CONF: Colorado SecDiv investigating Achieve Community
It took a day later than I expected, but last night I received confirmation that the Colorado Securities Division has opened an investigation into the Achieve Community.
Yesterday I’d published a preliminary announcement regarding a possible investigation, with confirmation arriving later in the day via email.
As per regulatory advice, Investors of Achieve Community are advised to fill out the Securities Division’s online complaint form.
Whether or not the SEC themselves are investigating Achieve Community is unclear. Ditto whether Achieve Community’s owners Kristi Johnson and Troy Barnes are aware of the Colorado investigation.
On her Facebook profile Johnson claims to live in Denver, Colorado.
Johnson seemed oblivious to the investigation when she yesterday sent out an update to her investors.
In the update, Johnson sounded excited over the prospect of hooking up a new payment processor to the scheme and resuming ROI payouts.
Whether that eventuates in light of recent developments remains to be seen.
Stay tuned…
Footnote: Patrick Pretty sought their own confirmation regarding the investigation and received the following from Colorado SecDiv staff:
“We do have an open investigation,” said Lillian Alves, Colorado’s Deputy Securities Commissioner.
For the time being, she said, Colorado would not provide additional details.
Update 23rd January 2014 – At the time of this update, Johnson still appears to be oblivious to the Colorado investigation.
Instead, in her latest Achieve Community update, Johnson sought to inform her investors about credit card fraud and how payment processors work.
January 22 2015
Hello Achieve Community!
Today I just want to share some general information with you.
First about credit card fraud:
January is a notorious time for credit card fraud, people use their cards more often in December because of the holidays, and January sees a lot of charges that aren’t legitimate (I think some hackers believe that there is a percentage of people who won’t notice an extra charge or two during this time of year too, so do reconcile your accounts).
The banks are very good about refunding any unauthorized charges. You just need to call your bank if you have this problem.
Online fraud is something every online company has to deal with, using the most secure systems we can.
Achieve does not store any card information, social security numbers or any other sensitive details from our members on our site. Everything is secure and sent to secure sites.
I’ve heard from people running a couple other programs this month that they have had issues too, and a few of our members have been in those programs.
The general thought is that the best solution for purchases online is using a prepaid card that you load with just the amount you want to use. That way if it is compromised, there’s nothing there to grab. I think this is a very good idea.
The main reasons the banks, and MasterCard and Visa create the limits they do is because of the fraud and money laundering.
Again, in our experience, any fraudulent charges are refunded by the banks, and they go after the hackers.
We do everything in our power to make sure you are safe, and we work with our merchants to be sure that our systems keep getting updated so that we don’t have issues.
When we have heard of a problem, we have immediately changed our gateways so that we can keep you safe. And it’s something we will always work to resolve.
Second, a bit about processors just for your information.
Most of you have used payment platforms like PayPal, Payza, STP, Egopay – that sort of account. You open them up yourself and can send and receive payments. A lot of small online companies use these, most of the online stores and auctions use them.
These are manual payment platform. Each transaction is done manually, one at a time.
Some of them allow some batching, if the amounts are the same and the country is the same, but most don’t. They charge a percentage of the payment in fees to either the sender or receiver.
They are limited in their reach (STP for example isn’t available in some US states, and few countries). They limit the transaction amounts from sellers. And they are very expensive is you are making thousands of dollars.
Most programs that use them to make payments aren’t paying out much or don’t have a lot of clients. These are quite useful for purchasers however.
All of them have restrictions against MLM companies, network marketing, and the like. They do allow for person to person payments to get around this however.
For Achieve we need processors. Processors are automated, not manual. Our members sign up with them through us, not on their own. And we have the agreement with them to provide the funds to pay you into your individual accounts.
We work directly with their banks, and the funds go from our merchant accounts to the processors account with us. Transaction fees are normally set, not a percentage, and allow for larger transaction amounts to be processed without larger fees.
They provide the records that are needed for compliance and create the security to keep your information safe. We can send out hundreds of payments in one transaction.
They are also global in most cases (some aren’t) and provide the bank cards and bank transfers as well as the currency exchanges.
