Wanted fugitive John Barksdale is spearheading efforts to defraud consumers through Akasha.

Akasha and its AK1111 shitcoin is being pitched as the latest investment opportunity of Ultron and Akita Rider. [Continue reading…]

Following a request from a BehindMLM reader, Vorpen AI came up for review today.

A visit to Vorpen AI’s website however reveals it now redirects to Vorpen X.

Vorpen AI ran from the website domain (“vorpen.ai”), privately registered in June 2024.

Vorpen AI’s social media accounts were abandoned on or around April 13th. The domain redirection to Vorpen X happened around the same time. [Continue reading…]

Aifeex fails to provide ownership or executive information on its website.

Aifeex’s website domain (“aifeex.com”), was privately registered on October 9th, 2024.

Over on Aifeex’s official Telegram channel we find Chinese:

This suggest whoever is running Aifeex has ties to China.

As always, if an MLM company is not openly upfront about who is running or owns it, think long and hard about joining and/or handing over any money. [Continue reading…]

Des Alpes fails to provide ownership or executive information on its website domains.

Des Alpes operates from two known website domains:

1. desalpesfamily.app.clientclub.net – appears to be a subdomain on a third-party platform
2. desalpes.world – privately registered on October 24th, 2024

At time of publication both website homepages are nothing more than affiliate log in forms. A bit more information is provided on “invite.desalpes.world”, however this is still just a recruitment funnel with a vague generic marketing pitch.

Further research reveals Des Alpes promoters citing Daniel Dalpe as CEO and presumably founder of the company:

According to his social media profiles, Alpes is based out of Qubec, Canada. I wasn’t able to verify Alpes’ MLM history.

As always, if an MLM company is not openly upfront about who is running or owns it, think long and hard about joining and/or handing over any money. [Continue reading…]

Treasure fails to provide ownership or executive information on its website.

Treasure operates from two known website domains:

1. nk116.com – privately registered on February 26th, 2025
2. asctr.com – registered with bogus details on February 20th, 2025

Of note is Treasure’s “asctr.com” domain being registered through the Chinese registrar Alibaba (Singapore).

It should also be noted that, until recently, Treasure’s “nk116.com” domain was being used to run Nuclear AI. Nuclear AI is an already-collapsed “click a button” Ponzi scheme.

Treasure has already attracted the attention of financial regulators. The Central Bank of Russia issued a Treasure pyramid fraud warning on April 14th, 2025.

As always, if an MLM company is not openly upfront about who is running or owns it, think long and hard about joining and/or handing over any money. [Continue reading…]

HC Wellness operates in the nutritional supplement MLM niche. The company provides a corporate address in Mexico City on its website.

HC Wellness’ website domain (“hcwellness.net”), was registered in August 2019. The private registration was last updated on August 19th, 2024.

Heading up HC Wellness is founder Rafael Chavez Monzon and CEO Pablo Lara.

The “HC” in HC Wellness stands for “Hispano Club”. This reflects HC Wellness primarily targeting Latin America.

As per a 2017 trademark filing, Hispano Club offered

membership club services providing discounts and administrative processing of rebates for the services of others; all of the foregoing excluding insurance, surety, and warranty products and services.

In addition to access to discounts, Hispano Club also offered access to pre-paid health care plans and legal aid services.

It appears the original business collapsed and, around 2019, Hispano Club was rebooted as HC Wellness.

Pablo Lara’s HC Wellness corporate bio credits him with “extensive experience in network marketing.”

A search for “Pablo Lara mlm” prior to 2017 returns limited results. I was unable to verify Lara’s MLM history.

Read on for a full review of HC Wellness’ MLM opportunity. [Continue reading…]

Quant AI fails to provide ownership or executive information on its website.

Quant AI’s website domain (“airobot10.com”), was privately registered on January 16th, 2025.

Quant AI has already attracted the attention of financial regulators. Ukraine’s National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC), issued a Quant AI securities fraud warning on April 14th, 2025.

As always, if an MLM company is not openly upfront about who is running or owns it, think long and hard about joining and/or handing over any money. [Continue reading…]

Booster, aka Booster AI, Booster International Corp and Booster Lifestyle, fails to provide ownership or executive information on its website.

Booster’s website address (“boosterapp.ai”), was privately registered on December 3rd, 2024.

