustain itself.
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Malaysian media has visited JJPTR’s branch in Penang to get an explanation, only to find that it was shut down.
. - Investors are completely unprotected.
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As mentioned earlier, since JJPTR is unauthorized by both BNM and MAS, the company is unregulated and investors are unprotected by the law.
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JJPTR does not ask investors to set up a third party broker account and deposit their money there. Instead they are asked to deposit the investment funds into a JJPTR bank account.
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This essentially means that the investors’ money is at JJPTR’s mercy.
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Since their operation in May 2015, JJPTR has never once issued an official annual financial statement, leaving their investors in the dark.
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There’s no telling when the scheme will collapse, but when it does, the investors will be the ones to lose money.
Even now, there are a lot of JJPTR members vouching for the company’s authenticity. They claim to have withdrawn more than what they have invested and therefore enjoying free profits every single month.
If you are one of them, good for you, as you are on the top half of the pyramid. But refrain yourself from investing more or introducing new members into the scheme, or you are only creating more victims.
Ponzi schemes typically collapse within 2 to 5 years, so JJPTR’s days may be numbered.
My Experience with Ponzi Scheme
I’m not proud to admit that I have once invested into an elaborate Ponzi scheme disguised as a Forex investment company, losing $5,000 USD in the process.
The said scheme was SingliForex, which operated mainly in Singapore.
Unfortunately, I was naive and had limited understanding on Forex market as a whole, and I was convinced of its “potential” when the founder pitched it against me.
I withdrew some of my profits early on with no issues, which boosted my confidence in the investment opportunity. Well, for a moment I thought I have found the holy grail of investment.
The modus operandi of the scam was eerily similar to JJPTR, with a guaranteed 8% monthly ROI and a daily statement to show the paper profits from MT4 accounts.
Of course, these statements have been manipulated and there was no real trades conducted at all. In 2015, it was put on the alert list of MAS but I did not pay much attention to it.
In 2016, SingliForex’s bank account was frozen and none of the members was able to withdraw their profits. I had more than $6,000 USD in my account, with $1,000 of them as paper profits.
Since then, I’ve made multiple attempts to contact the company’s representatives and the founder to get my money back. Needless to say, the Ponzi scheme has collapsed and the founder simply vanished.
I never got my money back.
I took it as a lesson and moved on. The thing is, there’s no free lunch in the world, and by now you should have realized it.
There will be a day when JJPTR collapses as a Ponzi scheme, so save yourself some troubles and stay away from the elaborate scam.
If you want to make money from investments, please choose to educated yourself on proper investment vehicles. Learning more about index funds will be a good start.
Bottomline: JJPTR is a Ponzi Scheme
JJPTR is an elaborate Ponzi scheme. I strongly advise you to stay away from the scam if you don’t want to lose your hard-earned money.
You’ll be better off spending that money for a nice dinner with your family than to waste it on a scheme like this.
Learn about real investment vehicles if you want to enjoy passive income. Of course, keep your expectations in check. 20% monthly ROI is simply ridiculous.
However, if you are interested to learn some skills and build a sustainable income from the internet, I have a recommendation below.
Read Review of the Most Recommended Internet Business Opportunity Here.
Have you encountered any other scams before? Personally I’ve fallen for a few before coming across the legitimate one, so let us know in the comments below if you have any personal experience to share!
Grace
I was recently approached by a friend (we are no longer friend now) for this company in Malaysia, McOcean Holdings Sdn Bhd. Started off with a “tea party” with their “partners” as if they are interviewing you. Then proceed to second stage where they reveal you their products and marketing plan which I think is purely scam. They are using their products to cover up the ponzi scheme and claimed that they are different. Their products are not known to public and they claimed that the products are endorsed by doctors which I found out that most of them are not registered medical personnel. Initially they are asking for RM 2417. As I read through many forums that talk about this company, their 3rd stage of “interview” will lure you for an amount of RM33k. I immediately withdrawn and told my friend to keep me out of this.
Alex Gavin
The problem with traders today is that they think they are too smart, they know what they are doing reading a bunch of charts watching videos, following news or making a few profit doesn’t make you a pro. Stop overestimating your self and seek proper guidance and good trading strategy in other to trade and recover your lost, and your money that your brokers refuse giving you back, don’t be a dud and lose all your earning before you realized you are in over your head.
rasli salleh
I was envest 1000 usd. why breakdown on the way.my many have gone.where shall i climb back that money.
Edward
Hi Rasli, JJPTR is a Ponzi scam just like many others in a past. You have to let it go and take it as a lesson. Sorry to say that it’s most likely that you can never retrieve your money.
Enforcer
smell fishy, only time will tell, it will be heart broken for he late comers at the bottom of the pyramid, most will jump off the cliff when the house of deck collapse…….
Anon
Hi. With the election around the corner, we see a lot of investment companies crashes, people hitting lottery, EPF lost 200 over million, Jabatan Air Sabah Pengarah has more than 100million, and etc. Don’t you think the gov has something to do with these schemes?
Just my 26 cent.
A legitimate Forex broker companies, invest tremendously into IT Security and Insurance protection on client’s money. If JJPRO didn’t do any of the above then they obviously didn’t do their due diligence.
Michael
Hello, is it safe to invest in MONSPACE?
Edward
Hi Michael, I don’t have enough information on MonSpace to comment. How’s the investment structure like?
Patrick
You know Bernie Madoff did not ever offered 20% ROI. He offered year to year a safe return of 6% and even that came out to become the largest Ponzi scheme ever.
At 20% return a month, how it is possible that it is a legitimate investment firm?.
See kay
It’s never over, it’ll just reincarnate as another name in another time to cheat again. People just need to stop being greedy because if it’s just that good, the owner will profit everything and not open to public
AJ
I had similar experience in 2014. GWGFX, a fake Ponzi / Money Game that hide under forex name. Invested USD20,000.00. Never got back all my capital. Company vanished without any trace. GWGFX is listed under BNM watch list. Lesson learn my friend. Learn and invest your money wisely.
Peter
Why don’t you write the article earlier instead only AFTER cracks appear and dividends not paid. Everybody can have this sort of cheap hindsight but you try to profit from others misery by offering better real deals??? I don’t know who is worst but it’s no better than that fraudster. Remember every investment is based on confidence and faith, even USD, so have merely made things worst for them.
Edward
Hi Peter, thanks for commenting. Aside from reviewing JJPTR, This article is also meant to share my bad experience with similar scams and let my readers know what Ponzi scheme is all about – so they can look out for aforementioned red flags in future investments.
As for my recommendation, I’m sharing based on what have worked for me. If you don’t like it, please just ignore it. Above all, I hope you learned a thing or two about Ponzi schemes and heightened your awareness against future scams.
John
Yes, every investment is based on confidence and faith, but you have to take CALCULATED risks and not invest like a blind man. Jjptr was obviously a con job.
This post actually brought out a few fair points. Like don’t get tempted by high returns, check with BNM, must use own name for broker account. I personally think it’s good tips to stay out of future ponzi schemes.
BK
Such schemes will never die, as too many people are greedy without using their brains. From those “scratch and win, to MLMs, to Ponzi-schemes…
KH Lim
Their HQ has been empty for the past few days, game over already lah