Apertum has received a securities fraud cease and desist order from Texas.

The Texas State Securities Board (TSSB) groups Apertum, the blockchain tied to GSPartners reboot DAO1 and GSPro+, with “illegal and fraudulent securities schemes” run by Apertum associated Respondents.

TSSB’s March 20th order identifies the following Apertum associated Respondents;

  • Apertum Foundation – Apertum blockchain company tied to GSPartners reboot DAO1 and GSPro+
  • Josip Heit – former GSB Chairman of the Board, GSB majority shareholder, GSB Group Chairman of the Board, Strategy Advisor of Apertum Holding and resident of “an undisclosed country”
  • Dirc Zahlmann – confirmed securities fraudster, former CMO of GSB Group, GSPartners advisory board member and Strategy Advisor for Apertum Holding
  • Bruce Innes Wylde Hughes – confirmed securities fraudster, GSPartners Corporate Trainer and DAO1 Tech Advisor
  • Dennis Christopher Loos – DAO1 Marketing and Sales Advisor

GSB is the parent company of GSPartners and DAO1. On Heit’s resignation as GSB Chairman of the Board, TSSB notes;

Rustam Shoyket purportedly replaced Respondent Heit as Chairman of the Board of GSB Gold Standard Corporation AG.

Nevertheless, Respondent Heit has continued to identify himself as the Chairman of the Board of GSB Gold Standard Corporation AG and/or GSB Group.

TSSB opens its Apertum order by noting it’s previously issued Gold Standard Corporation (GSB) and GSPartners securities fraud enforcement order (order 1879);

Josip Heit, Dirc Zahlmann and Bruce Innes Wylde Hughes previously perpetrated illegal and fraudulent securities schemes that targeted investors throughout the United States, including Texas.

These investments included a tokenized real estate project and gamified certificates that paid passive income to owners.

They also sold g999, the native token deployed on G999 blockchain, a decentralized proprietary blockchain that uses deflationary protocols, and wG999, a token used to bridge g999 to and from G999 blockchain.

On November 16, 2023, the Texas State Securities Board entered Emergency Cease and Desist Order … against Josip Heit, Dirc Zahlmann, Bruce Innes Wylde Hughes and other parties allegedly affiliated therewith.

The enforcement action accused them of violating the Securities Act, engaging in fraud in connection with the offer of securities in Texas and threatening immediate and irreparable public harm.

Order 1879 is final as it relates to Dirc Zahlmann and Bruce Innes Wylde Hughes.

Although Josip Heit and various corporate respondents challenged the enforcement action, their challenge is pending and Order 1879 has been and continues to be in force and effect against them.

TSSB further notes previously launched GSPartners tokens G999, WG999 LYS and XLT, “have lost almost all of their value”.

It should also be noted that G999 in particular was heavily manipulated during GSPartners’ run. It’s highly likely the APT values quoted by the TSSB are also manipulated.

Heit and GSB did reach a settlement with TSSB and other North American regulators regarding alleged GSPartners fraud. However following alleged fraud and agreement violations, TSSB pulled out of the agreement last week.

Getting back to Apertum, TSSB writes;

Although Respondents have purportedly restricted clients from the United States from acquiring products tied to the Apertum blockchain, they have listed APTM on a cryptocurrency exchange and residents of the United States, including Texas, can purchase APTM from the cryptocurrency exchange.

They plan to list APTM on a second cryptocurrency exchange in March 2025 and an additional 13 cryptocurrency exchanges by the end of 2025.

As described herein, Respondents are engaging in a fraudulent scheme to sell APTM in Texas.

Although APTM has some utility, it is being promoted as an investment that can provide lifechanging wealth for investors. Respondents are even representing that APTM was purportedly valued at $0.025 at launch and increased to more than $1.50 per APTM following the deployment of a decentralize exchange before briefly eclipsing $4.00 per APTM.

At least one Texan purchased APTM from the cryptocurrency exchange on the first day of listing.

Although Respondents have restricted Texans from accessing certain websites, Texans can access the First Exchange and buy and sell tokens without submitting images of their government identification cards or completing KYC so long as they do not withdraw assets valued at more than $2,000 per day.

Part of DAO1’s investment scheme is selling virtual APT token mining. As noted by TSSB, this appears to be a sham.

Although Respondents are touting their virtual mining protocol, as of approximately 9:01:32 AM CT on March 11, 2025, all but 11 out of approximately 200,403 blocks were mined by 0x6bC47C155EB725BB1438462Ee3cc05B1872A2778 (the “Mining Address”).

Accordingly, almost every block has been mined by a single address.

The Mining Address receives rewards denominated in APTM for confirming transactions on the Apertum blockchain. It has been accumulating, not distributing, the APTM.

As of approximately 9:24 AM CT on March 11, 2025, the Mining Address held approximately 1,184.87 APTM.

Because the Mining Address is the only address mining APTM on the Apertum blockchain, all parties using the Apertum blockchain and all owners of APTM have been reliant on this Mining Address.

It has provided and continues to provide the near-exclusive means of confirming transactions on the Apertum blockchain.

Despite the marketing claims, Apertum has clearly never been decentralized.

Although the Apertum blockchain purports to be a decentralized platform, Respondents are actually able to exercise significant control over the blockchain and/or one or more tokens deployed on the blockchain.

For example, several days after the Enforcement Director received APTM and DID 434, Respondents, acting without warning or permission, burned (i.e., destroyed) DID 434.

Respondents were able to access and burn DID 434 even though the Enforcement Director never signed a smart contract granting permission and never authorized Respondents to access the wallets or destroy his assets.