Achieve has thousands of members and we’ve made hundreds of payments to them daily. Something that would be impossible to do manually.
Our processors also take care of any issues with their users, and have the support staff to deal with that. When you sign with them, your account is separate from Achieve, it’s yours, and only you and the processor knows what your transactions are.
Achieve just sends the information to them so they know who to pay and how much.
This is a long term business, and we intend to provide, always, solutions that are best for you. The safest, the most convenient, the most legal and compliant.
I hope this helps you to understand a bit more about how things work in our industry.
To your success,
Kristi
Johnson’s update is somewhat ironic considering Achieve itself was recently involved with processors who appeared to be committing credit card fraud.
With regulators now closing in, you’ve really got to wonder how much longer the facade will continue.
Who on Earth is going to take on the risk of providing payment processor services to a global Ponzi scheme under US regulatory investigation?
Looks like they will need one-way plane ticket lol.
Update: Included Johnson’s latest Achieve Community affiliate update. No mention of the Colorado investigation.
Kristi and Troy aren’t going to stop being oblivious until they’re both arrested.
When that happens, they will still be in denial.
long term business, safest, the most convenient, the most legal and compliant…..
it is safe to say that kristi’s mind had deserted her, and is probably hanging in some ‘mushroom’ enabled cloud.
the danger is, with all this prewarning about investigations, how soon will her physical self desert colorado and go MIA?
freeze accounts now!!
The heat is on… Can’t wait till the 2 scammers get arrested and have to eat jail food.
Let’s see what happens. It is funny how this website is trying to make Achieve look bad.
MLM’s in general are ponzi schemes with products. Give me a break! I have make a lot of money in Achieve already and look to make a lot more. What is wrong with that???
Why don’t you get involved instead of writing on this website and worrying about it. What is the worst thing that could happen, you lose 50.00.
Achieve has 15,000 official members and there are 4 comments on here bad mouthing Achieve. Shaking my head…
Your stealing funds from later investors… and they too will have to steal funds from later investors to collect their Ponzi ROI.
Yeah, if only investors were capped at $50. You and I both know thousands have been ploughed into Achieve.
Bloody hell Scott, and you’re the compliance manager over at Excalibur Hotel and Luxor Las Vegas casinos?
I hope you have a better nose for sussing out casino fraud than you do securities fraud.
The heat is on, you don’t even know what you are talking about Secwatchin.
They are not going to be able to touch Achieve. Kristi and Troy are not scammers. Believe in Achieve buddy.
leave your name and number here so the regulators that are investigating acheive can come and get clawbacks from you in this illegal investment scheme
Hey Oz, I know what I am getting into mate. It is my choice. You are right, 1000’s have been put into Achieve. Let me ask you something, are you in Achieve?
So with that out of the way. How about you drop the charade and admit you’re just another selfish Ponzi scammer. I mean hey, stealing people’s life savings, elderly folk on life support… who cares, s’long as you get paid right?
Of course not.
But before you get into Chapter 2 of Ponzi excuses 101, you don’t need to invest in a Ponzi scheme to know how it works.
Achieve Community’s business model is known. They solicit investments on the promise of an explicit advertised ROI.
New affiliate funds are used to pay off existing investors, tracked via a matrix backend.
If you claim Achieve Community is otherwise, than you truly don’t know what you’ve gotten yourself into.
Achieve For Life needs to know that people go to prison for running and participating in illegal investment schemes.
As an admitted “net winner”, be prepared to go to jail.
We can argue about this all night or day where ever you guys are. I just don’t understand why you guys think that this is soo bad??
I have been in a lot of different companies like Achieve, some worked out really well and some didn’t.
I think the risk is worth it. Maybe you guys don’t, that is ok. Let’s see what happens.
For archive purposes (the above is ‘Achiever For Life’):
There is no argument. Achieve Community by virtue of its business model is a Ponzi scheme.
And therein lies the problem.
Ah, so you’re a serial scammer then. Nuff said.
Oz, I know exactly how it works. I have been in Achieve since it launched back in July 2014.
DJ, I won’t be going to prison or will the people running Achieve. This isn’t an investment. It isn’t stocks and bonds so it isn’t an investment.
