When walk by the Steven’s Corner cafe at Bintang Walk, Kuala Lumpur last week, I notice it was closed.

Do you know what Exactly happen?

From what I read, The Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry is investigating three cafes-– Island Red Cafe and Steven’s Corner – and said the third one would be revealed later, on allegations that they conducted sales similar to a multi-level marketing scheme but without licence.

Both company websites also has been suspended.

It is very sad to see people being rip off due to this unlicensed multi-level marketing schemes.

The chances of recovering their money back was very slim.

Island Red Cafe promotion also feature in BERNAMA news!

so Just do not believe everything you See!

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Island Red Cafe on Bernama TV

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I was approached by friends before the launch of this multi-level marketing scheme but decline to join.

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‘If it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t true‘.

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Setapak Steven’s Corner

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Steven’s Corner Company History

Founded in 1976 by an Indian couple, Steven’s Corner is a mamak restaurant located in Overseas Union Garden, off Old Klang Road, Kuala Lumpur.

Steven is the nickname of Silan, a member of the family. The original stall sat on a shop corner, hence the name Steven’s Corner. It started as a small, humble stall selling only roti canai and mamak fried noodles. Over the years, Steven’s Corner has grown in size and number, a result of sheer hard work of its owner and the support and patronage of its loyal customers. Determination and conviction helped the restaurant chart its own direction and establish its own unique business model. The foundation was laid long ago for future growth and expansion.

In 1985, Steven’s Corner was registered as Sri Komalah Restaurant and extended its business hours to 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In 1997 Steven’s Corner opened its second restaurant in Pandan Indah, Cheras. This was followed in 2007 by a third restaurant in Setapak.

Steven’s Corner imports its own spices. With secret recipes passed down from generation to generation and its own innovations, it has been able to introduce its unique, trail-blazing menu. A mamak cuisine craze that swept the land helped establish Steven’s Corner as a modern, conspicuous culinary icon. Steven’s Corner is also the first mamak restaurant in Malaysia to offer wireless broadband Internet connections.

Today, Steven’s Corner wants to bring mamak cuisine to every corner of the country. For this purpose it has been registered as a service business with the trademark "Steven’s Tea Garden". From now on Steven’s Tea Garden will launch chain restaurants throughout Malaysia, thus realizing its ambition to grow into a bigger, stronger brand that will serve the Malaysian food lovers for a long time to come.

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A scheme too good to be true

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IT was an investment plan that looked too attractive to pass up. After all, the plan had the backing of a company that had been in the market for more than 30 years.

Events organiser *Casey was first introduced to the plan in April 2008, when interested members like him were asked to open their master accounts.

Casey was one of the pioneer members of the scheme and thought it would be a good opportunity to earn some extra cash.

The scheme was offered to the public at between RM3,000 and RM30,000.

However, a year and three months down the road, that “investment” turned out to be his biggest mistake when the company failed to pay his returns or commissions and even froze the accounts so that no withdrawals could be made.

“The company told us that our bank accounts were frozen by a bank as it was conducting investigations on credit card fraud.

Boarded up: The shutters at the outlet in Bukit Bintang have been pulled down.

“We later found out that was a lie. The company initially put the blame on Maybank but later omitted the name of the bank,” Casey said.

The initial stage was designed with four plans that members could opt to buy — at a starting price of RM3,000 per lot — the Master Plan Classic (RM3,000), the Silver Plan Classic (three lots) at RM9,000, the Gold Plan Classic (five lots), and Platinum Plan Classic (10 lots).

Members also had to fork out an additional RM100 for an administration fee.

“When the response picked up, the company increased the price per lot to RM4,000,” Casey said.

For their investment, members received a membership prepaid card that entitled them to dine at the chain of air-conditioned mamak outlets.

The prepaid card was first valued at RM1 for one point and members could redeem meals using their points, but in December, it was turned into a discount card.

Another member *Daniel said that sometime in July or August last year, members began to stop receiving their monthly returns.

“We knew of a grandmother who had invested her savings of RM80,000 in the scheme but got nothing in return,” Daniel said.

