KUALA LUMPUR – A 62-year-old woman has turned to the Kuala Lumpur High Court to recover earnings she was promised from an alleged investment scheme promoted by a Facebook user who was impersonating Elon Musk – the world’s richest man.
The housewife filed her case at the high court through an originating summons, claiming she was contacted by eight Facebook accounts using the names Elon Musk and Elon Reeves Musk.
She alleges that she was persuaded to invest her money in Tesla or other investment platforms recommended by a person named Ivan Pacheco, who claimed to be Elon Musk’s investment manager.
“Most of the messages from the Facebook account(s) encouraged the applicant to invest in Tesla or other investment platforms suggested by an individual posing as Elon Musk and his associate, Ivan Pacheco,” her originating summons stated.
On January 13, the applicant invested US$250 (RM1,142.66) with the impersonator of Elon Musk and US$50 with Ivan Pacheco, according to the documents.
The woman claims she was promised a profit of US$14,100, which was to be transferred to her local Maybank account from two US banks, Wells Fargo and Bank of America. However, the promised funds were never deposited.
In addition to the promised profits, the woman was later contacted by a Facebook account under the name Maye Musk, purportedly Elon’s mother, who promised her a gift of US$10,000,000 and several Tesla vehicles.
Seeking clarity, the woman consulted Hong Kong-based law firm, Robertsons, which concluded that the Facebook accounts were operated by scammers from Myanmar.
According to an exhibit attached to her affidavit-in-support, the woman was defrauded of RM10,000 of her own money.
She filed her case without legal representation, saying in her originating summons that she is impoverished and receives welfare assistance from the Kuala Lumpur Islamic Council (MAIWP).
She has named the “Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) – US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur” and the police commercial crimes investigations department and anti-money laundering division as respondents to her suit.
The woman seeks a court order compelling the FBI to investigate the failed transactions that were supposed to deposit profits into her bank account. Additionally, she requests a ruling directing the US investigative body to update her on their investigation status.
In July last year, Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching reported that Malaysians lost RM302 million to scams on Meta’s platforms, Facebook and Instagram, from 2021 until June 2023.
In January this year alone, the police opened 69 investigation papers related to love scam fraud, resulting in losses amounting to RM1,834,795.
In response to scams like these and other cybercrimes, including online bullying and sexual offences against children, Putrajaya announced last week that all social media platforms would be required to be licensed under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 to hold them accountable. – August 2, 2024