Great I got the guys name and a pic ok mr investigator you can add Scott to the winners circle. But since you invested in the scam on Halloween it is very unlikely you will ever make a dime.
Loser Troy spent your ponzi money on his fake girlfriend already. Big mouth in sheep’s clothing I see.
Well, we all know what part of illegal that Scott aka Achieve For Life doesn’t understand.
But, ignorance isn’t bliss when it comes to violating Federal Securities laws.
omg, if this is what kristi’s lawyers are telling her, and she’s telling you, you are all in for a rude surprise.
do you hear the doorbell, it’s probably the ‘cease and desist’ or ‘freeze order’ come visiting.
Made $4,000.00 off that 500.00 worth of positions. Thanks for posting, I forgot about that..
So much hate in here fella’s. What does Troy’s girlfriend have to do with anything?
Thanks for clarifying Scott. That’s not petty theft, it’s grand theft which is a felony.
It has been fun but I have to get some sleep. Take care and I will talk to all of you later.
I better shut up now, I might get life… LOL
Anytime DJ, have a good one.
Dj add selling illegal securities, money laundering by moving money to China using ipaydna.biz add contributing to identity theft and federal racketeering.
That’s enough to keep Troy and Kristi well fed on jail food for a very long time.
I guess all 23,000 of us are in for a rude surprise.
LOL, good night!!! If we keep this up they are going to get the gas chamber.
Tell you what Achiever For Life, let me make this real easy for you. Tell Troy and Kristi that I called them liars, crooks, and pond scum. Tell them to sue me for libel and defamation of character.
Heck I’ll make it even easier for you: you’re a liar and a crook. So all of you sue me for libel and defamation of character.
So put your money where your mouth is and have Troy and Kristi do the same. So I expect the process server to come and serve me with all your lawsuits.
Here’s my address: 24401 Chrisanta Drive, Mission Viejo, CA 92691, and it is on Eagle’s website so you can verify it is correct.
Sadly none of you have the cajones to bring a lawsuit, but please be the first to do so. Deal?
If Kristi had a lawyer smarter than you no acheive for life she and looser Troy would NEVER have started this illegal ponzi with guaranteed roi of 800%.
Any lawyer would tell you it is against the laws in most countries. HYIP are illegal.
Secwatchin, you’re absolutely right!
Scott is in for a rude awakening once his name shows up on the net winners list and his doorbell rings with a subpoena being served and/or a warrant for his arrest.
lynndell expect a gift card to that address for a meal over at a well respected burger joint.
You have saved my Hyde so many times in these ponzi schemes and you gave me advice which I value and I have not joined things thanks to your advice.
Come on Lyndell, I don’t want to sue you. I don’t even know you. You can call me whatever you want too, sticks and stones my dear.
I love Mission Viejo by the way, Maybe I will come and visit you when I am there and we can talk about this over a cup of coffee. Deal?
By the way OZ please send me a email and I will send you a gift card for lunch too.
You also have saved me fro. Scammers like Troy and Kristi.
Nah,
for a great many Achievers it will be no surprise at all
The regular HYIP ponzi players knew before they sent their first dollar Achieve was only ever at best good for a few months and planned their exit strategy accordingly.
As HYIP ponzis go, it isn’t even a “good” one.
Hit and Run was the order of the day,
In – take your profit – out,
was how it was always going to be done by the experienced HYIP ponzi players.
That is very kind of you, but if you would rather just make a donation instead of mailing a card, you can do it on our website. Your choice.
You don’t need us to have Achieve look bad. Troy and Kristi did plenty of already. You just like to blame “outsiders”.
Only if you are “willfully blind”. But then, wouldn’t be the first time. Remember, Zeek got about 1 million people fooled, and TelexFree have up to 2 million victims.
Please do stop by. But many of the “faithful” of Achieve have told me that they have taken screenshots of my calling Troy and Kristi crooks and liars, as well as other things they didn’t appreciate me calling them so Kristi and Troy could sue me.
Figured you would want to get in on the action too. The more the merrier.
Of course it was all hot air just like all the others who were going to sue me for slander, libel, defamation of character, yada, yada, yada. Still waiting on all those lawsuits to happen.
