FIFTEEN years after Jamaicans were bilked out of an estimated US$1 billion to US$2 billion in a number of Ponzi schemes including CashPlus, Olint, LewFam and Worldwise, a new get rich quick scheme has emerged, swindling tens of thousands out of millions of dollars — some who borrowed to fuel their ambition to make what seems like easy money. The name of the scheme is Warner Media Jamaica.

In an exclusive interview with the Jamaica Observer, one of the victims, Vermont, detailed how he got involved in the online investment scam.

Vermont witnessed his family member earning and withdrawing roughly J$100,000 weekly from a new venture she was introduced to by a friend. The cash was more than enough to comfortably take care of household bills and also allowed for the relatives to finally purchase items on their months-long wish list.

The new found income boost of his sister quickly drew the attention of Vermont, and so after a quick conversation about how the venture worked, Vermont was eager to try his luck.

In December last year, he followed through on a link his sister sent him to join Warner Media Jamaica. And just for signing up to be a part of the programme, he was rewarded with US$13 after downloading the app. But withdrawing the cash came with restrictions.

First, he had to accumulate a minimum of US$20 by clicking a few links. The faster way to build his money and liquidate the digital coins he earned was to convince at least six people to join his team or he could invest more cash in the business to move up to the next level. He chose the latter.

“They have someone that they call a merchant, you send the money to their account and then they send USdt to another app. A USdt is the digital currency for the US dollar and one USdt is equivalent to US$1,” Vermont, who asked that his name be changed for privacy, told the Business Observer.

“So I went in small at first, but before the week was out I decided to invest US$1,500 because that way I would be rewarded with US$60 per day at level four,” he continued.

The cash started to flow as was promised, and Vermont became more enticed by the offering. And so he started spreading the word to his children and his spouse, and when they could come up with the money to get started, Vermont would offer to pay the upfront costs to set them on their journey to “financial freedom”.

By early January, he had invested J$1,000,000 in the venture. Then he decided to add another J$800,000 to free up the cash he had invested earlier since it could only be unlocked if he surpassed a specific accumulated amount. He had only been in Warner Media for two months and was betting on income from the venture to take him through the next six months.

But little did he know that he would soon lose all his money.

“I continued to earn daily, but I wanted to get out that first money that I put in, so I made another big investment. But then I woke up one morning and couldn’t go into the app and when I checked the WhatsApp group I saw that everyone was panicking,” Vermont recalled.

The 51-year-old was one of over 50,000 victims who were swindled out of millions of dollars in the Ponzi scheme.

The unsuspecting individuals who invested up to $3 million in the venture were sent a message on January 29 that the system would be updated for two days, rendering it impossible to withdraw any money they had in the app.

On February 1, they got another surprise message from the head of the venture, saying that her boss had “run off with the money”.

“A panic me start to panic now, because all of my little savings, money I was trying to put aside to help with my farming business was tied up in the account. I tried getting into the account for a few days and nothing, and after that, it was just pure chaos in the WhatsApp group because by then we figured that we were scammed,” Vermont said.

Little by little recordings were released of investors sobbing from the member-only social media group in the aftermath of the Ponzi scheme meltdown. Some could be heard begging for the return of monies they say they had borrowed in hope of creating a better life for themselves and their families.

“Please unuh duh, gimme me money back. Lord have mercy. A people money mi borrow!” cried one woman believed to be in her mid-50s.

“A one million dollar mi borrow fi put inna dis enuh…,” cried another man. The losses range from $7,500 to as much as $3 million per individual.

The
Business Observer understands that Warner Media Jamaica is the spin-off of an entity, Get GXL, that allegedly defrauded thousands of people in Trinidad and Tobago last year. The now dismantled Get GXL positioned itself as a platform where members could earn money by selling products and receiving commissions. The concept seemed simple: choose a product, release it to generate profit, and continue putting more products on virtual shelves. However, upon closer examination, it became evident that Get GXL was nothing more than a deceptive scheme.

One woman, in detailing her experience with Warner Media, defended some of the members’ decision to invest in the venture. She said that the meetings that were held by the merchants were “well-put together” and seemed like a legitimate way of earning additional income.

“As far as we knew, the company was being run by someone in England, and Jamaica was just one of the locations that they had expanded to. It was a crypto business, and you often hear that investing in crypto is a good way to earn additional income,” she said.

“The merchants were working-class people who had earned their position in the company, they were making money, and so there was some level of respect for them. The meetings were held at decent locations and there was this one event where a loan company was present offering the investors loans to build their businesses just like any other small business,” she continued.

Efforts to reach Warner Media Jamaica proved futile. The
Business Observer reached out to the Financial Services Commission (FSC) to ascertain if the regulator has received any complaints from victims and was told no. We were also told that the scheme only came to the attention of the FSC in the last few days through its routine monitoring of social media. It is not clear if any action has been taken so far.

Just 10 years ago in 2013, Jamaica amended its securities laws to make it harder for Ponzi schemes to emerge.

Meanwhile, the victims are hopeful that they can recover at least a portion of the money lost to the Ponzi scheme. The
Business Observer understands that a number of the victims are in the process of reporting the matter to the Financial Investigations Team of the Jamaica Constabulary Force.

Efforts by the
Business Observer to reach the Fraud Squad were unsuccessful up to press time.