The Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission announced that a regional trial court in Pangasinan convicted and fined five employees of JRL Kwarta Trading Co. for engaging in unauthorized solicitation of investments from the public, following an SEC-led case build-up. In a judgment promulgated on August 26, Branch 56 of the Regional Trial Court of San Carlos City, Pangasinan found the five employees guilty beyond reasonable doubt of violating Sections 8, 26 and 28 of Republic Act No. 8799 (Securities Regulation Code). The court ordered each to pay PHP 150,000 in fines, equivalent to PHP 50,000 per violation, with subsidiary imprisonment in case of insolvency, and noted that the accused entered guilty pleas to all charges. The case stemmed from an SEC Enforcement and Investor Protection Department investigation into an online advertisement linked to the firm’s payout schemes, after which the SEC found the company was offering a crypto investment programme requiring a minimum PHP 30,000 investment and promising monthly profit releases without the necessary SEC licence; the SEC also coordinated with the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group, leading to an entrapment operation on May 13 and the employees’ arrest.
Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission 2025-09-08
Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission reports court fines five JRL Kwarta Trading employees PHP 750,000 over unregistered crypto investment solicitation
Five JRL Kwarta Trading Co. employees were convicted by a Pangasinan court for unauthorized investment solicitation. They violated Sections 8, 26, and 28 of the Securities Regulation Code, receiving fines of PHP 150,000 each, with subsidiary imprisonment for insolvency. The SEC's investigation exposed the company's unlicensed crypto investment program, resulting in an entrapment operation and arrests.