It’s all an illusion, with the same people who controlled GSB and GSPartners now centrally controlling Apertum and DAO1.

And speaking of marketing, there’s also these laughable claims attached to Apertum;

Respondent Zahlmann is purportedly working with the development team responsible for Grand Theft Auto, Call of Duty and other popular video games.

Neither Rockstar or Activision Blizzard (owned by Microsoft), have announced plans to integrate cryptocurrency into Call of Duty or Grand Theft Auto.

Integration of crypto schemes into non-crypto startup franchises has proven to be deeply unpopular with gamers.

Nonetheless;

The development team is purportedly developing Battue, a new video game that will be featured by Apple.

Battue is purportedly launching in May 2025, will uses the Apertum blockchain, requires gamers to acquire tokens deployed on the Apertum blockchain and requires users to buy and spend APTM to pay for gas.

Respondent Zahlmann is representing that between one and two million gamers will play Battue and that the player base will drive the price of APTM.

He is claiming they will “bring a lot of attention and exposure from all over the world to the Apertum blockchain… so what do you think will happen to the Apertum coin, that you need to have to do a transaction on this blockchain? It will go up, and up, and up…”

Whether they materialize or not, Apertum’s claimed spinoff schemes are being touted as vehicles to circumvent US securities law;

Although the sales agents are purportedly limiting sales to clients that reside in countries other than North America and Canada, they are also driving developers to the Apertum blockchain and the developers are driving demand for the Apertum blockchain.

These developers are purportedly choosing the Apertum blockchain over other blockchains because they will be able to use the international network of commissioned sales agents.

According to Respondents, the Tree Smart Contract provides an “unfair advantage” because it acts as a “built-in smart contract direct marketing plan… and so any projects that bring their value to DAO1 end up with a marketing team that is smart contracted.”

TSSB alleges that due to “successful marketing tactics”, GSB, through Apertum and DAO1, has bilked consumers out of “more than $3.5 million”.

As tracked by SimilarWeb, across February 2025 Apertum’s website received ~4200 monthly visits. Top sources of Apertum website traffic were the Dominican Republic (28%), Portugal (26%), South Africa (14%), the UK (10%) and Greece (8%).

Over the same period SimilarWeb tracked ~125,000 visits to DAO1’s website. Top sources of DAO1 website traffic were Russia (20%), Greece (12%), Australia (12%), Kazakhstan (11%) and the UK (10%).

TSSB alleges the following additional acts of fraud through failure to disclose to Apertum and DAO1 consumer investors:

  • final orders related to prior securities fraud, entered against Dirc Zahlmann and Bruce Hughes
  • the current status of the GSPartners settlement as it pertains to Texas, Josip Heit and GSB Group
  • the collapse of previously launched G999, WG999, LYS and XLT tokens
  • the collapse of the GSPartners metaportfolio investment scheme
  • “fraud and concealment of the operations and organization of GSB Group”, including several publicly undisclosed liquidations
  • multiple regulatory fraud warnings pertaining to GSB Group and/or Respondents from Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, the UK and Bahamas (Australia and New Zealand have also issued separate DAO1 fraud warnings)
  • “fraud and concealment of information relating to” Apertum’s officers, directors and managers, their business repute, qualifications and experience and “authorities, rights and responsibilities described in [Apertum’s] organizational records and governance documents”
  • Josip Heit’s responsibilities as a Strategy Advisor for Apertum Holding
  • Dirc Zahlmann’s responsibilities as a Strategy Advisor for Apertum Holding
  • Apertum Foundation’s use of 100 million pre-minted APTM tokens, as well associated risks of a “bad actor” gaining access to the tokens
  • “fraud and deceit” related to Josip Heit presenting himself as “Chairman of the Board of GSB Group” after resigning in November 2024
  • Rustam Shoyket serving as Chairman of the Board of GSB Gold Standard Corporation AG
  • Rustam Shoyket’s “qualifications, experience and business repute”
  • GSPro being controlled by Luka Beruashvili
  • the “identity of other officers of GSB Standard Corporation” and their “qualifications, experience and business repute”
  • “the responsibiltiies of GSB Gold Standard Corporation and its role in migrating GSPartners, GSPro, Lydian World and other platforms to the Apertum blockchain”
  • GSB Gold Standard Corporation AG controlling GSB Group, which was “planning to launch the Apertum blockchain prior to the” November 2023 TSSB GSB and GSPartners securities fraud cease and desist
  • “the identity of the organization providing fiat banking services on the Apertum blockchain”
  • “the country and agency that licensed the organization to provide fiat banking services on the Apertum blockchain”
  • “the risks associated with the use of the organization for banking services on the Apertum blockchain, including any regulations that protect assets and funds owned by clients”
  • “deceit and representations” regarding claimed audits in association with Apertum

Citing the above alleged violations of Texas state securities law, TSSB concludes;

APTM is a security as that term is defined in Section 4001.068 of the Securities Act.

Respondents have not been registered with the Securities Commissioner as dealers or agents at any time material hereto.

APTM has not been registered by qualification, notification or coordination, and no permit has been granted for the sale of APTM in Texas.

Respondents are violating Section 4003.001 of the Securities Act by offering securities for sale in Texas at a time when the securities are not registered with or permitted by the Securities Commissioner.

The Securities Commissioner is entering this Emergency Cease and Desist Order to stop offers of APTM in Texas and protect Texans from immediate and irreparable harm.

The Apertum Respondents have thirty days to Challenge TSSB’s Apertum fraud order.

In light of alleged violations of the GSPartners settlement, a  hearing on the previously issued GSPartners fraud order is scheduled for April 14th.