Thousands lose $8.8M to RGA “click a button” Ponzi in India
Around 50,000 Indian investors have lost a reported $8.8 million USD to the collapsed RGA “click a button” app Ponzi.
As reported by the Deccan Chronicle on December 13th;
Approximately 50,000 people from the district invested ₹75 crore in the app alone.
Police investigations revealed that around 10,000 people had invested ₹9.5 crore in the OnPassive Technology system, 2,000 people invested ₹20 crore, and over 2,000 people invested ₹1.2 crore in the PW app.
RGA was a typical task-based “click a button” app Ponzi targeting India.
PW, a second smaller collapsed “click a button” app Ponzi was also cited. Over two thousand investors are reported to have lost ~$141,000 to the scam.
Since 2021 BehindMLM has tracked over three hundred “click a button” app Ponzis. Even with the frequency we bust them on a daily basis, too many are launched to cover all of them.
“Click a button” app Ponzis tend to be run through cryptocurrency but occasionally create fake accounts with processors to offer local currency options.
Organized crime interests from China operate scam factories behind “click a button” Ponzis. The factories are typically based in south-east Asian countries.
In September 2024, the US Department of Treasury sanctioned Cambodian politician Ly Yong Phat over ties to Chinese human trafficking scam factories.
Through various companies he owns, Phat is alleged to shelter Chinese scammers operating out of Cambodia.
Regardless of which country they operate from, the same group of Chinese scammers are believed to be behind the “click a button” app Ponzi plague.
It should be noted that despite losses being grouped in with RGA and PW, OnPassive is not a “click a button” app Ponzi.
OnPassive was an MLM pyramid scheme run by US national Ashraf Mufareh. The SEC sued Mufareh and his wife in 2023, alleging $108 million in securities fraud.
As of September 2024 the case was ongoing, with the SEC wanting to depose OnPassive employees working in India.
This ties into OnPassive’s Indian employees striking in July 2023, following an alleged six months of no pay.