Prevare v obliki piramidnih shem in njihov vpliv na oškodovance

magistrsko delo

Anja Rajher (Author), Iztok Kolar (Mentor)

Abstract

Spretni posamezniki iščejo vse mogoče poti, kako si pridobiti čim več denarja na škodo drugih. Pri tem izkoriščajo lahkovernost, pomanjkanje znanja in naivnost malega človeka. Tako so spretni posamezniki ugotovili način, kako priti do denarja, seveda s prevaro. Omislili so si prevaro v obliki piramidne sheme. Piramidna shema deluje na način, da posamezniki vstopajo s svojimi investicijskimi vložki v sam sistem. Pri tem je seveda nujno, da pripeljejo čim več novih vlagateljev, da se sistem enormno poveča. Organizatorji takšne prevare prepričujejo posamezne vlagatelje, da bodo brez posebnega truda zaslužili ogromne vsote denarja. Na začetku sistema organizatorji resnično izplačujejo donose prvim vlagateljem, saj le tako lahko zagotovijo, da se bo vse več in več novih vključilo v delujoč sistem. Dlje kot prevara deluje, več vlagateljev se priključi v sistem, ker pričakujejo donose. Ko organizatorji ne uspejo poplačati pričakovane in obljubljene donose vlagateljem, sistem propade, kot hišica iz kart. Veliko vlagateljev ostane brez svojega vložka, obljubljenih donosov in z izigranim zaupanjem. Seveda pa prevare v obliki piramidnih shem ne moremo enačiti z mrežnim marketingom. Sistema sta si zelo podobna, vendar je potrebno poznati tudi njune razlike. Velikokrat je njihova razlika zelo majhna in gre le za vprašanje njihovega namena delovanja. Če je cilj delovanja družbe prodaja in oglaševanje izdelkov, je mrežni marketing zakonit. Če pa je cilj te družbe le pobrati denar naivnih vlagateljev, je piramidna shema kaznivo dejanje. Prevare v obliki piramidnih shem so v Sloveniji opredeljene kot kaznivo dejanje in so organizatorji kazensko odgovorni. V zdajšnjem veljavnem zakonu KZ – 1 je organiziranje denarnih verig in nedovoljeno prirejanje iger opredeljeno v 212. členu. Ena izmed najbolj poznanih prevar v obliki piramidnih shem v zgodovini je nedvomno piramida Italijana Charlesa Ponzi, tako imenovana Ponzijeva piramida. Drugi največji goljuf vseh časov, s katerim je »čudežno izginilo« 50 milijard ameriških dolarjev, je bil Bernard Madoff. Na prevarantski način je uspel ustvariti največjo piramidno prevaro v zgodovini človeštva, katero je gradil in uspešno vodil kar 30 let. Njegova prevara je vključevala organizacije in posameznike iz celega sveta. Tudi v Sloveniji so potekale prevare v obliki piramidnih iger. Nekatere so k nam prinesli organizatorji iz tujine, druge so priredili naši spretni Slovenci. Delovale so naslednje: Fair Play, Catch the cash, Magic Gold, Hoff Design, Euro Success, Remius, Finanzas Forex, Profit Club, Future Trade Investment Holding. V magistrskem delu smo se poglobili v predstavitev in analizo prevar v obliki piramidnih shem in njihov vpliv na oškodovance. Z intervjuji smo želeli preveriti, kako so prevare v obliki piramidnih shem v Sloveniji vpliva na življenje oškodovancev.

Keywords

denarne verige;piramidni sistemi;shema;mrežni marketing;mreženje;finančne prevare;

Data

Language:	Slovenian
Year of publishing:	2014
Typology:	2.09 - Master's Thesis
Organization:	UM EPF - Faculty of Economics and Business
Publisher:	[A. Rajher]
UDC:	343.7
COBISS:	11923228
Views:	2593
Downloads:	435
Average score:	0 (0 votes)
Metadata:

Other data

Secondary language:	English
Secondary title:	Pyramid schemes of fraud and their effect on victims
Secondary abstract:	Inventive individuals are constantly searching for ways to acquire as much money as possible to the detriment of others. In doing so, they take advantage of people’s gullibility, lack of knowledge and naivety. Eventually they found a way to make money by using a clever financial scam. Con men came up with a financial fraud in a form of a pyramid scheme. In such scheme the individuals may only enter by investing in the system itself. It is, of course, necessary that they bring as many new investors along, so that the whole system grows enormously. The organizers of this kind of deception are convincing the potential investors that they will surely earn huge amounts of money without any effort. At the beginning the organizers actually pay out yields to the first investors, since this is the only way they can assure that new investors will want to take part. Gradually, more and more people are involved, and every one of them is expecting a pay-off. However, once the organizers are no longer capable of paying out the expected and promised revenues, the system collapses like a house of cards. Many financiers are left without the initial input, the promised returns and are double-crossed. Pyramid schemes should not be equated with network marketing. The systems may seem very alike; however, one should understand the differences. The variance between the two is sometimes very small and perhaps only a matter of the sole purpose of the operation. In network marketing, the organization’s aim is to advertise and sell products, which is a legitimate purpose. Contrary, if the sole purpose of the operation is to collect money from naïve investors, the matter in question is a criminal offence. Frauds in the form of pyramid schemes are considered an act of crime in Slovenia, for which organizers are consequently held criminally liable. Article 212 of the act KZ – 1 (penal code) defines organizing money chains and unlawful gambling as forbidden by law. One of the most widely recognized pyramid scheme type of fraud in history is undoubtedly the Ponzi scheme, named after the Italian Charles Ponzi. Another famous crook who made 50 billion US dollars magically disappear was Bernard Madoff. He managed to create the biggest pyramid scheme in history, which he successfully built and ran for 30 years. His operation included organizations and individuals from all over the world. Likewise, Slovenia had its share of pyramid scheme frauds. Some were imported from abroad, others invented by our clever Slovenes. Here is a list of known schemes: Fair Play, Catch the cash, Magic Gold, Hoff Design, Euro Success, Remius, Finanzas Forex, Profit Club, Future Trade Investment Holding. The focus of this master thesis is in-depth presentation and analysis of pyramid schemes and their impact on people who are suffering the damage. Interviews gave us an insight into how the pyramid scheme scams influenced the peopled involved in Slovenia.
Secondary keywords:	pyramid schemes;money chains;financial scams;network marketing;Ponzi scheme.;
URN:	URN:SI:UM:
Type (COBISS):	Master's thesis/paper
Thesis comment:	Univ. v Mariboru, Ekonomsko-poslovna fak.
Pages:	73 str., 7 str. pril.
ID:	8701081