vizinova-logoOne of the stranger MLM stories we broke in 2014 was that of Michael Sander helping ViziNova establish their Ponzi scheme in the UAE.

ViziNova accepted deposits of $1000 to $3000 from their investors, on the promise of an advertised 150%-166% ROI.

In addition to assisting ViziNova register themselves offshore, in the hope they might evade the attention of US regulators, Sander also published a fluff piece in his publication, Obtainer Online.

In it, Sander ignored ViziNova’s Ponzi scheme business model and claimed

ViziNova isn’t a Ponzi scheme or a pyramid system because from the very outset Renato Rodriguez and Gutemberg dos Santos are demonstrating transparency.

Turns out transparency means dick when all you’re doing is shuffling newly invested funds to pay off existing investors (I know, shocking right?).

Now ViziNova appear to be on the verge of collapse, with Obtainer Online describing the deteriorating situation as a “shit storm”.

Elaborating on what exactly Sander was paid large sums of money to do for ViziNova, Obtainer Online write

a contract was drafted for Sander to set up an entire holding structure for dos Santos and his business partners Hagen Horst and Renato Rodriguez.

“It dealt with a globally interwoven network of companies with bank account connections in different countries, which were to be combined under the umbrella of a large offshore holding corporation,” says Sander in a telephone conversation with the editorial team.

In other words, Sander used his connections to set up a vast money laundering network for VizNova that spanned multiple regulatory jurisdictions.

Amazingly, Obtainer Online to this day still attempt to portray Sander as some sort of Ponzi scheme hero for his actions:

It is precisely these procedures that led to a shit storm such that Sander himself had never experienced. He was denounced as a criminal, scammer, money launderer and Ponzi scheme godfather.

Unperturbed, Sander held to his contracts not only founded the companies for Dos Santos, Horst and Rodriguez, but also helped to rent an office in Dubai and procure personnel.

Yeah the self-pity is nauseating, but the takeaway is that despite clearly being aware of what he was dealing with, Sander pushed on anyway.

And that makes what is happening now all the more important.

Looking back, we probably have to say that Sander would have done well to stay away from Gutemberg dos Santos, Hagen Horst and Renato Rodriguez.

To date, Vizinova does not have a functioning business model. Complaints are heaping up worldwide. And websites, primarily in Spanish and Portuguese, are full of accusations, complaints and negative experiences. But nothing good is heard in Germany and the EU either.

Outstanding commissions, empty promises and repeated empty promises of the near future have been everyday life for months. In Dubai, the situation does not seem to be better.

The staff of Vizinova have sometimes not been paid for 7 months. Utility bills, Internet bills, rents – the unpaid bills are piling up.

“Hindsight is always 20/20. But I always act according to the motto: give everyone a chance, regardless of what others say about.

By all means give people chances, but when you know they’re operating a blatant Ponzi scheme (as per their publicly available business model) and you still get involved?

Bloody hell Sander, at least own the fact that you were blinded by greed.

Instead, all Sander had to say was this:

I still have to apologize to all those who, like me, have been victimized by these people.

Victim? That’s rich.

I’m guessing Sander didn’t receive his payday – or at least not all he was promised. And that’s what’s prompted this pseudo-apology fluff in Obtainer.

Curiously, the publication claims Sander is no longer involved with it:

Michael Sander resigned from OBTAINER, also so as not to endanger the magazine.

“In the end, we are what we are, because we are what we are. I cannot change what was, but I can learn from it for the future.

I have also dealt with all of the consequences, left OBTAINER and dedicated myself entirely to the business consulting and downline building.”

How much input Sander still has into Obtainer is unclear. As evidenced by their article “Vizinova – all just fraud in the end?” though, Sander still has enough clout to get them to publish PR spin aimed at distancing himself from his ViziNova mess.

Not good enough chief, all the warning signs were there and you should have known better. Instead, you chased those consultancy fees. To hell with the investors you helped ViziNova steal from.

And now you’re trying to pass yourself off as a victim one and the same? Disgraceful.