It was also a test to see how much you believed in Achieve, which proved you don’t as you know exactly what Achieve is all about.
You had better hope that Troy and Kristi don’t get charged by the Feds, because the Receiver will come after your “winnings” in clawback.
Read up on Zeek and you’ll understand what I am talking about.
@SEC
Thanks for the sentiment. Make Lyndell’s for two if you really are going to send him something then.
today was a good day for behindmlm, in that, it directly resulted in an investigation into the ‘achieve community’ scam.
i know that we are all impersonal participants here, but some emotional expressions could be ‘allowed rarely’.
i wish to dedicate this song to behindmlm and oz, as a reflection of it’s untiring dedication to exposing scams, and not giving a rats ass about anything.
persistence and courage. all times, every times.
just this once .
@anjali
Appreciate the sentiment but not sure behindmlm directly resulted in the investigation. Williams might have just been stopping by.
So is this the same “wait next week” tactic that keeps coming up again and again. Just to keep the members happy and wait it out yet another week.
So this time around the processor is again hidden? How many left can she find to team up with for this type of business?
I am sure she has some sort of funds to pay out to someone buy who gets the first payout?
How much will this “new processor” have to take in – with new spending before people see its not going to work?
Crash n burn for yet another processor. which is why it remains top secret.
if ponzi/pyramid schemes are able to take hold and run rampant in a nation?
imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2000/03/jarvis.htm
As for “the worst thing that could happen” for you personally, let’s see what Colorado has to say.
statelaws.findlaw.com/colorado-law/colorado-pyramid-and-ponzi-scheme-laws.html
Residents of other U.S. states can google accordingly.
Are all cyclers than illegal?
omfg did this board actually just write that???
check it out tho:
you see my dear achiever. the sale of securities like achieve (who sold you the security of a 300%return on your investment), are not REGISTERED because such a business model is unsustainable and the SEC knows that those who invest in such shame, will end up holding a bag of hot s*it, and therefore they do not APPROVE such security.
you mentioned you didn’t understand why we thought this was “soo wrong”, but if you compare the number of achievers who multiplied their cash and made profits, against the number of participants who where left with nothing in return for their money, well, i don’t think it will seem very fair to you……
@Wistpec
If all you’re doing is purchasing positions in a matrix that pays out a ROI once enough new positions have been bought, then yes.
You’re participating in a matrix-driven illegal Ponzi scheme.
PPblog has a separate confirmation, besides how many times do govt investigators stop by, with questions?
this thing is rolling.
What if the investigation finds no wrongdoing, nothing ileagle? And if it’s as bad as you make it sound, why isn’t a government agency investigating?
Achieve claims to have paid out 3 million, is that too low to really get federal attention?
How did he get paid on that $500?
It says he bought the positions in October but they were only up to paying members from September when payments stopped!!!! Somebody is telling lies here.
You really think they want to tip the fraudsters off? Come on. Think like a law-abiding citizen for a moment.
Easy,
he’s talking about being paid in numbers on the screen in his Achieve back office, while you’re talking about being paid with real money in his payment processor or bank account
Generally speaking, cyclers are pyramid scheme / ponzi scheme hybrids. You are paid when you cycle, but you’re not required to recruit, and money came from other participants (who joined after you). So generally speaking, yes, cyclers are illegal.
Most don’t get big enough to warrant law enforcement attention, unless they hit a million. Then all bets are off.
You guys claim that anyone involved with these companies is a criminal and may face jail time, yet we’re all also referred to as the victims. How can a person be both? And where can I find the written law that says it is illegal to give your money to a company you believe to be legit, in hopes that you’ll make money from it.
(Ozedit: Offtopic waffling removed)
If the plan of Kristi and Troy is to steal everyone’s money, then lock them up, but I don’t understand how pooling money to be paid out in turn is considered fraud. They give no timeframe on the payouts and they tell you from the start that there is no guarantee.
Also it’s hard to take behindMLM seriously when you guys say that pretty much every network marketing company is a scam.
It seems like some of these companies were moving along just fine, making payouts until the government freezes their assets,at which point the complaints start coming in.