Further research reveals Booster marketing videos hosted by CNO Shannon Marie and “corp leader” Peter Ohanyan.

Ohanyan credits Shannon Marie with twenty-five years of network marketing experience. I wasn’t able to verify if any of that was at the executive level.

Peter Ohanyan is a serial promoter of fraudulent MLM investment schemes (NRGY, RB Global Crypto Bank, The Berlin Group, 3T Networks, GroceryBit, USI-Tech).

Over on Ohanyan’s FaceBook profile, we find a post citing Matt Ferk as “CEO of an A.I. company”:

On Ferk’s own Facebook profile we confirm he is Booster’s co-founder and CEO:

Ferk appears to have made a name for himself in Lyoness (aka Lyconet, Cashback World and currently myWorld).

Ferk joined Lyoness in 2010. Ferk’s Lyoness run as a promoter lasted till around 2018. After Lyoness Ferk got into professional gambling.

In 2022, Ferk rejoined Lyoness as CEO of myWorld in the US.

Ferk claims he resigned from myWorld after “learn[ing] the real inner workings of” Lyoness. When exactly Ferk resigned is unclear bu the was still promoting myWorld mid 2023:

Why Booster executive information is not provided on Booster’s website is unclear. One possible reason is Matt Ferk, aka Matjaz Ferk, is a wanted fugitive.

In 2021 the DOJ filed a Complaint under seal. The complaint detailed Ferk’s status as a wanted fugitive in Slovenia.

Slovenia had sought extradition of Ferk from the US, prompting the DOJ’s Complaint.

Being a fugitive from the Republic of Slovenia, which has sought FERK’s arrest with a view toward extradition from the United States, pursuant to the extradition treaty between the United States and Slovenia, 18 U.S.C. § 3184, for committing commercial fraud and tax evasion in violation of the criminal laws of Slovenia.

As above, quoted from the DOJ’s Complaint, Ferk is wanted for commercial fraud and tax evasion.

As detailed in the DOJ’s Complaint, circa 2006 Ferk was running a debt collection fraud racket. Ferk’s company Palas was selling non-existent debts to victim companies.

The business records of PALAS, of Victim-I, and of the Purported Debtor Companies reflect that FERK used forged signatures and fake documents (bearing fake stamps, fake invoice numbers, and/or fake debtors’ statements) to cause Victim-I damages of approximately €621,645.766 in exchange for the supposed rights to collect these nonexistent debts.

FERK knew that the claims to the debts did not exist and were based on forged documents.

During the investigation, FERK admitted that he had forged the invoices and the notices of assignment of claim.

FERK also asserted that he used the money he obtained from Victim-I to repay outstanding loans to the mafia.

Ferk’s companies also failed to pay invoices pertaining to purchased construction materials.

Ferk was indicted in Slovenia in 2013 on business fraud charges. A District Court in Murska Sobota convicted Ferk on business fraud charges in April 2014. Ferk was sentenced to one year in prison.

Ferk appealed the sentence twice but the conviction and sentence were upheld. An international arrest warrant was issued for Ferk in March 2024.

In December 2014 Ferk was charged with tax evasion. Circa 2010, Ferk filed false tax assessments detailing fake services performed and corresponding invoices.

Concluding Ferk was “evading criminal proceedings”, Ferk’s indictment was refiled in May 2020.

Upon an investigation by United States law enforcement, FERK was found living in Hamilton County, Tennessee, within the jurisdiction of this Court.

The details of Ferk fleeing Slovenia and turning up in the US with an active international arrest warrant out on him are unclear.

The DOJ’s Complaint was filed under seal based on an investigation concluding “FERK likely will flee if he learns of the existence of a warrant for his arrest.”

Ferk was arrested on January 21st, 2021. Following payment of a $30,000 appearance bond, Ferk was released either late January or early February 2021.

In his opposition to extradition, Ferk argued that the extradition treaty between Slovenia and the US required extradition to take place within the statute of limitations of equivalent charges in the US (mail or wire fraud and tax evasion).

This was five years for business fraud and six years for tax evasion.

On February 1st, 2022, a District Court in Tennessee denied Ferk’s extradition.

On the business fraud charges;

Because the Republic of Slovenia requisitioned the United States to extradite Ferk, the United States’ limitations period applies to Ferk’s business fraud charge.

