After months of hyping up a transition from a gold ruse pyramid scheme to MLM crypto Ponzi, on July 4th, 2019, Karatbars International held its “Gold Independence” event.

KBC, a token Karatbars International had promised investors would be able to exchange for gold, plummeted 62% within 24 hours.

Karatbars International founder Harald Seiz was nowhere to be seen. Instead Josip Heit, Karatbars’ Chairman of the Board, was sent out to face investors on July 8th.

Heit was partially honest in blaming Karatbars International’s collapse on “scammers”. Neither Karatbars International, Heit or Seiz took responsibility for investor losses.

Meanwhile in the lead up to Karatbars International’s “Gold Independence” disaster, gunshots rang out in what appears to be a targeted attack.

As reported by Ostro, a Hungarian publication, on October 24th;

In June of the same year, Croatian citizen Deni Gregorec, known to the local police for extortion, fraud and forgery, filed a police report against a partner in Karatbars for embezzlement.

Ten days later, someone tried to kill that partner. He told the police that he had hired a bodyguard because he was afraid of Josip Heit.

Like Heit, Deni Gregorec is from Croatia. Whether Heit was the Karatbars partner Gregorec filed a police report against is unclear.

In an article also published on October 24th, the German publication Sueddeutsche Zeitung provides more details;

On June 15, 2019, Marvin S., a marketing expert hired by Karatbars, was drinking a glass of whiskey in his Mainz apartment.

He would later tell investigators that he was going to have his bodyguard drive him to a club that evening.

Shortly after 11 p.m., he received a call. The bodyguard told him to call the police immediately. “Shots were fired.” Shots were fired at the car.

I’m not 100% sure but I believe Gregorec and “Marvin S.” are the same person.

In his interrogation, Marvin S. stated that he had long had doubts about the legitimacy of Karatbars and wanted to leave.

As a result, the Karatbars officials dispatched a man to take on the rough stuff, a Croatian known to the police for, among other things, robbery and extortion, to threaten him with murder, as S. claimed to have perceived it.

He was afraid, especially of Josip Heit. The people behind Karatbars were “unpredictable” to him.

Business documents obtained by the Süddeutsche Zeitung show that tens of millions of euros flowed from the Karatbars group of companies to a company controlled by Heit.

Karatbars’ controlling partners (Heit and Seiz), turned around and accused Gregorec/Marvin of embezzlement.

The Croatian man who allegedly threatened S., the man who did the heavy lifting, filed a corresponding complaint at the time.

The investigation against S. was later discontinued. Officials write in a report that it cannot be ruled out that an attempt was being made to present “a scapegoat for the defrauded investors.”

The investigation into the nighttime shots was also discontinued; who fired them remains unclear.

Having been on the receiving end of such claims, BehindMLM can attest to a pattern of behavior wherein Heit accuses others of criminal activity he himself participates or has participated in.

To date nobody has been brought to justice over Karatbars International investor losses.

In February 2023, Gregorec became the new Managing Director of Karatbars’ German registered company.

After Karatbars International collapsed, Heit went on to continue defrauding consumers through GSPartners.

Following over a dozen state and province issued fraud warnings across North America, GSPartners collapsed in late 2023.

Heit entered into a settlement with North American securities regulators in September 2024.

After GSPartners’ collapse, Heit continues to defraud consumers through DAO1 and Apertum Foundation.

Heit proactively opted to block North American residents from investing in DAO1. No reason for the decision has been disclosed.

US federal investigations into Heit are believed to still be open as at time of publication.

In January 2025 New Zealand issued a DAO1 securities fraud warning. Australia followed with a DAO1 securities fraud warning in February 2025.

Germany, a significant source of DAO1 investor recruitment, issued a DAO1 and Apertum Foundation fraud warning earlier this month. Croatia has also confirmed it is investigating Heit for money laundering.