COFFEE, MACAU SCAMS AND A PENANG MALL: HOW TEDY TEOW BECAME ‘JHO LOW 2’
By CILISOS Editorial Team Posted on 28/07/2022
Tedy Teow Wooi Huat, who formerly went by the name Terry, certainly had a penchant for wheeling and dealing. It’s been said that when he was a schoolkid in the 70s, he used to bring stuff like pencils, combs, books and other various items to sell at school.
By the 90s, Teow apparently saw that mobile phones are bound to take over the world, and so in response, he launched a chain of shops in Penang called CTI Mobile World. While he was said to have founded CTI Mobile World in the 90s, conflicting reports place that date to be February 2000, which is pretty amazing considering that by March of that year it would get acquired by Seto Holdings Inc, a US-listed company.
We couldn’t find out what he went on to do after that, but what we do know is that by 2008, he had a new venture: Island Red Cafe.
Apparently claiming that they have the ‘best coffee’ and a ‘new spirit of coffee culture’, Island Red Cafe was more than just a chain of coffee shops. We found some blog postings from around that time that listed down how Island Red Cafe worked, and it seemed to be a hybrid blend of a restaurant chain with multi-level marketing. How it works is like this:
1. A person can invest RM6000 for a ‘slot’ in Island Red Cafe.
2. If an area has 50 slots, a new Island Red Cafe branch would be opened, and the investors become shareholders.
3. Shareholders would allegedly get a number of benefits, such as:
RM300/month in returns for each slot for the first two years
RM150/month in returns for each slot for the following three years
RM100/month in food vouchers for each slot
VIP members get an extra 15% discount
You get another 30% off if it’s your birthday
We also somehow found a 5-minute ad for Island Red Cafe that’s still online and, uh, well, you can watch that below:
The amount of returns one could apparently get after investing would’ve ringed some alarm bells, but if Island Red Cafe really did serve up a lot of customers, it’s not impossible they could rake in enough to cover these expenses to shareholders, right? Indeed, it was marketed as an easier way for people to own their own franchise. However, the guaranteed returns starting at RM300/month would have been a clear sign of a Ponzi scheme going on, along with the extremely high investment returns (they claimed to be able to triple your investments).
Well unfortunately, we found a number of anecdotes about Island Red Cafe’s lackluster food and poor service, and it seemed as tho by mid-2009, many of those shareholders had apparently stopped getting their monthly returns and food vouchers.
A police investigation into Island Red Cafe began, and Tedy – Island Red Cafe’s executive director – along with his son pleaded guilty to tricking a total of 93 people into investing a total of RM1.04 million. As a result, in 2011 the court sentenced both dad and son a total of RM160,000 in fines and a day of jail each.
This would be far from the end of Tedy Teow tho.
Tedy would bounce back with a shiny new investment company
Perhaps he was just diversifying his business, but before he was sentenced to jail, Tedy had ‘set up’ another company called MBI International Sdn Bhd in 2009 (MBI apparently stands for Mobility Beyond Imagination). We use the term ‘set up’ a bit loosely here because another to a 2017 report, a Companies Commission of Malaysia report showed that MBI International Sdn Bhd was actually registered under Teow Mooi Goay and Teow Ee Meng (his son).
As for what MBI International actually does, it also depends on who you ask. While it seems to bill itself as an investment company, MBI’s credit report lists its nature of business as ‘operating convenience stores, dealing in body lotions, shampoo products and general trading’. It also seems to love putting its name out there as a frequent sponsor of events and corporate social responsibility such as the 2017 Penang Bridge International Marathon. Heck, it even has its own line of MBI International smartphones!
However, MBI only really hit the news bigtime when in 2015, it had set up M Mall 020 in Penang.
Now we’ve covered the bitcoin mall before, but the TLDR is that MBI International launched the mall with its own ‘digital currency’ called Mcoin, which you can use to buy and redeem stuff from M Mall.
Apparently, to get these Mcoins, you’d first have to become an MBI member. And how do you become an MBI member? Well, you have to pay for various ‘packages’ that cost anywhere from USD100 to USD15,000. Only by becoming a member and investing some money into the scheme will you get the ‘virtual currency’ to spend at the M Mall. Furthermore, they claimed that the more you spend on your membership for these coins, the higher your potential returns. Members who recruit new members also get commissions; these are known to be pyramid scheme calling cards.
However, Bank Negara caught on to the act, and in May 2017, red flagged MBI for its scheme. M Mall would also be raided, while 91 bank accounts linked to MBI International were frozen. Tedy would later be charged with two charges of issuing unrecognized payment instruments. Eventually, in 2018 he was fined RM3 million, while MBI International was fined an additional RM2.5 million. MFace International, a company under MBI was fined RM7 million as well.
By 2019, his infamy had yet to fade, as hundreds of Chinese nationals staged a protest in front of the Chinese Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, asking for help from the Chinese govt to recover the hundreds of millions in investment they had poured into MBI International.
