HK Court orders fraudsters behind DFRF Enterprises to compensate investors
The Court of First Instance has granted orders sought by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) against fraudsters behind a global pyramid and Ponzi scheme to compensate victims following legal proceedings under section 213 of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (SFO).
The scheme was operated by DFRF Enterprises LLC and DFRF Enterprises, LLC (collectively, DFRF) and their founder, Mr Daniel Fernandes Rojo Filho, between 2014 and 2015.
Under the scheme, DFRF and Filho falsely claimed that DFRF, whose main business was gold mining operations, would soon be listed in the US and persuaded a number of Hong Kong investors to acquire “membership units” of its membership program for a monthly return. Around May 2015, they falsely claimed that DFRF had been listed in the US and offered investors the option to convert their “membership units” into preferred shares of DFRF at a certain price.
In December 2016 and March 2017, the SFC obtained interim injunctions to freeze assets in the two bank accounts that received monies from investors for the purpose of acquiring “membership units” and converting them into preferred shares.
The Court has appointed administrators to receive and distribute the proceeds of the scheme remaining in the two bank accounts – approximately totalling $2.8 million – for the benefit of the investors on a pro rata basis.