Ponzi schemes are mathematically guaranteed to fail.
That there are any assets to seize at all reflects that the Ponzi scheme in question was shut down before it reached peak damage (completely running out funds).
Historically, only the person at the top, i.e. organizer were charged with a crime, but in recent years, ref: Burnlounge, the top promoter was also charged and settled out of court.
If you’re “small fry” you’re probably NOT looking at jail time or such, but just prepare to be hounded by any one you “introduced” to the scheme.
I seem to recall there’s at least one murder tied to the WCM777 Ponzi. She was just recently arrested in California as the mastermind.
Apparently she lost a LOT of money and hired a bunch of thugs to kidnap the guy who recruited her and he got killed and dumped in some forest.
Better look up “ponzi scheme” then. You don’t understand the context of such so you and I are not even on the same wavelength.
It is real simple. Those who are called criminals know the program is illegal but profess to those who don’t know it is a real company and legitimate. The victims are the members who believe the BS that the admin and promoters say about the program.
In short the victims don’t know they are a victim until the admin runs with the money or the feds shut them down.
When the feds shut them down, the criminals who promoted the program have to give up their ill-gotten gains through clawback. The victims receive as much money back as the receiver is able to collect.
Technically anyone who participates in these illegal programs are committing a crime. They are accessories to a criminal act.
Now if you want to believe that Troy and Kristi were able to figure out how to turn $50 into $400 without your having to do anything, you have to suspend all logic, common sense and mathematics.
Troy nor Kristi have a clue how to create money out of thin air, but it is what they are claiming to be able to do.
Once you learn how the game is played, you just think you are winning.
You only win what you stole from others if the admin runs with the money. If the feds shut it down, you lose as your “winnings” will be clawbacked to pay to the real victims.
Get it now?
Madoff made payments for decades. Age by itself proves nothing.
Besides, “real” network marketing companies sell stuff to real consumers. AC did no such thing. Don’t conflate the two. Makes your argument weaker, really.
It’s pretty hard to take you seriously when you look only at meta data and draw conclusion from that, and failed to study the actual individual reviews.
When Oz said it’s likely a scam, there’s a reason behind it. Whether you agree with the reason or not is up to you, but you apparently didn’t look at the cases and only looked enough to fit your narrative “i.e. I don’t believe Oz”.
I think most hardcore ponzi players are aware of this and are counting on it remaining this way.
However, if the pertinent U.S. regulatory and law enforcement agencies decided to crack down on online ponzi schemes, the legislation is there to use.
And if a liberal interpretation of the “promote” reference used in applicable legislation is used, e.g., apply it to everyone who promoted the scheme in any way, as opposed to just the “promoter” owner, the majority of the scheme participants could find themselves looking at fines and/or a visit the hoosegow for a few months.
Not to mention the effect (if any … not sure for U.S.) that being convicted of a misdemeanor, or in some cases felony, charge might have on the employment of an individual in any occupation involving money, e.g., bank teller, retail clerk, casino employee, etc.
I’d suggest that any “noob” thinking of getting into and promoting this type of scheme should base their decision on the worst legal predicament they could find themselves in rather than a “I’m small fry … no legal consequence for me” assumption.
Yeah but, anyone who has followed MLM and “make money online” schemes for a few years knows that most of the so-called “MLM” and “network marketing companies” that pop up online are fraudulent schemes, regardless of what their promoters on HYIP forums and “MLM review” sites that exist for the sole purpose of funneling folks, often “noobs”, into the reviewer’s preferred schemes, etc., claim.
Which leaves an objective reviewer of MLM companies with a bit of a quandary, in that if they limit themselves to publishing reviews only for those MLM companies that may be … based on their analysis of the comp plan, products and other factors … legitimate, they might only be able to post a review once or twice a year.
Which would be of considerably less value than also posting reviews of fraudulent schemes … which hopefully keeps at least some people from being sucked into the scheme and losing their money.
Well, this is very depressing then.
More than the money I’ll loose, I’m having a hard time getting the dream out of my head, and having to come to grips with the fact that there is no way out of the daily grind, the paycheck to paycheck.