Meanwhile, Tedy’s son was even held at knifepoint after three Chinese nationals broke into Tedy’s house looking for him. They only found his son, and demanded that he give them back their money. His son managed to yell for help, leading the three to escape – but not before dropping off two fake bombs at the house.
You’d think that by now, Tedy would’ve learnt his lesson, right? Well…. not exactly.
PDRM has just busted a huge Macau scam that’s allegedly linked to Tedy
2020 was a relatively quieter year for Tedy. The only mention of him we found in the newspapers was in The Edge in a report about Ooi Chieng Sim – a former executive chairman who was charged with drug trafficking. According to The Edge, many had linked Ooi to Tedy, however there’s been no evidence to prove that.
2021 however was a year more unfortunate for him. On the 3rd of January, the police held a press conference to inform that they are on the lookout for Tedy and his two sons Teow Ee Meng and Teow Chee Chow, after busting a Macau scam allegedly run by them.
According to Johor police chief Comm Datuk Ayob Khan, the syndicate would try to get victims to transfer money into a mule account. The money would then be transferred again to yet another mule account belonging to a different company, before being used to invest in Bitcoins and to purchase properties totaling up to RM336 million.
Police have so far found 91 different mule accounts, attributed to 73 company accounts and 18 personal accounts. Tedy is their main suspect, while his two sons were placed in two different companies as proxies to buy properties.
He added that Tedy is believed to be in Danok, Thailand right now, while his two sons remain in the country. He had apparently fled the country in January 2020. Bukit Aman’s commercial crimes investigations dept has in response formed a task force to track him down, so it remains to be seen if he would be brought back to face the courts.
Update: On July 23rd 2022, Tedy Teow was detained by Thai Police in Songkhla for money laundering, allegedly using money from online gambling business to build an entertainment complex in the district. He’s now awaiting deportation to China, where he’s wanted for questioning over the investment scam mentioned earlier.
So, for now it looks like, despite the comparisons, “Jho Low 2” was actually caught.
5000亿大骗局？世上只有一个MBI，庞氏却有无数个
丫丫港股圈2019-10-23 10:50
MBI创办人张誉发，祖籍广东省，为马来西亚籍第三代华人，亦是马来西亚国父东姑阿都拉曼的堂弟；
MBI的常委顾问是马来西亚警察总署的署长；
旗下有40多家产业链，有房地产、连锁超市、网上商城、影视公司、连锁公寓酒店、绿色家居等。
换句话说，人脉、背景、资源什么都很牛逼。当然，没有说谎是这一切的前提。
MBI于2012年由何振球和古希萍引进我国，在国内已活跃多年。
MBI在网上设立了“MFC游戏理财平台”，并在此基础上打造成虚拟货币“易物币”，通过在线商城购物、线下商家交易等方式，使“易物币”发生流通。
