onecoin-logoDespite OneCoin ceasing business operations in the US last October, a group of investors continue to openly promote the scheme to US citizens.

For all their claims of Know Your Customer and compliance, and as long as new investor money flows in, OneCoin appear to have no problem with turning a blind eye.

florida-event-coral-gables-holiday-inn-july-2016-onecoinLate last month we covered a Chicago event being promoted on a OneCoin “team leader call”. Today we shift our attention to Florida, where prospective OneCoin investors were enticed with a “free dinner”.

The event in question was held at the Coral Gables Holiday Inn on July 13th.

A flyer advertising the event in a local newspaper billed the event as “an educational seminar”.

Trading on the success of bitcoin, the flyer boasted:

  • Do you know that more millionaires have been created from bitcoin than any other company in history?
  • Our company is 100 times larger and growing faster than bitcoin, Microsoft, Apple and Facebook
  • Our company is the fastest growing company in world history to reach 1 billion in sales in less than one year
  • Our company is now in OVER 200 countries and growing
  • Over 5000 new members sign up each and every day!
  • Up to 2,000,000 members today – just coming to the U.S.

Guest speakers at the event were promoted as “millionaires in less than one year – putting in only a few hours a week”.

We will show you our success formula on how to make “a lot” of money very quickly!

carl-wilt-promoting-onecoin-florida-us-july-2016One of the guest speakers at the event was Carl Wilt, a OneCoin investor from Tennessee.

Here’s how Wilt pitched OneCoin to the thirty or so guests at the event:

[0:05] So Greg and I was driving down the road from Orlando yesterday and a friend of his gave us a thousand dollars… about seven months ago Greg?

(off-camera): Yep.

Seven months or so ago. We calculated for him, because he hadn’t even opened his backoffice, he said “I don’t know, what’s it worth?”

That one thousand dollars is worth seven thousand. Oh by the way, on October 1 its gunna be worth fourteen thousand dollars.

So don’t think you have to invest millions. Dip your toe get comfortable with it. 500, 1200, 3000, 5000, whatever it is… but I promise you by Christmas you’ll be happy you did.

I know that… I just know it in my knower.

Wilt tells his audience that if they have “401K money or IRA money” and want to invest it in OneCoin, that he and his team can “get creative and savvy”.

Explaining how a OneCoin package is converted to profit, Wilt explains;

[2:23] So in a nutshell that package that he’s purchased, he’s got about $16,000 or so outlay.

That account is going to produce about 30,000 OneCoins over the next year. I believe we’ll have a $20 coin next Christmas.

$16,000… $600,000 next Christmas. There it is.

After Wilt delivers his pitch, another man identified as Herman closes before the guests are served dinner.

During dinner, OneCoin investors canvass the group and try to convince guests to invest.

One investor approached a guest and identifies himself as the person who “sponsored Will, who sponsored Herman.” The man claims “everybody who is in here is with me”.

Then comes the hard-sell.

[10:43] All I can tell you is it’s the best thing I’ve ever done, that’s why I had to tell Will about it.

I’ve been involved for about nine months and made a decent amount of money. Not like Carl but I’ve made a decent amount.

I say a decent amount… it’ll be, in October, about $100,000. I got in for about $6200.

The same man, when asked how OneCoin will magically double each affiliate’s OneCoin in October, explains;

[11:11] Well, you get paid commissions in money, then you get so many coins… the coins are worth money.

[11:30] But what she’s (Ruja Ignatova) gunna do is if you have… let’s say in your account you have 3000 coins, October 1st this lady’s… she’s the CEO, she’s gonna double everybody’s coins.

How do you just…

Because she’s the CEO. She can do whatever she wants. It’s basically like doubling your money.

When asked about OneCoin restrictive withdraw procedure (affiliates are unable to withdraw funds represented in their backoffice at once), the man compared OneCoin to an IPO and the stock market.

[12:28] How do you cash out?

You can cash out a certain amount every single day. You can’t cash out the whole amount.

How come?

Because it’s like an IPO. When you start in the stock market… they don’t want… volatility that’s what’s wrong with bitcoin.

The man goes on to boast about getting “an additional 13% a year” because he deposited his coins in CoinSafe. He then compares investment in OneCoin to a Certificate of Deposit.

[14:41] It’s like a CD, y’know you’re gunna keep the CD in your account for a year, two years, five years or whatever.

A man in the background is shown trying to explain OneCoin investment with an “Easter egg hunt” metaphor.

Officially OneCoin do not operate in the US. As is plainly obvious however, OneCoin has US-based investors and is actively being promoted to US citizens on US soil.

In various interviews, Ruja Ignatova claims OneCoin don’t operate in the US because “the rules are unclear”.

This of course makes little sense, seeing as bitcoin and every other legitimate cryptocurrency are currently legal in the US.

Despite the marketing claims made just two nights ago in Florida, neither OneCoin or their affiliates are registered with the SEC, a requirement for the legal offering of securities in the US.

OneCoin and its affiliates are also not licensed to offer investment advice or banking and financial services.

OneCoin for their part appear to have no problem with their affiliates violating the Securities and Exchange Act. To date the company has failed to take any action against US promoters of the scheme.

 

Footnote: The video referenced in this article is titled “One Coin Ponzi Miami Sales ‘Seminar’ Disrupted by Junseth and DeRose”.

It was published to the YouTube account “Chris Derose” on July 14th, 2016 and can be viewed below:

 

Update 11th January 2021 – As at the time of this update, Chris Derose has closed his YouTube channel.

As such the previously linked YT video referenced above is no longer available.