Colombian Shoppers Lament Shutdown of Crooked Shopping Club

A wave of scams is sweeping the South American country of Colombia as swindlers and highly advanced con artists take their games to new heights, often to the detriment of their investors and customers. The latest, a company called DMG, has been a boon for some Colombian shoppers that the company counts among its customers. In a nutshell, the company offers shoppers a simple, irresistible and, as it turns out, too good to be true approach to paying nothing for their purchases. First, customers buy a prepaid card, which they then can cash in for groceries, luxury items, cars and essentially anything one can imagine. Then, six months later, the same customers get all their cash back.

And even though thousands of working class Colombians are buying into the scheme, the country’s president, Alvaro Uribe, is definitely not. Uribe shut down DMG Group Holdings, S.A. last week, noting that it is a pyramid scheme that is used to launder drug money and would eventually leave customers defrauded. The company, started by 28-year-old former baker David Murcia, gave hope to many, even if they didn’t fully understand what was going on.

Speaking of the DMG system and the shutdown of her beloved shopping club, Colombian housewife Luci Lizca noted, "Where does the money come from? Believe me, I don’t know. But look, that cake maker showed himself to be smarter than a president. I don’t know how he cooked it up, but good or bad, he gave a lot of hope to people who have nothing." In response to the government-imposed closing of his company, Murcia responded, "What sin have I committed? Giving people something to eat? Helping people to generate jobs with their additional income? Improving their quality of life?"

Pressed to explain how he was able to essentially give away food, luxury products and an array of other items, Murcia responded simply that it was a matter of "cash flow." More likely, it would appear, Murcia was simply sharing the profits of the cocaine trade with "the people" of his country. An interesting approach, to be sure, but certainly not one that had any chance of lasting, which should prove once again the old adage that "if it seems too good to be true, it probably is."