A Tongan woman has appeared online promoting an investment management and financial advising platform which is not allowed to provide its financial activities in New Zealand.
The New Zealand Financial Markets authority has issued warnings about the promotion for a company called Ellev8. The FMA warned that Ellev8 was not allowed to offer financial advice.
Similar scams appeared about three years ago and were aimed at the Pasifika and Maori community. In 2021 One News reported on the case of a woman who lost $2000 after investing in a so-called training course.
Consumer New Zealand chief executive Jon Duffy told One News he questioned the value of the ”training” products being offered, because it appeared that similar courses could be found online for free.
The woman behind Ellev8, who calls herself Emeline Angakehe on Facebook, claims to originally be from Wellington, but now lives in Monterey, California.
Her promotion was aimed at Tongans in the kingdom, New Zealand, Australia and the US.
She claimed she was offering “an opportunity” to train Tongans how to trade with global companies.
She claimed this was not a scam as it was an international investment and she was not intending to defraud those who are interested.
She invited members of the community to join in by messaging her so she could send them a link.
The woman claimed the platform would train members of the community to trade using the Forex Trading, which described as the biggest investment market in which banks invested.
Later she claimed she was on another mission to help the community invest using new software called “trade buddy.”
“It is TODAY! It is Huge. Exclusively available to Ellev8 members. It is TRADE BUDDY! Your companion for Trading Success. Consistently Delivers Results to Beginners! Join us today for the Launching of this Newest Software at the time scheduled. 1pm – Cali, 10am Tonga & New Zealand, 8am Sydney!” she wrote on her Facebook page last week.
Angakehe claimed Trade Buddy members could make a profit five days a week in US dollars.
“This is a lifetime opportunity for us Tongans,” she said.
She said Ellev8 was not like other platforms which had collapsed.
“This is because Ellev8 has been there for about two years and it still operating smoothly”.
Schemes such as Ellev8 were promoted in the Tongan community about three years ago. Streamed videos shared on social media at the time appeared to show similar campaigns.
However, a recent search by Kaniva News on social media appeared to show those other previous promotions appeared to either no longer be active or shared their videos privately among their members.
FMA warning
The Financial Markets Authority said Ellev8 was offering financial advice without registration and running misleading promotions
“We recommend caution when dealing with Ellev8, or any individuals or entities promoting its services or products,” the FMA said.
“Ellev8 offers various training courses in foreign exchange products and cryptocurrency trading and appears to use multi-level marketing techniques.
“We are concerned that Ellev8 is providing financial advice without being regulated in New Zealand. It is not registered on the Financial Service Providers Register or authorised to provide any financial advice to New Zealand residents.
“We are also concerned that its promotional activity potentially creates an overall misleading impression that easy money can be gained in financial markets after subscribing to its training courses.
“Trading in foreign exchange products and cryptocurrencies involves risk which may result in financial loss.”
Kaniva News says:
Do not waste your time or money on these scams. They are illegal, dangerous and are designed to steal people’s hard earned savings. There is no such thing as “easy money.”
