Bekasi-Based Influencer Accused of Defrauding SMEs Over Endorsement Payments Worth Millions

BEKASI – Allegations of fraud in a promotional collaboration involving Instagram influencer @pandu.bone, alias Pandu Sulaeman, have drawn public attention after several micro, small, and medium-sized enterprise (SMME) operators in Bekasi reported suffering losses through similar tactics.

Several traders claim they have deposited advance payments for promotional services, but content was not uploaded according to agreement and funds have not been returned.

One victim, Nurul (30), owner of a seblak food business in Bekasi, initially intended to use Pandu’s endorsement services to promote her business through his TikTok account.

“At first I really intended to get Pandu to do an endorsement. So I asked him via WhatsApp and enquired what his rate card was first,” Nurul told Kompas.com on Saturday (28 February 2026).

“After he gave me the list, I thought it was too expensive for an SMME like mine. So he lowered the price to 5 million, but I still couldn’t afford it. It went down again to 3 million, then I told him ‘wait a minute, I want to discuss this first’,” she said.

According to Nurul, she was continually persuaded to agree to the collaboration quickly.

“Then he sort of pressured me, saying this was already the best price, worried someone else would take it,” she said.

Nurul ultimately paid a deposit of 2 million rupiah with a promise that the visit would take place in early December 2025. However, the visit did not materialise on the promised date.

“But when the day came he didn’t show up,” said Nurul.

“He messaged me saying he wanted to refund. But it turns out until now there hasn’t been any refund at all. Since mid-December,” she said.

The total value of the agreed collaboration was 3 million rupiah. Nurul paid 2 million rupiah as a deposit, whilst the remaining 1 million rupiah was planned to be paid after the visit and review video was uploaded.

“Initially I would settle up after the visit. After the video was uploaded then I would pay the rest,” she said.

To date, she claims she has received no response despite attempting to contact him via Instagram, TikTok, and WhatsApp.