A 62-year-old housewife has filed a lawsuit in the Kuala Lumpur High Court to recover promised earnings from an alleged investment scheme promoted by a Facebook user pretending to be Elon Musk.
According to Scoop, the victim filed her case through an originating summons, stating she was contacted by eight Facebook accounts using the names Elon Musk and Elon Reeves Musk.
She claims she was persuaded to invest in Tesla or other platforms recommended by Ivan Pacheco, who allegedly posed as 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 complaint stated.
According to the court documents, she had invested US$250 (RM1,142.66) with the impostor of Elon Musk and US$50 (RM225) with Ivan Pacheco on January 13.
She alleges she was promised a profit of US$14,100 (RM63,491) which was supposed to be transferred from Wells Fargo and Bank of America to her local Maybank account. However, the funds were never deposited.Additionally, she was later approached by a Facebook account claiming to be Maye Musk, supposedly Elon Musk’s mother, who promised her a gift of US$10,000,000 (RM45.29 million) and several Tesla vehicles.
To seek clarification, the victim consulted Hong Kong-based law firm Robertsons, which determined that the Facebook accounts were run by scammers from Myanmar.
An exhibit attached to her affidavit-in-support reveals that the woman was scammed of RM10,000.
She filed her case without legal representation, citing her impoverished status and her receipt of welfare assistance from the Kuala Lumpur Islamic Council (MAIWP).
She has listed the “Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) – US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur,“ the police commercial crimes investigations department, and the anti-money laundering division as respondents in her lawsuit.
She is seeking a court order to compel the FBI to investigate the failed transactions intended to deposit profits into her bank account and to provide updates on the investigation’s progress.
In response to such scams and other cybercrimes, including online bullying and child sexual offences, Putrajaya announced last week that all social media platforms would be required to obtain a licence under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 to ensure accountability.