Achieve still has a chance don’t they? They say they are in compliance.
Everyone who joins knows that money only comes from more people joining or repurchasing. I thought a Ponzi is if the company claims the returns are coming from investments that the company isn’t actually doing.
Isn’t it different if they tell you upfront how it all works? Also, why wouldn’t the founders have skipped out by now.
The stuff I’m learning here makes sense, but there’s a lot of other things that don’t. I feel like crap now.
There’s nothing compliant about using newly invested affiliate funds to pay off existing investors.
That only makes you accessory to the fraud. It doesn’t negate the fraud taking place.
That can be tacked on, but at its simplest a Ponzi scheme takes newly invested funds and uses it to pay off existing investors.
The claims in Achieve are that Kristi Johnson came up with some magical matrix system to generate infinity ROIs. The reality is she just takes newly invested funds and uses it to pay off existing investors, the same as any other Ponzi scheme.
Nope. Fraud, acknowledged or not is still just fraud.
That and you’ll find Achieve Community and its owners/admins have categorically denied they are a Ponzi scheme. So there’s that.
Where to? They have family in the US and are in too deep. They have two options, they can suspend the business and assist regulators or continue to plough down the rabbit hole until someone stops them.
It’s pretty obvious which option Barnes and Johnson are gravitating towards.
Thanks, but this still is very hard to accept.
I joined at the end of October and been dreaming of a new life and being able to help people in need for 4 months now. Achieve even has a charirty fund.
Have the founders not bailed because they really think they have done no wrong, or are they just trying to make more money?
Now that I can’t answer. All we know is whatever is left invested in Achieve is under the control of it’s owners.
How much they themselves have withdrawn from the scheme isn’t public knowledge. Barnes had been advertising recent purchases on Facebook towards the end of last year though, make of that what you will.
achieve is not even registered to do business. compliance comes much later than that.
kristi’s gone quiet. maybe she’s skipped town?
second, the info we have right now , points to a civil investigation. so, they may not be scared enough to run just yet.
@Voltron i too want too help out those in need brother, starting with my family, and I would also like to leave the 9-5 grind.
I been giving different answers regarding this issue, some saying thier illegal and others saying they arent, idk what to believe.
I been praying to God about being financially free and i thought i found the answer but with this issue idk. Lets see what the Colorado SecDiv determines.
Never mind what they “say”
Take a step back,
WHO is saying it ???
Do you know them,
do you know their history ??
If two people you’d never seen before who said their names were Kristi Johnson and Troy Barnes walked up to you in the street and asked you to give them $50 and promised to be back in a month with $400 to give you – would you do it ??
If they told you they’d also give money to charity – would you believe them ??
Achievers have sent money to people they have never met or even heard of before based on what ??
A website, weekly emails, a Facebook page and a forum.
Forget all the ifs and buts, stories, promises and addons,
THAT’S what happened.
@Andrew, were you referring omfg to God? If you were than don’t bother because in the 10 commandments it says not use our Lord’s name in vain.
If you didn’t than I apologise, its just alot of ppl say it referring to God. GOD BLESS EVERYONE 🙂
Loser Troy and scammer Kristi say they are in compliance LOL go look up where Paul Burke’s from Zeek is today after he said he was in compliance.that goof even had compliance classes to trick and fool his sheepies.
Jail has compliant standard issue jail garb and extra slippery soap waiting for you Troy and Kristi. Be ready Troy for the SEC to come and take that house you bought with Non compliant ponzi money.
Where did you get the idea that praying to God would lead to financial freedom?
If your thinking on this in any way relates to a “prosperity gospel” or similar, you might want to read this:
huffingtonpost.com/pastor-rick-henderson/osteen-meyer-prosperity-gospel_b_3790384.html
The products really being marketed by fraudulent schemes like Achieve is the “dream”, e.g., “dream of financial freedom”, and “hope”.
Con men/women will use anything to forward their own “prosperity” and people of “faith” are particularly good targets because of their ability to have unquestioning belief.
A sales pitch that promises the “dream” and realized “hopes” while also playing to people’s better intentions, e.g., desire to do good by helping family and/or others, works very, very well for con people. And the con people know it.
