Offers enticing Minnesotans to invest in an electric scooter company are making the rounds, but there is one big problem: There are no scooters.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is warning about what appears to be a pyramid scam after his office received complaints from consumers, particularly from members of the Oromo community, said spokesman Brian Evans.
“The scam is targeting non-English speaking communities and is spread through word of mouth,” Evans said in an email to the Minnesota Star Tribune. “It’s difficult to assess how widespread it is.”
Ellison publicizes scams used to rip off Minnesotans through his monthly Scam Stopper series.
In this case, Ellison said, consumers are being asked to invest in a scooter company with the promise that they will see a return on their money when the vehicles are rented out.
“Because there is no real product involved, the money put into the scheme by those new investors is the scheme’s only source of income,” a news release from Ellison’s office said. “This is a pyramid scheme which asks investors to recruit other people to buy into the scam.”
Ellison warned consumers to research businesses by checking for warnings issued by government websites or those of consumer watchdogs such as the Better Business Bureau.
He also said consumers should be suspicious about a company that cannot show a product or does not say where it is located or how it can be contacted. Other red flags include payments that might come through cryptocurrency rather than a legitimate bank, or payment tied to the number of people new investors bring in.
