How a woman lost $6m in a 'sure-win' investment scam

She was really just taking part in a Ponzi scheme where the profits’ were from her own funds

- Tan Ooi Boon

You would think that an investment opportunity that promises sky-high profits with an in-yourface name like "sure win for you" would raise a red flag with the word "scam" emblazoned on it, but there is always someone who falls for it.

Among the victims in this case was a woman who invested around $6 million of her savings in the "sure thing", believing it was a winner that would guarantee her a cosy retirement.

What she got instead was a nightmare. She and other investors lost all their money when the perpetrators of the "Sure Win4U" fraud Malaysian brothers Peter and Philip Ong vanished in 2014 after reports were multiple police lodged against them.

Investors had been sold a script that seemed almost like the Hong Kong blockbuster movie God Of Gamblers, with the duo claiming to have uncovered the secret of always winning at casinos, especially in the card game baccarat.

The idea involved turning over the investors' funds to a group of professional gamblers who would reap jackpot after jackpot at the gaming tables with their "sure win" formula.

The investors initially thought Lady Luck was really on their side when they received handsome payouts. That prompted them to put in more money and also to recruit relatives and friends so they could earn referral bonuses.

In reality, they were dumping money into a Ponzi scheme that had no real investment activities because the "profits" came from their own funds. The scam eventually collapsed when the remaining funds were siphoned off by the fraudsters.

Like most scams, victims usually have little hope of recovering their money because the culprits invariably vanish overseas.

But the woman who lost $6 million decided to take up the fight and took three early investors to the High Court in 2023 to recover her losses.