LyoPay CEO Luiz Goes claims Alessio Vinassa ran the WeWe Global Ponzi scheme.

On November 22nd, Goes sent BehindMLM an email with the subject “URGENT Request for Name and Photo Removal – Luiz Goes / Multiple Articles (8 URLs)”.

It was typical of emails BehindMLM receives from scammers looking to hide their crimes.

Dear BehindMLM Team,

Thank you for your critical work against pyramid schemes. I fully support your mission, but my name and photo are incorrectly included in 8 articles, creating a false and defamatory association. I kindly but firmly request the immediate removal of my identity, as I will prove below.

Detailed Factual Clarifications for Your Review:

Mandate as Strictly Technical Employee: I was hired by VAI MARKETING MANAGEMENT (Dubai, Boulevard Plaza Tower 2), which had approximately 700 employees, strictly as a contracted employee with a mandate focused exclusively on Fintech and Blockchain development for the group entities (LYOPAY, LFI, LAYERK).

Relationship with Institutional Clients: We were informed that platforms such as WeWe Global, Xera Pro, and Homnifi were Institutional Clients of the companies for which we developed technology.

None of the 700 employees in Dubai were aware that these institutional clients might be operating fraudulent schemes.

Proven Innocence and Chronology: I had zero involvement in any pyramid or multi-level marketing scheme.

It is crucial to note that the Homnifi platform did not even exist at the time my contract with VAI Marketing Management was terminated, making any participation impossible.

I never had access to investment capture, client management, or any involvement in a pyramid scheme.

Removal Precedent: The publication decripto.com hconfirmed the removal of all content mentioning me, acknowledging the factual error.

Offer of Collaboration: I am willing to provide contracts and documentation under NDA to verify these facts.

Thank you for your integrity and commitment to factual accuracy. I look forward to your positive response within 48 hours.

Goes’ email is best analysed within the context of WeWe Global’s history;

WeWe Global was a Dubai MLM crypto Ponzio that surfaced in 2021. The original scam was built around WEWEX Ponzi points.

The WEWEX Ponzi model collapsed in early 2022. LyoFI and LyoPay were added for a WeWe Global reboot, pivoting to Ponzi tokens. This is where Luiz Goes came in.

In addition to fronting LyoFI as CEO, Goes also ran WeWe Global corporate marketing webinars.

WeWe Global collapsed twice more, with the third collapse occurring in August 2023.

After its third collapse, WeWe Global rebooted as The Blockchain Era in September 2023. Goes fronted the fourth reboot scam as CEO of LFi.

The Blockchain Era collapsed in January 2024. The scam rebooted as Xera, however The Blockchain Era was the last we saw of Goes.

Before we get into a detailed analysis of Goes’ claims, here’s the rest of the email chain for reference;

On November 24th I sent Goes my first reply;

Hi Luiz,

BehindMLM has documented your involvement in WeWe Global and associated companies. Our reporting includes two screenshots, one of you cited as LyoPay CEO and another of you running WeWe Global marketing presentations.

Pretending none of this happened is silly. Furthermore, BehindMLM does not help scammers cover their tracks.

BehindMLM stands by its original research and reporting. Whatever Dicrypto did or didn’t publish is not an editorial concern.

Whatever arrangement(s) you did or didn’t have with Vai Marketing Management is also not an editorial concern.

There are no identified factual errors with respect to BehindMLM’s research and reporting on your involvement in WeWe Global and associated companies. BehindMLM never claimed you were involved in Homnifi.

You are not innocent, you are a documented Ponzi scammer and BehindMLM anticipates your eventual arrest. Which of course we will report on as part of our ongoing “critical work against pyramid schemes”.

Goes replied again on November 25th, mostly reiterating his original claims;

Before addressing the specific matter, I want to make it clear that I am not opposed to the articles you publish, nor do I question the value of BehindMLM’s investigative work.

I understand that your reporting plays an important role in alerting the public about fraudulent schemes and, for that reason, your work is socially relevant and necessary.

My request is therefore limited, reasonable, and focused strictly on factual accuracy.

[legal threats, hosting threats, threats to report BehindMLM to “competent authorities”, the usual]

If, after reviewing the facts, BehindMLM chooses to maintain statements portraying me as a “documented Ponzi scammer” or predicting my arrest, I may need to formally address these assertions with the competent authorities.

I was in the middle of clearing my emails and sent my second reply shortly after;

You were the CEO of LyoPay and running official WeWe Global marketing presentations.

Those are the only facts that are relevant and are what BehindMLM has reported on with documented supporting evidence.

I consider this matter closed and won’t be responding to any further emails on this matter.

Goes sent me one more reply later the same day;

I acknowledge your note that you consider this matter closed and will not be responding to any further emails.

I simply wish to leave a final factual clarification, with no intention of reopening the debate:

Confirmation of Facts: Yes, I was the CEO of LyoPay and I gave several presentations for WeWe Global, both via Zoom and at events in Dubai. I was not alone; the lawyer, the Head of Compliance, and other colleagues also did so.

Essence of the Defense: The only point I tried to convey is that, as contracted technical employees, we were not aware that this LyoPay client (WeWe) was a Pyramid Scheme.