In October, the company introduced another type of plan — called the EZ Plan — where the starting fee was just RM300, followed by RM900, RM1,500 and the highest at RM3,000.

“It was a less expensive plan for members to join and returns were supposedly faster.

“But, by then, many of us were not interested and we only wanted our earlier returns and investments back,” Daniel said.

Several members investigated the company and discovered that it did not have a licence under the Direct Sales Act 1993. However, the company denied that it practised multi-level marketing.

“They said they were a membership-based company but the form still required members to name their sponsors and find more members,” a disgruntled investor said.

*Janice said the company continued to rope in new members throughout the period and promised returns for all.

“Recently, they claimed to be under the Easy Pha-max banner, but the latter denied that such a deal had been made,” she said.

A call to the parent company revealed that Steven’s Corner was no longer affiliated with STG Resources Sdn Bhd, which had come up with the scheme, and that STG was under a different management.

Initially, STG’s brochures had stressed that Steven’s Tea Garden was a new concept restaurant under the Steven’s Corner group.

When contacted, an operator at STG Resources headquarters in Setapak claimed that it had teamed up with another big corporation and would be coming up with a new plan.

However, a spokesman for the corporation denied that any deal had been struck with STG Resources Sdn Bhd.

Meanwhile, Steven’s Tea Garden outlets in Sunway Pyramid, MidValley Mega Mall, Jalan Bukit Bintang and Ampang have been closed down and as many as 50 former members have sought the help of Bukit Bintang MP Fong Kui Lun.

Fong said he had arranged for the victims to meet Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob to highlight their plight.

“I’ve also forwarded the case to two other ministries — the Finance ministry and the Home ministry.

“This is a clear-cut case as the company is using a MLM plan without a licence and is still soliciting money from the public,” Fong said, adding that they would meet the minister again soon.

Meanwhile, 12 victims, who had collectively lost about RM1mil, have formed a pro tem committee to help others out.

The committee said they knew there were risks investing in any business but they claimed that STG had not been truthful or transparent.

“The company is misleading people and collecting money from the public without a licence.

“The government has to take serious action in this case and about 1,000 police reports have already been lodged against the company,” they said.

The group is also seeking legal advice but admit that the chances of recovering their money was slim.

Steven’s Corner CEO Gunalan Sinnapan, meanwhile, said the Steven’s Tea Garden trademark was registered to him and he had pulled the name back following the scandal that had smeared his image.

“Previously, the directors approached me as they wanted to use our name to come up with the MLM concept prepaid food card.

“We were only asked to manage the outlets and supply the food while they carried out the marketing plan.

“However, we also did not receive any payments for six months before they told us they would change the concept as their application for a licence had been rejected.

“Our Steven’s Tea Garden outlets were actually doing well until the MLM plan collapsed entirely,” Gunalan said, claiming that STG Resources had already signed up some 30 merchants that allowed existing Steven’s Tea Garden members to redeem their food points.

When contacted, STG Resources CEO Mick Yap said the case was being handled by MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Michael Chong and declined to comment.

He only said that solutions had been found but the plan was a business failure.

However, Chong said he would not interfere as it had already been exposed by the media.

“The company representatives had told me there was a rescue plan, and all parties agreed to keep it out of the media.

“However, because the investors also went to see Fong (Kui Lun), the issue attracted publicity and I want to leave it to the police to investigate,” Chong said.

“We had three meetings with them and STG Resources showed us its 2008 internal audit report, but my lawyers have demanded the 2009 accounts, which the company said it would furnish by March.

“The company told me it could have run away but did not as it was prepared to face the music if found guilty,” Chong said.

(* Names have been changed to protect identities.)

fr:thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2010/1/9/central/5409717&sec=central

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Probe on multi-level marketing sales at cafes

KUALA LUMPUR: The Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry is investigating three cafes on allegations that they conducted sales similar to a multi-level marketing scheme but without licence.

“The cafes were registered as private limited companies but they were not registered as companies under the Direct Sales Act,” said Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

He named two of the cafes – Island Red Cafe and Steven’s Corner – and said the third one would be revealed later.

One of the cafes would be hauled up to court next week, he said.