Thus, under the applicable five-year U.S. limitations period, the Slovenian government had until December 18, 2012, to file an indictment; however, Slovenian authorities did not file the indictment until October 8, 2013.

The United States’ Motion for Certification for Extradition is hereby DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE as to the business fraud charge under Article 234a of the Slovenian Criminal Code.

And for tax evasion;

The Republic of Slovenia alleges that, in January 2010, Ferk submitted false data in connection with a value-added tax assessment of approximately €51,000 EUR.

Local prosecutors then indicted Ferk for tax evasion on December 17, 2014. There is no question that the December 2014 indictment falls within the applicable six-year limitations period.

However, subsequent developments with respect to the Slovenian tax evasion charge complicate the timeliness issue.

This pertains to the refiling of Ferk’s tax evasion indictment in 2020.

Slovenian prosecutors waited nearly five years before indicting Ferk in 2014.

Three years later, in July 2017, a Slovenian Court dismissed the December 2014 indictment.

Applying 18 U.S.C. § 3288 for tolling purposes under Article 7, the Slovenians had six months to re-indict Ferk after the limitations period expired or file for tolling of the limitations period.

They did neither. Instead, they chose to resurrect the dismissed 2014 indictment in 2020, which placed Ferk’s prosecution outside the six-year limitations window under 26 U.S.C. § 6531(2).

Accordingly, Ferk’s charge of tax evasion is timebarred under Article 7 of the Extradition Treaty.

To the best of my knowledge Ferk remains a wanted fugitive in Slovenia through three filed criminal cases.

Coinciding with Booster’s launch, Ferk threatened OffshoreAlert with litigation for reporting on his extradition proceedings back in January.

In an email sent to OffshoreAlert, Ferk asserts its coverage of his extradition proceedings is “inaccurate and defamatory”.

The post in question alleges that I was being prosecuted in a 2021 extradition request. However, the claim is demonstrably false and misleading.

This case was finalized and closed in 2021 by the U.S. Federal Court in Tennessee, with a verdict of NOT GUILTY/NO EXTRADITION.

If the post is not removed before January 15, 2025, I will have no choice but to involve my legal counsel to pursue all available remedies, including seeking damages for defamation and reputational harm.

As of April 2025, OffshoreAlert’s posts on Ferk’s extradition proceedings remain available.

As per BehindMLM’s own research into Ferk’s extradition proceedings above, we can confirm there was no verdict and Ferk wasn’t found “not guilty”.

The DOJ’s requested extradition application was denied due to statute of limitations technicalities. Ferk has yet to serve prison time on his business fraud conviction, or answer for the underlying alleged tax evasion fraud charges.

Beyond Ferk, Booster’s other co-founders are not disclosed.

Update 20th April 2025 – In the twenty-four hours since this review was published, Booster appears to have made changes to their website.

When I was researching Booster yesterday the website was stuck on a “replicated for affiliates” page, as documented in the conclusion of this review. This was the page presented, irrespective of any links clicked on and opened.

Today Booster’s website provides a bit more information, including executive information.

Ferk is acknowledged as a co-founder of Booster. His Booster corporate bio acknowledges his criminal activity but deflects the conduct, which he admitted to as per the DOJ’s filings, as “fabricated charges” from politicians.

Ferk’s bio also falsely states;

A groundbreaking case in U.S. Federal Court examined the allegations and deemed them unfounded.

As per detailing of Ferk’s extradition case detailed in this review, at no point did the Tennessee District Court find Ferk’s criminal charges in Slovenia were “unfounded”.

Marko Kesteli (right), from Croatia, is listed as Booster’s other co-founder and COO.

Kesteli is credited with “15 years of experience in network marketing”, which I was unable to verify.

Finally it’s worth noting Shannon Marie is cited as a “preferred shareholder” of Booster.

Booster isn’t registered with the SEC so what Marie is a preferred shareholder of is unclear. /end update

As always, if an MLM company is not openly upfront about who is running or owns it, think long and hard about joining and/or handing over any money. [Continue reading…]

BehindMLM first reviewed Immunotec in 2013.

As per reader request we queued Immunotec for a review update back in February.

Today we’re revisiting Immunotec for an updated review to see what’s changed. [Continue reading…]

The Xtream Lifestyle pyramid scheme has been sold off to iGenius.

As reported by BusinessForHome on April 16th; [Continue reading…]