MMM HISTORY
The acronym “MMM” which was taken from the first letters of the three founders’ surnames, was used to form their company name. The company was established in Russia in the year 1989.
In the years that followed, several businesses MMM tried to do were unsuccessful until 1994, when MMM created a successful Ponzi scheme. Later that year, the police closed the offices of MMM for tax evasion and at the end of the day ceased operations. This led to at least 50 investors who lost all of their money, committing suicide. MMM went on to declare bankruptcy in 1997.
With the help of a distant relative in the US, one of the founders Sergei Mavrodi, started Stock Generation Ltd., another pyramid scheme based on trading non-existent companies’ stocks in a form of the “stock exchange game” on the company’s site, stockgeneration.com. Despite a bold-lettered warning on the main page that the site was not a real stock exchange, between 20,000 and 275,000 people, according to various estimates, fell for the promised 200% returns and lost their money. According to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, losses of victims were at least USD 5.5 million.
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In 2003, Mavrodi was arrested. After his release, he later went on to creating yet another pyramid scheme called MMM-2011.
In 2015 MMM began operating in South Africa with the same business model as MMM-2011, claiming a “30% per month” return through a “social financial network”. The group was identified as a possible pyramid scheme by the National Consumer Commission and accounts of clients were later frozen by Capitec Bank. In response to mounting criticism and official investigations by state authorities in 2016 supporters of the South African MMM scheme staged a protest march in Johannesburg.
In January 2016 the Chinese government banned MMM on the grounds that it is a pyramid scheme, (Ponzi scheme), and it is not registered in the country (and as a fraudulent scheme cannot be registered).
What exactly is a Ponzi/Pyramid scheme?
A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation where the operator, an individual or organization, pays returns to its investors from new capital paid to the operators by new investors, rather than from profit earned through legitimate sources. Operators of Ponzi schemes usually entice new investors by offering higher returns than other investments. They are mostly in the form of short-term returns that are either oddly high or unusually consistent.
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Initially, the promoter will pay out high returns to attract more investors and to lure current investors into putting in additional money. Other investors begin to participate, leading to a cascade effect. The “return” to the initial investors is paid out of the investments of new entrants, and not out of profits. Often the high returns encourage investors to leave their money in the scheme, with the result that the promoter does not have to pay out very much to investors; he simply has to send them statements showing how much they have earned. This maintains the deception that the scheme is an investment with high returns.
Investing in real estate may not really make sense because of the current market situation of the country. You may even be wondering if it is better you invest your money in the 30% promise of an ROI within 30 days from MMM.
ALSO READ: Is Buying a House a Good Investment?
Well, let me tell you that in China, there is no confusion over this issue, which is what makes the Chinese are the biggest buyers of overseas properties in the world. They buy properties across Europe, North America, and Australia, and they are pretty clear headed about this and there hasn’t been any regret about this since.
Now let’s get to it, Why is Real Estate a Better Investment than MMM?
1. A Real Estate Investment is Safer.
All investments require a level of risk, no doubt but with all of the background information about MMM provided above, it just goes to show that MMM is a reckless investment. Need I remind you that the CEO of the company (MMM Nigeria) Seigei Marvrodi is a convicted fraudster and has run similar fraudulent operations in different parts of the where he defrauded investors over a hundred billion dollars
With real estate, you can rent out your property and earn an excellent cash flow from it, of anything from 5% to 10% of the price of the property. Also, you can earn a substantial profit from the sale of the property as well as the buying and selling of landed properties.
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2. There is an Opportunity to be an Expert on Real Estate with Access to Special Information
Even though MMM prides itself on the ability to make you easy money, there is the issue of limited information. You do prior information about the person you are sending your money too (except for the account number) and its not like betting.
With real estate, you will have access to special information about the property market in your area that nobody else does. For example, if you own a property in a Victoria Island, you would have access to specific details about the Island’s property market, which will be known only to a few people, of whom would be active investors. This allows you to set the right price and market to the right buyers equaling less competition.
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3. You Can Inspect your Real Estate Investment Critically
With real estate you can conduct a thorough inspection of the property, talk to the owner, discuss with your real estate agent, examine the neighbourhood and perform a self-evaluation before making any commitments. It particularly difficult to do this with investments in MMM. You only tend to get blindsided by the fact that somebody around you is making that 30% in 30 days and you have no safety net to be totally sure that when you invest, this scheme or company would not fold up
4. The ROI Factor
ROI (Return On Investment) is an accounting term and tool used to determine the percentage of invested money returned to an investor after the deduction of the associated costs. For the non-accountant, this may sound a tad bit confusing, but it arithmetically means; the profit from the investment minus the cost of the investment divided by the cost of investment.
The promise of a 30% ROI is outrageous and not in terms of standard rates of investment. Imagine one making a profit of 30,000 naira for every 100,000 naira invested in the system in 30 days , excluding referral, signing up and testimonial bonuses. No legal financial company can offer you that investment plan which makes it all a bit shadier.
These “Return on Investments” been paid to older clients are money received from new clients and the circle continues, the 30% is never made from company profits. This is the reason for the aggressive ad campaign from the company(MMM Nigeria) paying massive additional bonuses to recruiters called “guiders” to conduct seminars and lure Nigerians into joining the scheme just to keep the system alive.
Whereas in real estate, with a good location, good tenants, good property, diligent research, you can make the return on your investment shoot through the rooftops.
With a number of investors in MMM regretting their decision at the moment, the real estate doors are still open to anyone and it is your best bet. It never crashes because it is as old as man himself. Take advantage of this opportunity now and make 100% return on your investment later.
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