The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has moved to halt the operations and preserve the assets of three unauthorized investment schemes, stepping up enforcement against businesses soliciting public funds without the required licenses.

Cease-and-desist

In separate cease-and-desist orders, the SEC Enforcement and Investor Protection Department directed G’s Kicks Billard Hall, NShop/M&N Online Shop/NFunds and AI Quest Trading to immediately stop selling or offering unregistered securities through investment contracts.

The orders also cover Gabriel Fernandez Vasallo of G’s Kicks, Nathalie Jean Bersamina of NShop, and Erica Aguilar of AI Quest, as well as their officers, representatives, dealers, and persons acting on their behalf.

The SEC ordered the entities to cease their internet presence related to the schemes.

They were also prohibited from transacting business involving funds held in their depository banks and from transferring, disposing of, or conveying assets and properties under their control, preserving them for the benefit of investors.

Non-SEC registered

The three entities are not registered with the SEC as corporations or partnerships and therefore have no authority to sell, offer, or deal in securities.

G’s Kicks allegedly used social media to entice the public with supposedly risk-free or guaranteed returns of eight to 10 percent within 30 days, coupled with claims of fast withdrawals.

NShop and its related entities, meanwhile, allegedly continued soliciting investments despite an SEC advisory against their operations issued as early as June 2026. Prospective investors were offered substantial returns purportedly generated from their business operations.

The SEC also found Bersamina engaged in lending activities through entities that are not registered as lending companies, in violation of the Lending Regulation Act of 2007.