TL:DR Breakdown:
- NZ Commerce Commission is launching an investigation on an alleged Tron pyramid scheme spreading in the country.
- The scheme pays members in TRX tokens for new referrals.
As RNZ reported on Friday, a new digital currency multi-level marketing scheme dubbed “Lion’s Share” is currently trending in New Zealand. The alleged pyramid scheme promises to pay its members a sizable commission in Tron cryptocurrency (TRX) for every new person they bring to sign up. The Commerce Commission of New Zealand has opened an investigation on an alleged Tron pyramid scheme, as there are already complaints.
The Commerce Commission is an agency established by the NZ government to enforce legislation that ensures fair competition and prevent deceptive and misleading conduct by traders in the country’s market. Per the report, the agency launched a formal investigation into the scheme after receiving complaints from residents. The Commerce Commission didn’t provide any more detail on the scope of the investigation.
NZ investigates promotion of Alleged Tron pyramid scheme
According to Campbell Pentney, a special counsel at Bell Gully, Lion Share had similar properties as other pyramid schemes. He explained that the scheme seems not to have any other means for generating profits except the referrals. The participants are rewarded in TRX as commission after subsequent investors deposit funds on the network. The alleged Tron pyramid scheme is illegal under the Fair Trading Act, Commerce Commission said.
This is because “they make money from the recruitment of others, rather than from the sale of a product or service.” Shelly Cullen, one of the scheme promoters, noted in a social media post that she’s ready to meet with the agency. Cullen had claimed on YouTube that she once generated a profit of $154,000 from the alleged Tron pyramid scheme, within a period of 14 days.
She also raised a disclaimer that there wasn’t any assurance that Lion’s Share will generate profits for everyone, as it was a risk. However, she also added that “risk is the new safe.”
