‘Sunrun Cameroon’ scams get-rich-quick Cameroonians out of over FCFA 20 billion
By Stephen TADAHA
Over FCFA 20 billion have been extorted from money-minded Cameroonians looking to get rich quick. The scam was masterminded by a fake online investment platform which had operated in the country for just two weeks.
The closure of a company named ‘Sunrun Cameroon’ which had opened offices in some Cameroonian cities, has left the country in turmoil over the past three days as many Cameroonians who had laid their trusts in the company, reportedly invested huge sums for huge gains in return.
The company which pretended to be an online solar company, based in America with an affiliated office in Cameroon, had put in place a system designed like a pyramid, which favored the first subscribers and had as main target, young people who are strongly interested in easy gains.
According to the investors, the platform looked real, reliable and convincing because its physical offices already existed in various towns on Cameroonian soil.
Its modus operandi went to convince potential victims to invest at least FCFA 5 000 in renting of solar panels for a 1-month contract and earn either hourly or monthly incomes which will double or triple their initial investments by the end of their contracts and at the end of the month.
The first subscribers enjoyed huge benefits and were thirsty for more, thus bringing in their relatives and friends into the investment circuit.
Believing it was manna from heaven, victims rushed in, investing huge sums, but to their greatest surprise, it turned out to be a scam. They could not get access to their accounts which had been blocked and the offices closed. Unfortunately for thousands of Cameroonians, Sunrun Cameroon turned out to be a mirage, a well-established scam disguised under the label of renewable energies.
The company Sunrun, happens to exist and is indeed a US-based solar energy company, but has said they do not have any offices in Cameroon.
According to latest information relayed by some media outlets, the man posing as the manager of Sunrun Cameroon, was arrested in Buea on Tuesday November 26.
This is another clear example of government failure to create jobs or at least make the environment favourable for youth seeking jobs and they end up falling for such fraudulent schemes.