True Ownership: The owner of WeWe Global was also the owner of VAI Marketing Management, the company that hired us: Mr. Alessio Vinassa, the majority partner of VAI Marketing. The commercial license shows Alessio Vinassa as the Manager and majority shareholder.

Personal Damage: I only discovered that there were over 15 companies registered under my name around the world when my visa for the US was denied at the Abu Dhabi Consulate. I received a salary of US$5,000, while the true controllers (Alessio and Diego) are wealthy.

I am not in conflict with your site. I do not wish to erase history, but only, if possible, for you to remove my name as the owner or mentor of a fraudulent scheme.

Since editorial correction is not possible, I will do everything in my power under the law to have Google desindex [sic] or remove this content.

My life and livelihood do not depend on the decisions of men, but on God.

Thank you for your attention.

In essence, Goes has trotted out the “I knew nothing!” defense. Goes claims he was a Boris CEO, with “Alessio” and “Diego” running the show.

As disclosed, “Alessio” refers to Alessio Vinassa. Vinassa is the majority shareholder of VAI Marketing, as per a Dubai company registration Goes attached to one of his emails (click to enlarge):

Far as I can tell, Alessio Vinassa is an Italian crypto bro hiding out in Dubai. It seems after WeWe Global and The Blockchain Era, Vinassa has been pumping out PR spam content (press-releases, goofy quote images etc.).

According to his LinkedIn profile, post MLM crypto Ponzis Vinassa has started up something called “BlockTech Group”.

BlockTech Group is your typical vague-pitch crypto company;

BlockTech Group evolves beyond digital services to shape the future of blockchain, AI, cybersecurity, gaming, and Web3 through vision, partnerships, 
and strategic guidance.

We invest in resourceful people with unique visions, operating cultures and IPs who are aiming to build decacorns by tackling global white spaces.

Other than exist as a website and social media spam, BlockTech Group doesn’t seem to actually do anything.

I don’t know who “Diego” is. Goes only brought his name (first name only) in his last email.

Goes claims in the aftermath of WeWe Global and its successor Ponzis collapsing, Alessio Vinassa and Diego “remain wealthy and unaffected”.

Goes’ “I knew nothing!” defense, taken at face value, lacks credibility. At a minimum New Zealand issued a WeWe Global and LyoPay fraud warning in February 2023.

Furthermore, if Goes was able to find BehindMLM’s WeWe Global coverage years after the Ponzi collapsed, he was able to do so before signing on and during his time as LyoPay CEO.

Notwithstanding Goes was involved in WeWe Global and The Blockchain Era across three independent collapses (I don’t know if Goes was involved in WeWe Global’s original Ponzi). But uh yeah, no red flags there – “I knew nothing!”

In one of his emails, Goes claims he is “unemployed and facing reputational damage for actions over which I had no control.”

This is demonstrably false. At a minimum Goes signed up to play LyoPay’s CEO and he fronted The Blockchain Era. There’s nobody to hold responsible for those decisions other than Luiz Goes.

Such to the extent Goes’ conduct resulted in him being denied a US visa, again, Goes only has himself to blame for his own decisions.

The final point I’ll address is Goes’ misguided notion that him purportedly not knowing anything absolves him of liability.

Vinassa and Diego might very well have been running WeWe Global and successor Ponzi schemes. Goes might very well have just been a Boris CEO, paid to be the face of the company and run Ponzi marketing webinars and appear at corporate promo events.

That conduct still makes Goes liable for conspiracy to commit securities fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. And that’s at a minimum, authorities could still pursue Goes as a bonafide insider. While I’ll quote scammers to preserve evidence, out of habit I don’t take their claims at face value.

And make no mistake, Goes is a Ponzi scammer. One doesn’t need to be running a Ponzi scheme to defraud consumers through one.

Specific to Goes’ role within WeWe Global’s wire fraud and securities fraud conspiracies, a recent demonstrative example I can point to is Forcount.

Forcount was an MLM crypto Ponzi fronted by CEO “Salvador Molina”.

Molina was played by Spanish national Nestor Nunez.

Instead of threatening journalists and trying to hide his fraud, Nunez came clean publicly in a YouTube video as Forcount collapsed:

At the behest of US authorities, Nunez was arrested in Spain in December 2022. Nunez was extradited to the US in April 2023.

In August 2024, Nunez pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. In November 2024, Nunez was sentenced to four years in prison.

Whether there’s an open US investigation into WeWe Global or not I can’t say. Based on website traffic stats at the time, the scam primarily targeted Italians (this ties into Alessio Vinassa being Italian).

What I can state is US authorities aren’t denying visas because of BehindMLM reports, at least not without independent internal verification.

If Goes chooses to report his conduct to “competent authorities”, BehindMLM encourages complaints filed with the FBI, SEC and CONSOB pertaining to BehindMLM’s coverage of WeWe Global.

Such complaints should clarify Goes’ role within WeWe Global and how he helped defraud consumers. Communications with Vinassa, Diego and WeWe Global promoters would be of particular interest.

Specific BehindMLM article URLs detailing Goes’ conduct within WeWe Global (which we’ve refused to take down), should also be included.