The folks running fraudulent schemes are in the category of the “how could any human being do that to another” type people that puzzle the rest of us, e.g., “how could anyone defraud a 90 year old widow by playing on her religious beliefs”.
These are people with absolutely no conscience, scruples or concern about the havoc they bring to people’s lives.
People get played partly because they can’t imagine that any person … or at least, not the seemingly kindly well-meaning person they met in church or online … would abuse an individual’s “faith”, charitable feelings, etc. for their own (the con person’s) profit.
Having watched many “financial fraud” types shows, e.g., “American Greed”, it’s remarkable how often fraudulent schemes are perpetrated within a religious community, e.g., church, by a seemingly “good”, “upstanding” person who slithered into that community with a tempting “too good to be true” apple.
Would be good to keep this in mind. Might save you, and others, a lot of future grief.
I hear you.
My only personal involvement in a, though I didn’t realize it at the time, pyramid scheme was in the late 90’s.
I’d heard the term “pyramid scheme” but in those days wasn’t really sure exactly what that was or how it worked.
At the time, I was in an ideal “mark” frame of mind, i.e., not particularly happy in my job, could have used a bit more money, etc.
While surfing around, I spotted a banner ad with a “turn $25 in $80,000 in 3 months” promise.
I was a rather dubious but, as mentioned, I was in an ideal frame of mind to “bite” and used the same rationale often seen in comments here, i.e., “what’s $20”, “worth the risk”, etc.
I ended up in a “MLM opportunity” with a pen as a product.
Needless to say, I lost my $20 … but at least ended up with a relatively nice $2.00 or $3.00 (at the time) pen and some experience.
I’ve followed the whole “make money online” scam industry since then.
If it’s any consolation, based on what I’ve seen in that “industry”, the only people who make money … if even they do, or at least to the extent they claim … are folks who have no qualms about using any deceptive practice, e.g., lying through their teeth, fake testimonials, etc., to separate people from their money and absolutely no concern about where the money comes from, e.g., senior citizen maxing out their credit cards based on promoter’s ROI promise.
You don’t come across as this type of person, so your likelihood of “success” in the online scam industry was always pretty much nil.
Which in the long-term is a good thing for you and your family, friends, etc..
Just chalk any money you lose up to experience and move on … just not to another fraudulent scheme.
The link for the complaint form is broken.
As the Bible said:
You abandoned “sound teachings” that there is no shortcut to wealth, and instead, found yourself “teachers” to suit your passion for money, and turned away from the truth.
To quote another part of the Bible:
Turning $50 into $400 is “great signs and wonders” is it not?
There is still hope, but first, you have to admit to yourself that you’ve been deceived. That is the hardest part.
You were in denial before, and you’re now flickering between depression (there is no hope) and bargaining (they say they are in compliance) but in the end, you will have to accept the truth, esp. to yourself.
If you have questions, we can discuss them. Learning experience and all that.
Personally speaking, it is pointless to speculate on the mindset of an alleged fraudster.
Many fraudsters continue because they just can’t stop. That’d be admitting they are a fraud (and ran) and most are too narcissistic to admit it.
Kevin Trudeau is a great example. Despite under a judgment to pay MILLIONS in fines he’s still dressed in Brioni suits and Italian shoes and rides around in a limo until FTC nailed him for JAIL TIME last year.
In case of Madoff, he basically can’t quit… until he ran out of money. He basically paid out BILLIONS of dollars because he doesn’t want people to know he’s hollowed out. He tried looking for new money but nobody in midst of recession want to give him any. He saw the end when there’s only few hundred million left.
He told his sons to pay out the yearly bonus early. His sons knew there’s the money crunch, and realized something’s VERY WRONG, then Madoff admitted the whole thing. His sons realized the enormity of it, called their lawyer… their lawyer called FBI, and the rest is history.
One of the sons jumped off the roof, can’t deal with it any more. Sad… very sad.
Keep in mind that Troy already “departed”, so there’s no telling where is he now. He could have already made his exit and is using a proxy to pretend he’s still giving advice.
