The Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission issued a fraud warning against Agri Marine Ventures on February 28th, citing its involvement in soliciting and selling unregistered securities. The regulatory body identified Art Capunitan Berroya as the scheme's President and CEO, a figure central to the operation offering investors 200% returns over 30 days.

Agri Marine Ventures provides no executive or ownership details on its public website. The domain name, registered privately on January 8th, 2023, offers no transparency regarding its administrators. This lack of verifiable corporate information raises immediate red flags for potential investors.

To project legitimacy, the company presented an incorporation certificate for "Agrimarine Harvesting Services National," supposedly registered in the Philippines on January 5th, 2023. The certificate lists Art Capunitan Berroya's name. However, the actual connection between this registered entity and Agri Marine Ventures' operational platform remains unclear. Scammers frequently register shell companies with minimal details to create a facade of legality. Basic incorporation documents, without further transparency, hold little meaning in MLM due diligence.

The Philippine SEC explicitly stated, "The aforementioned scheme of AGRI MARINE VENTURES vis-à-vis ART BERROYA seems to be fraudulent as it is involved in the solicitation, offering, and/or selling of unregistrable securities from the public." This public warning underscores the unauthorized nature of the investment offerings.

Berroya maintains a Facebook profile, but it contains only two recently uploaded photos. This suggests the profile was either scrubbed clean or created specifically for marketing purposes. He also appears in a marketing video uploaded to Agri Marine Ventures' official YouTube channel on January 18th, 2023. The video shows Berroya posing as a farmer, filmed at an undisclosed location in the Philippines.

Agri Marine Ventures does not offer any retailable products or services to external customers. Affiliates primarily market the Agri Marine Ventures affiliate membership itself, recruiting new investors into the scheme. This structure means no actual goods or services generate external sales revenue.

Affiliates invest funds and receive passive returns under several plans. The "Marine Farming" tiers include investments of 500 PHP, 1000 PHP, 2000 PHP, 3000 PHP, 5000 PHP, 8000 PHP, and 9000 PHP, each promising a 200% return over 30 days. For instance, a 500 PHP investment would yield 1000 PHP. The "Agri Farming" tiers offer similar 200% returns over 30 days for investments of 10,000 PHP, 20,000 PHP, 50,000 PHP, 100,000 PHP, and 200,000 PHP. Agri Marine Ventures imposes a 10% fee on all withdrawals.

The MLM component of Agri Marine Ventures compensates affiliates for recruiting new investors. A unilevel compensation structure is used, where an affiliate sits at the top of their team. Personally recruited affiliates are placed on level 1. If those level 1 affiliates recruit, their recruits go on level 2, and so on, extending down to ten payable levels.

Commissions are paid as a percentage of funds invested by recruits. Level 1 recruits generate a 10% commission if they invest in a Marine Farming tier, or 15% if they choose an Agri Farming tier. Levels 2 through 5 yield a 0.5% commission, while levels 6 through 10 pay 1%.

Agri Marine Ventures also operates a 2x2 matrix cycler. Affiliates qualify for a position in this cycler either by completing one 30-day investment cycle or by earning 5000 PHP in level 1 referral commissions. If qualification occurs via investment, the affiliate pays an additional 200 PHP for the cycler position. Qualification through referrals grants a free position.

A 2x2 matrix places the affiliate at the top, with two positions directly beneath them. Each of those two positions then branches into two more, forming the second level. Positions in the matrix fill as other affiliates qualify. Once a matrix fills, a 1800 PHP cycle commission is paid. Of this, 200 PHP is withheld to fund a new cycler position, restarting the process.

Agri Marine Ventures affiliate membership is free. However, full participation in the investment and compensation plans requires a minimum investment of 500 PHP.

The company claims its external revenue comes from farming activities. This claim lacks credibility. If such farming operations genuinely generated 200% returns monthly, the individuals involved would quickly become billionaires without needing public investment. The Philippine SEC's fraud warning directly refutes any notion of legitimate external revenue. The farming theme serves purely as theatrics.

The only verifiable revenue source for Agri Marine Ventures is new investment from participants. Using these new funds to pay existing affiliates a 200% monthly return defines a Ponzi scheme. The additional referral commissions and the matrix cycler add a pyramid layer to the operation. Once affiliate recruitment slows, the inflow of new investment dries up. This starves Agri Marine Ventures of the funds needed to pay promised returns, leading inevitably to its collapse. The financial mechanics of such schemes guarantee that the vast majority of participants lose their money when the system fails.

Victims of investment fraud can contact the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission directly for guidance and to report fraudulent schemes.