Fifty thousand Indian investors reportedly lost $8.8 million USD to the collapsed RGA "click a button" app Ponzi scheme. The scheme, which promised returns for simple digital tasks, ceased operations, leaving a trail of financial devastation across India. Police in the district documented the extensive losses on December 13th, following reports in the Deccan Chronicle.

Local police investigations further uncovered that approximately 10,000 individuals invested ₹9.5 crore (about $1.1 million) into the OnPassive Technology system. Another 2,000 investors lost ₹20 crore (about $2.4 million) to an unnamed but similar scheme. The PW app, a smaller "click a button" Ponzi, accounted for over ₹1.2 crore (approximately $141,000) in losses from more than 2,000 people. These figures highlight a wider pattern of digital investment fraud targeting the region.

"Click a button" app Ponzis operate by promising investors daily returns for completing trivial tasks, such as clicking buttons within a mobile application or liking social media posts. The schemes generate no actual revenue. Instead, they rely on new investor money to pay off earlier participants, creating an unsustainable pyramid structure that inevitably collapses. While often using cryptocurrency for transactions, some schemes also establish fake accounts with payment processors to offer local currency options, making them appear more legitimate to victims.

Organized crime syndicates, primarily originating from China, are believed to operate the scam factories behind many "click a button" Ponzi schemes. These operations are frequently based in Southeast Asian countries, leveraging lax regulations and often involving human trafficking to staff their fraudulent call centers and tech operations. The same groups of Chinese scammers are thought to be responsible for the widespread proliferation of these app-based Ponzis globally. Since 2021, over three hundred similar "click a button" app Ponzis have been identified.

In a move against these illicit networks, the US Department of Treasury sanctioned Cambodian politician Ly Yong Phat in September 2024. Phat faces allegations of sheltering Chinese scammers operating out of Cambodia through various companies he owns. This action reflects international efforts to disrupt the infrastructure supporting these sophisticated digital fraud operations.

OnPassive, though grouped with RGA and PW in local police reports, does not fit the typical "click a button" app Ponzi model. OnPassive operated as an MLM pyramid scheme, founded by US national Ashraf Mufareh. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Mufareh and his wife in 2023, alleging $108 million in securities fraud.

The SEC's lawsuit against OnPassive and Mufareh remains ongoing as of September 2024. As part of its investigation, the SEC seeks to depose OnPassive employees working in India. This development follows reports from July 2023, when OnPassive's Indian employees went on strike, claiming they had not received wages for six months.

The collective losses across RGA, OnPassive Technology, and the PW app in India total tens of millions of dollars, impacting thousands of families. The SEC case against Ashraf Mufareh for the OnPassive scheme continues in US courts.