在今时今日，这个区块链概念基本上一点新意也没有，但放在数年前，却是一个划时代的创新。
但说到底，也只是一个披着区块链外衣的资金盘，一个盛传百年的传销骗局。
根据鉴骗媒体报导，要成为MBI会员，新人必须要申购价值700到35万元不等的虚拟货币；
成为会员后，“M粉”便可参与理财平台上的静态投资和动态投资，相应的会有静态收益和动态收益。
静态收益有广告位、赠送的美金(换取易物点)、分红点，收益主要来源于“易物点”每年定期成倍数拆分，“易物点”可以挂卖，也可以直接通过VISA卡在实体店消费，购买商品。
动态收益有广告奖、娱乐奖、游戏奖，收益来源于发展下线，其奖励形式为回馈“M币”。
会员只能提取变现后的55%，剩余的30%用于继续购买易物点，10%作为交易手续费，5%必须用于购买“Mmall商城”的物品，且“M币”挂卖价格只能托高不能压低。
从上图来看，MBI故意把投资计划设计得非常复杂，使得人们难以搞懂其中规则。
最重要的是，背后推行的仍然是动态奖金策略，注定了必须保证底层有大量的新人加入，才能保证金字塔模式高层的利益，其核心逻辑和庞氏骗局如出一辙。
按照《禁止传销条例》规定，只要具备入门费、下线发展、层层返利这三个特征，就可以判断其涉嫌传销。
既然本质是击鼓传花的庞氏骗局，MBI其后的故事发展也就不出人意料。
打着“只涨不跌”的谎言，以高额回报作为诱饵，通过人传人的方式，MBI在全国各地疯狂蔓延，不断发展下线。
其中，参与者多为五六十岁的中老年人，家人不管怎么极力劝阻，这些M粉们都不为所动，如飞蛾扑火般将一生的积蓄倾巢而出。
最后，往往就是人财两空的结局。
原本温馨和谐的家庭不再安静、亲人朋友反目成仇、绝望的家人在网络上求救的例子比比旨是。
对于这些庞氏骗局，我国一直在持续打击，甚至已作出实质行动针对MBI。
MBI于2017年就开始被调查，2018年已不能出金。
仍然，究竟施展了何种妖术、用了什么洗脑方法，才让这些人像被勾走了魂般泥足深陷呢？
其实百分之99的人明知道这是骗局，可是还要跳进去。
MBI创办人“张誉发”早有前科，从以前至今没有放弃过骗人，是一个传销惯犯。
2007年，张誉发成立“红岛咖啡”连锁店，与其儿子张志豪以及王东善一起经营，号称可让投资人“边喝咖啡边赚钱”。
投资人只要花马币6,000元成为会员，不但可以在全马红岛咖啡馆消费时得到折扣，更可享受每月5%的回报。
另外，会员拉人头加入更可得到佣金。
说穿了，其模式仍然是金字塔老鼠会，目的是诱骗他人投资加入，进行集资。
不出意外地，投资者一直未能得到分红，计划最后破局，受害者达到3,000多人，张誉发等三人后来被马来西亚判刑。
不过，大马的法律最后证明了法律根本没啥用，张誉发只坐牢1天，罚款了事，而王东善则大摇大摆。
其后，张誉发又创建了新型诈骗模式，即目前的MBI虚拟货币。
事实上，根据南都报导，早于2015年，有数名公众先后在国家工商行政管理局网站上留言，咨询MBI是否系传销组织。
而有关部门也留言回复明确指出，“MBI是传销，已有地方工商、公安机关对其进行查处”。
其后，MBI继续发展，中国及大马警方也先后出手打击。
2016年12月7日，何振球、古希萍等12人因犯组织、领导传销活动罪，分别被徐州法院判处有期徒刑8年到1年半不等，并处罚金60万到10万不等。
其中，退缴的赃款人民币1,500万元依法予以没收，上缴国库。
2017年6月20日，大马贸消部、警方等相关部门成的联合执法团队突击MBI，并逮捕了张誉发，同时冻结该集团的98个银行账户以及2.09亿资金。
仍然，上述一切、加上停止提现，也阻止不了MBI继续营运。
依照一贯套路，MBI持续编造一个又一个的新项目，换个名字继续圈钱，不求坑到所有人，但能坑到几个就坑几个。
根据介绍，目前最新的“MPV虚拟币”很牛逼，乃由全球不动产资产支撑。
无论如何，即使名字换了，箇中圈钱道理不变，就是投资一种东西，以高额回报且只涨不跌等宣传口号为诱饵，引诱参加者继续发展他人参加。
目前越来越多的M粉丝开始觉醒，也导致越来越多的M粉不相信MBI吹的牛。
基本上，庞氏骗局的忠粉可分为3类：
第一类，当然是最先进入、赚了钱的大小领导们，忠诚在于能继续靠着平台捞钱；
第二类，是投了钱、还没回本的人，这类人处于觉醒边缘，但只因存有一丝能慢慢回本止损的希望，因此继续效忠；
第三类，是真心相信天上掉馅饼的小白，已经完完全全沉醉在这个充满爱的大家庭里，认为自己走在科技发展的最前端，无风险地坐享其成。
最可怜的是，自然是第三类忠粉，最后发现自己的梦想只是一场泡影，但在此前还一直为着这个大家庭辩护。
2017年12月26日，有民间四大“高返天王”之称的“钱宝网”，其实控人张小雷自首，一个超百万人卷入300亿资金庞氏骗局迎来了终局。
令人意外的是，面对张小雷的自首，大量“宝粉”的第一反应是拒绝。
发放自首讯息的“平安南京”微博号更受到了“宝粉”的攻击，甚至宣称警方被盗号，任警方的微博运营者怎么解释也没用。
最后，警方只好录制受害者的视频，意图让“宝粉”们清醒。
不过，“宝粉”仍然执迷不悟，更控诉是警方自编自演，被采访者由民警假扮。
与此同时，大量“宝粉”也聚集于南京市公安局门口，除了少数希望能讨回本金的，许多人甚至希望南京市公安“尽快放人”，让张小雷出来与他们“共渡难关”。
2019年6月21日，张小雷被正式判刑，在集资诈骗罪下，有期徒刑十五年，并处没收个人财产人民币一亿元。
张小雷当庭认罪、悔罪，表示服从法院判决，不上诉。
很多时候，庞氏骗局的受害者即使被卖了，还在帮人数钱呢，世上最令人伤感之事莫过于此。
结语
庞氏骗局有几个明显的特征：
1，没有实际产品，公司本身并不产生任何利润；
2，以高回报为诱饵；
3，有金字塔结构的组织层级；
4，需要发展下线，并靠下线的新进资金来推动。
其实只要谨记一点：投资有风险，这样就不会坠入这种只由极少数人敛财的把戏。
MBI的受害人是可怜，不过天下没有免费的午餐，智商税仍然要交，好让他们能好好反省一下自己的愚蠢和贪，不要在需要祖国的时候才想到唱国歌。
世上只有一个MBI、也只有一个张誉发，但庞氏骗局杀之不尽。
人类贪性不改，庞氏骗局也就能永远横行人间。