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WCM777 first popped up on my radar back in June of this year. In formally reviewing and analysing the WCM777 business model and compensation plan, I discovered the company offered affiliates 100 day ROIs over five investment levels.

With invested affiliate funds the only source of revenue on the MLM side of the business, quite obviously WCM777 was operating as a Ponzi scheme.

Based out of Hong Kong and officially registered in the British Virgin Islands, a known tax-haven, WCM777 expanded operations into the US around the same time I initially reviewed the opportunity.

On Monday the 17th of June WCM777 held a “grand opening” at the Pacific Palms Hotel in Los Angeles, California. On their website WCM777 claim that over 500 affiliate investors attended the event, with twenty of them being given awards for their financial contribution and recruitment of new affiliate investors into the scheme.

The company also claimed to have ‘received great support from the California government‘, accepting a “Certificate of Recognition” from the City of Walnut.

Fast forward five months and WCM777’s offices have been abruptly shutdown, with rumours emerging that suggest an FBI investigation was behind the decision.

While I personally can’t confirm the existence of an FBI investigation into WCM777 at this time, what I can confirm is that last week the company did indeed decide to suddenly abandon its US operations and retreat back to Hong Kong.

In an October 4th announcement published on the WCM777 website, the company advises

The USA operation is closed. The company’s US customer service center, City of Industry office is closed.

The company’s US customer service phone number will remain the same, as will the email address.

No official reason is given for the unexpected retreat back to Hong Kong, however WCM777 do state in the announcement that their

global legitimacy strategy is to set up different system in each county to abide by local laws.

Ponzi schemes are of course illegal in the US and would explain WCM777’s sudden termination of their US operations.

Whether an investigation by the FBI (or any other US regulator) has been opened remains to be seen.

Seeking to target new affiliate investor markets, WCM777 also advise that the company will be ‘setting up foothold in Dubai to bless (the) Middle East‘, and that they’ve ‘already purchased (an) office there‘.

Meanwhile one can’t help but draw similarities between WCM777’s pulling out of the US and the now infamous Ponzi scheme GoFunRewards.

GoFunRewards operated a Ponzi points style compensation plan, combining it with a number of front businesses it hoped would mask the investment scheme nature of the business.

Just a month before WCM777 began targeting the US, GoFunRewards announced that, based on “advice from legal counsel”, they were ‘ceasing operations in the United States‘.

Like WCM777, GoFunRewards retreated back to Hong Kong where they were primarily based.

The modus operandi of these shady schemes appears to encompass a launch in the US under the guise of guaranteed legality, the taking in of as much US investor funds as possible and then, without notice, to abruptly flee the country.

As demonstrated by both GoFunRewards and WCM777, this is done within a timeframe unlikely to attract action from US regulators – but with more than enough time for the US’ top Ponzi players and those they recruit to get on board and invest large amounts of money.

As it stands now one last major Hong Kong MLM investment firm targeting the US remains standing, that being Better Living Global Marketing, who offer what are obviously unregistered securities via the Ponzi points compensation plan mode Zeek Rewards pioneered.

Will Better Living Global Marketing soon also follow suit and take their stolen spoils with them back to Hong Kong?

Stay tuned…