Prance Gold collapses, pulls “frozen funds” exit-scam
Prance Gold Holdings has ceased paying withdrawal requests.
In a bizarre communication pushed out to its affiliates, the company is claiming several cryptocurrency exchanges are under audit by US authorities.
Prance Gold Holdings is a Ponzi scheme that launched a few months ago. The company is fronted by “Andre Gerald”, a fictional CEO played by an actor.
Prance Gold is believed to be run by scammers operated out of south-east Asia.
Prance Gold solicited investments of up to $30,000 at at time, on the promise of a 600% ROI.
As traffic to Prance Gold’s website flatlined in September, so did new investment.
This prompted Prance Gold to push a 45% a month advertising campaign, up from the original ~27% a month offer.
The new ROI plan was supposed to start in October.
On October 1st Prance Gold ceased paying withdrawal requests.
Desperate investors initially put this down to festival celebrations in China. Said celebrations wrapped up around the 7th however, and still Prance Gold wasn’t paying out.
With existing withdrawal requests pending, on October 12th Prance Gold began accepting additional withdrawal requests.
Affiliates were told they’d be paid on the 15th. That didn’t happen, prompting Prance Gold affiliates to panic.
On October 16th Prance Gold sought to calm investors with the following announcement.
US Cryptocurrency Enforcement Framework
Greetings,
US Attorney General Barr announced a radical cryptocurrency enforcement framework on October 8, 2020, and last week began regulating radical financial transactions in blockchain transactions that passed through US servers.
High-profile arrests have been made, including the “pump and dump” cryptocurrency scheme and billionaire John McAfee suspected of tax evasion.
Under this comprehensive framework, Prance Gold’s large number of arbitrage accounts are suspended across Binance, Huobi, and Bittrex until an audit by the authorities.
We provide full cooperation to the authorities and strive to resolve the issue as soon as possible.
Due to our large customer base and the complexity of tracking every money trail in each client’s blockchain, we are optimistic that we will be able to resolve everything by early 2021.
We apologize for any inconvenience, and we are facing the biggest challenge so far.
We appreciate your understanding and cooperation.
We will strive to resume normal operation as soon as possible, while providing regular updates on this issue.
If you have any questions regarding notifications, please feel free to contact our market representatives.
Thank you very much!
Quite the bullshit sandwich!
Let’s start with John McAfee.
McAfee was indeed indicted on October 5th for tax evasion. There was no new laws enacted to secure McAfee’s arrest and it has nothing to do with cryptocurrency or Prance Gold.
As for AG Barr’s “cryptocurrency enforcement network”; A report was published by the DOJ on October 1st, detailing efforts by the DOJ to combat cryptocurrency fraud since 2018.
Again, publication of the report wasn’t accompanied by any new laws. And outside of Prance Gold using cryptocurrency to commit securities fraud, the report itself has nothing to do with Prance Gold.
To the extent exchange accounts Prance Gold was using to run its Ponzi scheme have been frozen, I wasn’t able to confirm this.
Neither Binance, Huobi, or Bittrex have issued a statement confirming Prance Gold’s claims.
To summarize; Prance Gold’s announcement is typical crypto Ponzi exit-scam nonsense.
The take-away from the announcement is Prance Gold has suspended withdrawals until “early 2021”.
This gives the company’s anonymous owners plenty of time to do a runner.
By coming up with bullshit excuses and citing recent enforcement actions that have nothing to do with them, Prance Gold avoids admitting reality: withdrawals exceeded investment and the admins want out with what’s left.
Dangling an “early 2021” return is to discourage investors from filing reports with authorities.
At the time of publication Alexa ranks Japan as the primary source of traffic to Prance Gold’s website (93%).
To date I’m not aware of Japanese authorities investigating or taking any action against Prance Gold and/or local promoters.
Between Watford Corp pretending its website was seized by the SEC and Prance Gold claiming the DOJ froze it’s crypto exchange accounts, it’s been an interesting few weeks for MLM crypto exit-scams.
