I remember the day when I was introduced to the Pyramid
Scheme. I went with my boyfriend and his friends to a meeting at the then
Oceana Hotel in downtown Kingston. The meeting was held in the room of the organizer of the
Pyramid Scheme, which was filled to the brim with persons from all walks
of life. Now this gentleman had the gift of the gab. By the time he finished
explaining the concept of the scheme everyone was ready to offer his or her
cash. Everyone was interested in making a few extra dollars. As a government
worker earning $38.56 a week it seemed like a blessing in disguise. All I had
to do was to convince four persons, which seemed fairly easy, to also join and
I would get some extra money. This was my first experience in this sort of
thing and with the encouragement of my boyfriend I signed up to be a part of
it. Was I stupid, greedy or just naive to think this could work? As someone who
placed bets
on horses I was already a risk taker so what was there to lose?
Anyway I found my four persons and I got paid. The problems started when my
four persons could not find their four persons so they couldn't get paid. Well
we all know what happened to the Pyramid Scheme.
Fast forward to the Jamomes Developers Limited Scheme.
Like my fellow civil servants I attended the meetings where we were encouraged
to invest our government bonds into this company. The proposed returns on our
investment sounded good, but I was now older and wiser and had actually learned
some things about investment risks so I was a bit hesitant in handing over my
bonds to people I knew nothing about. There was no Google then and I did not
have access to any Internet. Anyway, I weighed the option of collecting a
dividend every six months over waiting on never ever before being able to
collect anything. I was pressured by a few persons to change my mind but I was
adamant, I would keep my bonds. I was called stupid because I was holding on to
a piece of paper that the government would probably not honor.
Fast forward again to Cash Plus. A couple of my friends
invested in it. I know that there were more who invested and kept quiet about
it because they didn't want anyone to know how they were getting their extra
cash. One was getting her 10% interest every month but didn't pull it, allowing
it to ‘roll-over’ because she wanted to buy a car that was a necessity to take
her children to school and herself to work. Another borrowed $100,000.00 from
the Credit Union to 'try her luck' because she was tired of living in a rented
house and wanted a down payment for a home in a decent area. Another friend of
mine, who is self-employed, invested his savings of over $5 million so that he would have a good
pension in his old age and be able to educate his five children. I did not have
the money to invest in Cash Plus; maybe if I had the money I would because I
actually saw persons receiving their monthly returns and this I believe is why
persons were attracted to Cash Plus.
I personally do not believe or think that all those who
invested were stupid or greedy. Some probably were, but certainly not all. A
gamble is a gamble, you win or you lose after the dice have been cast or the
races run. In the case of Cash Plus the race was scrapped while the horses were
running and the end result was chaos and distrust. The sad thing is that
persons who bought bets in this race did not demand a refund of their money. Maybe they didn’t want anyone to know that
they gambled. Many of these ‘gamblers’ were churchgoers and would definitely
not want their fellow congregants to know of their 'little' discretion. Then there are those who are so ashamed
because it was their pastors who encouraged them to invest in Cash Plus. Those
who tried to get back their money were not given the opportunity to present
their case as to why they should get a refund. The organizers of the race will
always want to retain the purse and with the help of a legal system that is
sadly skewed in their favor they will always win.
Not all the investors were naïve; some knew exactly what
they were getting into. The smarter ones with the business savvy knew when to
jump ship. As soon as they made back their investment and a little profit they
withdrew from Cash Plus. I recall travelling overseas and persons asking me if
I knew of Cash Plus and told me how much money they had invested in it. They loved the
fact that the US returns were great. My friend who lost his money lost it
because he hesitated and took too long to join.
His friends had been telling him about it but he was too afraid to risk
his money. The same week he joined was the same week the government clamped down
on Cash Plus. In his case, he did not do due diligence on the principals of the
company and his naivety cost him his life savings. He was not an intellect; he
was just a mere common man with not much schooling. When I asked him what would
he do if he did not get back the money his response was that it was just money.
He was a Christian, a firm believer in God and believed that there was a lesson
to be learned in all that happened. He did not owe anyone, he said, so he was
not worried. Happy to say that since then, due to the type of business that he operates, he has probably made back three times
the millions he lost.
I have no doubt that the principals of Cash Plus will
have their day of reckoning. There will be consequences and a judgement to every perceived wrongdoing. Will this judgement be swift or
slow in happening? Only God knows.
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