Nigerians Lose Millions To Ponzi Scheme, PXES

Nigerians who invested millions of naira in an online investment platform, PXES, are counting their losses after the scheme stopped paying returns and became inaccessible.

According to Saturday Punch, payments to participants stopped in early September, leaving investors who put tens of thousands and, in some cases, millions of naira into the platform unable to withdraw their funds.

The development has sparked anger among participants, with some aggrieved investors reportedly storming PXES offices in Adamawa and Kogi states and removing office equipment in attempts to recover their money.

The platform reportedly drew participants with promises of unusually high returns, with some investment packages advertised as offering between 25 and 50 per cent returns and others reportedly promising as much as 120 per cent.

In Yola, Adamawa State, and Kabba, Kogi State, frustrated investors reportedly visited PXES offices after withdrawals became impossible.

Videos circulating online showed people removing chairs, tables and other items from the company’s premises in Yola, while similar scenes were reportedly witnessed at its Kabba office.

In one of the videos, a man who reportedly invested about ₦209,000 could be heard lamenting his inability to recover his money.

Before the Kabba office was reportedly shut, its manager reportedly sent a message to investors promising that the company would compensate them for their patience.

However, investors claimed the office was closed about three days after the message was circulated, leaving them without clear information about the operators or their funds.

One investor, Bunmi Awodipe, said friends encouraged her to join the platform after showing her evidence of receiving returns.

She said she invested ₦200,000 and initially received weekly payments.

“They told me they invested money in PXES and were receiving their payments. They showed me evidence, so I decided to invest ₦200,000 and was receiving ₦7,000 every week. They only paid me for three weeks,” Awodipe told Saturday PUNCH.

She said her attempt to visit the company’s office after the payments stopped yielded nothing.

“When I went to their office last week, I didn’t see anyone. The place was locked and there was nothing in the office. Everything was removed,” she added.

Another investor, Deji Mulero, said one of his customers introduced him to the platform.

“It’s one of my customers who introduced this thing to me on September 4. I registered with ₦65,000 and it crashed the same Friday. That was how I lost my money,” he said.

An investor identified simply as Wale said he put ₦207,000 into the scheme and had accumulated nearly ₦600,000 on his dashboard before the platform stopped operating.

“I’ve been there for some months. Registered with 207k, now on first stage supervisor. Got close to 600k already on that account. My friend in Abuja introduced the scheme to me,” he said.

For 68-year-old Jumoke Talabi, the investment was intended to help meet her granddaughter’s school expenses and provide money for household needs.

Talabi said she invested ₦64,800 after seeing other participants receive payments. She had previously received ₦70,000 from the platform and subsequently increased her investment.

She said she was expecting another payment when the withdrawal period arrived but received nothing.

“I was meant to collect ₦18,000 before school resumes, and I thought that I would finish collecting all my profit. But so far, I have not collected any money,” she said.

Recalling the day she expected to receive her money, Talabi said, “When they said we should withdraw on Friday, I was dancing. I told my brother that the money did not enter my account, but I was told it would hit my account in the evening.”

She said the loss had left some of her friends equally distressed.

“One of my friends doesn’t know what to do or where to go. She has been crying,” she added.

Explaining why she invested despite the risks, Talabi said, “It’s poverty that made me do it. If not poverty, I would not, because the money is meant for school fees. I thought that maybe, I would see some to buy rice and eat.”

How Investors Were Recruited

Shola Adeshina, whose wife also invested in the platform, said stories about participants making substantial money helped attract more people.

He said some investors were encouraged by claims that participants had used returns from PXES to acquire cars and build houses.

According to him, concerns grew after investors who had committed millions of naira visited one of the offices after payments were suspended and allegedly discovered it had been abandoned.

Interviews with participants and promotional materials reviewed by Saturday Punch indicated that PXES operated a tiered membership system.

Participants paid different amounts to join and were subsequently given access to an online dashboard where they completed what were described as daily “orders” or tasks.

One participant, Funmi Deinde, said the platform had different membership levels, including Star 1, Star 2 and Star 3.

According to her, the entry levels included packages of ₦21,600, ₦54,800 and ₦207,000.

“When you join with this money, you have an account, a dashboard that you’ll be taking orders from every day,” she explained.

She said the dashboard displayed products, including household items, and participants were required to interact with them.

“When you click ‘Order’, they will highlight some of the things that you should be clicking. Household properties will be highlighted there,” Deinde said.

She explained that participants did not necessarily receive the products physically, adding that the registration payment gave them access to the platform.

“The money that you used to register has secured you a place as a member. So, you now have access to take orders every day,” she said.

According to Deinde, participants initially could withdraw their earnings daily, although the withdrawal system later changed to weekly as the platform expanded.

“Initially, every day, you can withdraw whatever you want to withdraw. The least withdrawal was ₦1,500, ₦5,000, ₦20,000, ₦100,000 and so on,” she said.

She added that withdrawal days were eventually assigned according to members’ investment levels.

Another participant, Emmanuel Ajayi, said the ₦64,000 package generated about ₦2,160 from the daily tasks, while the ₦21,600 package reportedly generated about ₦720.

Promotional materials reviewed by Saturday Punch listed packages beginning from ₦21,600, with higher packages including ₦64,800 and ₦207,000.

The materials claimed that a ₦21,600 investment could generate as much as ₦259,200 over 360 days, while ₦64,800 could yield up to ₦777,600 during the same period.

The advertised figures represented returns several times higher than the initial capital. Participants also said the platform encouraged members to recruit new investors and build networks.

A security guard, who asked not to be named, said he initially hesitated when his sister introduced him to PXES.

He eventually joined after repeated persuasion and invested ₦64,000.

The man said he withdrew about N20,000 on two occasions before the platform stopped paying, leaving his remaining investment inaccessible.

He added that his sister, who had reportedly built a larger network on the platform, lost more than ₦1 million after the collapse.