As for Kristi, I wouldn’t bother to guess. It is VERY difficult to think like a fraudster. They don’t share the same values we do, almost like cold-bloodedness (sheep deserve to be fleeced) or delusional (I can make money out of thin air!) or both.
It’s a question that has remained unanswered almost since the first ponzi.
As well as the examples given by K Chang, why did Bryan Marsden of PIPS hang around till the millions he raked in were gone and he couldn’t even pay to keep himself out of the miserable Malaysian prison in which he spent several years.
How about Andy Bowdoin of AdSurf Daily ??
Not only did he hang around when he KNEW the Feds were on the case, but, almost unbelievably, he was caught with around $80 million in his personal US bank accounts
Paul Burks of Zeek Rewards is another recent example of the phenomena.
A $850 million high profile US based ponzi scheme and it was almost like he did everything he could to GET caught
Very, very strange.
I’m in need. what are you doing to help me? exactly.
If this was legit, there would be no reason they can’t give you what you ‘earned’ in a bank transfer at a minimum. There is absolutely no need for rogue ‘processors’ either taking money in or sending it out. That’s really all you need to know for proof.
@matm
Thanks for catching that. Not sure what happened there but I’ve fixed it now.
Let me guess, James L. Paris ?
@NikSam @DGR because i believe that thiers more than just going to work for the rest of someones life ( which is nothing bad working ) but i myself wouldnt want to work for the rest of my life.
The more you continue to play money games or join get-rich-quick schemes, the longer you will HAVE to work your day job.
@littleroundman Do you work a 9-5?
No, actually,
That’s one of two things I don’t do.
I work way, way more than 40 hours a week AND still find time to engage in my hobbies, one of which is attempting to warn people about criminal types who want to steal their hard earned.
The other thing is, I don’t send money to strangers in the hope they’ll turn $50 into $400 and be honest enough to send me the proceeds
Looks like the crooks Troy and Kristi found another payment processor “in china of course”
Is this one wanted by the FBI too?
aerapay.com
linkedin.com/company/aerapay
First you call them crooks because the first processor bailed out. Now they are crooks because they did a lot of work to find another processor, and they are still crooks. Y
ou make no sense at all, and obviously you are a member of Achieve, because you have the info. So being that you are a member and paid for a position what does that make you?????
False. Achieve’s owners are crooks because Achieve Community is a run-of-the-mill matrix cycler Ponzi scheme.
That Payoneer gave them the boot was only a side-effect of that.
This new processor is still early days. That they’ve obviously failed in their due-diligence might be remedied at a later point when their money laundering triggers are set off. Or they start receiving warnings from other financial institutions that something’s up.
Or regulators in Colorado make a move.
Either way, you can see where this is going.
False.
is it confirmed that achieve has tied up with aerapay?
because aerapay, registered in hong kong, seems to be genuine, at least 4 years old, and appears to be registered with financial regulatory bodies:
i cannot find scam complaints against aerapay. further, aerapay seems to be an approved issuer of mastercard:
achieve is probably pulling a fast one on aerapay, there’s no telling how long their relationship will last.
Apparently payments are going through “cs4000.net”. Haven’t bothered to check if there’s a link between AeraPay and that domain.
I did notice that RevStarGlobal (another Ponzi scheme) had used cs4000.net to handle their investments too. In that sense it seems their compliance department is either lacking or willfully ignorant (“show us the money and we’ll turn a blind eye”).
cs4000.net is a Compu-Sult MLM software platform. Compu-Sult also does business with legitimate MLMs.
I tend to agree with anjali, Aerapay looks prety much legitimateish. If (and it’s a big IF) they actually do process transactions for Achieve it will be interesting to know what name appears as the billing merchant.
cs4000.net is registered to :
compu sult are MLM programmers, maybe they’ve been doing the backoffice linkup to the payment processors. compu sult is offering the ‘CS400 Enterprise MLM Software’ on its website, i don’t think this is a payment processor.
aerapay may be the payment processor.
I can confirm that. cs4000 is hooked up to the payment processor though, so there’s some level of communication (and liability) between Compu-Sult and the payment processor.
I suppose we’ll get confirmation over the next few days.