Ismail Sabri said the companies ran foul of the law because the businesses were regarded as an interest scheme under Section 84 of the Companies Act.

He said multi-level marketing schemes required approval from the ministry, which would then issue direct selling licences.

One of the cafes also took RM7,000 in deposit, resembling a pyramid scheme, he said.

Since commercial crime involved several jurisdictions, Ismail Sabri said the Government had decided to come up with a task force comprising the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM), the Securities Commission, the police commercial crime division and Bank Negara to help in the investigations.

The task force, he said, would be established within a month after discussions with Bank Negara. SSM chief executive officer Datuk Azmi Ariffin would head the task force.

Speaking to reporters yesterday after closing the “Your Business Starts with Companies Commission of Malaysia” programme, Ismail Sabri said that so far, 6,373 cases had been filed in court for non-compliance with Companies Act provisions.

He said 90% of the cases had been solved and only 123 cases were left and these involved serious corporate governance cases.

In his speech earlier, he urged small businessmen, such as those working in night markets, to register with the SSM.

Otherwise, it would be difficult for them to get bank loans, he said.

During the ceremony, the SSM’s mobile registration office was launched

fr:thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/1/30/nation/5577080&sec=nation

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Victims claim loss of RM10mil in cafe chain investment scheme

GEORGE TOWN: More than 300 people in Penang have come forward to report that they have lost over RM10mil in investments in a cafe chain that is now under probe for conducting unlicensed multi-level marketing schemes.

Penang MCA public complaints bureau chief Tan Teik Cheng told a press conference yesterday that hundreds were believed to have invested in a cafe in the Island Red Cafe (IRC) chain as shareholders and members.

Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob had said on Friday that the ministry was investigating several Island Red Cafe, Steven’s Corner and another cafe on allegations that they conducted sales similar to a multi-level marketing scheme without a licence.

Tan said his bureau received 66 complaints to-date from Penangites who had invested as shareholders in one of the IRC, and urged others to come forward so that they could help to compile the data and forward it to the ministry.

Concerned: Tan (seated second from left) talking at the press conference together with some of the victims of the cafe chain scheme Sunday.

He said IRC operated six restaurants in the state – four on the island and two on the mainland – which have since closed down. A check showed that the company’s two websites had also been suspended.

Present at the press conference were 27 victims. Their representative K.Y. Kong called on fellow investors to unite and get themselves organised so that they could help the police as a group to identify the main culprits.

Kong, a florist, in his 70s, said he first got involved towards the end of 2006 when the original concept was to tap into the e-mall market.

Kong who declined to disclose his own investments, said that shareholders had an option to invest in three packages of RM27,600, RM48,300 and RM82,800, which promised long-term profit-sharing returns of RM79,530, RM141,360 and RM246,110 respectively after five years.

Complaints can be made to the bureau at the state MCA headquarters in Pahang Road. Tan can also be contacted at 012-4385456. Island Red Cafe officials could not be reached for comments

fr:thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/2/1/nation/5587281&sec=nation

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Companies Commission In Final Stage Of Island Red Cafe Probe

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KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 7 (Bernama) — The Companies Commission of Malaysia is in the final stage of its investigation into the Island Red Cafe retail coffee chain, Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said on Thursday.

The investigation, which followed reports from members of the public who alleged that they had been cheated, could only be conducted by the commission as Island Red Cafe was not registered with the ministry as a direct-selling or franchise company, he said.

Ismail Sabri said that Island Red Cafe appeared to be a company offering an investment scheme to the public.

"The commission is investigating as the company is registered under the Companies Act and from the deposit-taking aspect, I understand Bank Negara is also carrying out an investigation," he told reporters after officiating the new corporate identity of Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd’s soft drinks division.

Ismail Sabri said Island Red Cafe, which started operations in 2007, was also reported to be running a franchise business and collecting fees, an offence under the Franchise Act 1998.

"This is why we handed the case to the commission. The investigation is comprehensive, including the deposits taken, which needs the approval of Bank Negara," he said, adding that in connection with this, Bank Negara has the right to freeze the assets of Island Red Cafe.

fr:bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsbusiness.php?id=466843