I’m not expecting any but if we hear anything further from Prance Gold, Binance, Huobi, Bittrex and/or Japanese authorities, I’ll publish any updates below.
Update 18th October 2020 – As per a video provided by Manabu Saito, it appears Prance Gold’s offices have been abandoned.
Any Japanese Prance Gold investors want to weigh in?
I know you’re reading this, I can see the traffic logs.
I using google translate here.
We Japanese are angry! PGA is a SCAM. they collected over 1billion usd and we invest but didn’t get any profit for 45% commondity campaign.
PGA says will give out withdrawal 15th but no. We are angry at sato leader and we report to the police for the management Jeffrey Guo is a scam! Help us!
One $billion? That’s hard to believe, seeing as how the website only went live in March. Less than 5 months from inception to collapse, and they scammed a $billion?
I’d like to see some confirmation for that number. If it’s true, that’s got to be a record.
More likely it’s just an inflated number from the ones running the scam, to create a false sense of momentum.
Yesssssssssssss USD 1 billion! Every Japanese here our team know.
They collect money from campaign, and promise to pay high ROI but they didn’t pay for 2 weeks
Many of us in japan are angry! Jeffrey guo from Singapore is scammer! We report to police!
Good for you. Get every member you can to report them to their local police, and national security regulators so they can investigate and hopefully prosecute them. The more people who file a complaint the better chance an investigation will be done.
I do know that the Japanese authorities were looking into Prance when they launched in Japan, but I cannot tell you where they are in their investigation.
Remember, investigations take time. The OneCoin investigation started in the spring of 2016 and action wasn’t taken until the fall of 2017. But it was not released until early 2018 that indictments were handed down by the Grand Jury in October 2017.
Ken Hoofard who is an American lives in Tokyo has been aggressively promoting Prance Gold as a Corporate trainer. He is also a good friend of Sato.
Prance Gold is absolutely a sacm.
Not Only Japanese, More than 3 thousand Nepalese Peoples Living in Japan is Scammed by Prance Gold.
There was a huge rummor between Nepalese Comminity that Everyone was going to Billionaire Soon 😀
1 Minute of silence for their Lost !
I have created a video that proves that the PGA headoffice ran off into the night. Please take a look at it!
youtu.be/rsMGhdPY4LA
Does anyone report file on Ken Hoofard to Japanese Authorities?
He is that American man MLM in Tokyo claimed to be the marketing director to promote PGA for the company to all of Japanese community. He knows the REAL BOSS.
Now he is HIDING! all the Japanese are angry and we have reported to the police for Ken Hoofard and the management Dave Tan, Jeffrey Guo and translator Miyazaki Yoko, Edison.
Our teams Japanese also have Nepalese are very angry now! We are lied!
They use sport cars to attract all of us to join! And after collecting over 1Billion, the company use many reasons shut down now. and say we will be billionaire soon!
All the victims have to report him to the Japanese Authorities. Anyone who is not a victim would have no standing with the authorities.
So get everyone you can to file a complaint with the Japanese Authorities ASAP. The more who file, the better the odds they will take action. The longer you wait, the longer it will take for them to take action.
Ponzi! Our Japan & Nepal teams have already report to police in Singapore too. Scammers!
How can we file reports this a vey big crime money-laundering case with authorities?
can somebody report this big crimes money-laundering, who will help for all the victim?
The scammers behind Prance Gold are long-gone but surely there’s an FTC equivalent in Japan?
I wish them dead!
our teams all Japanese and Nepal are asking Takahiro and Sato to reporting the truth and evidences of Jeffrey Guo and Translator Miyazaki Yoko to the FSA Japan.
Jeffrey is currently disappearing gone, and Miyazaki is currently hiding in Tokyo with Ken Hoofard!! Morethan 1.5$ billion scam to Japanese Nepal community!
Ponzyy!!
Thank you for this article. I just reported FBI and DOJ department of SEC Fraud office. If anyone can report this fraud case, please report them from the links below;
sec.gov/tcr
tips.fbi.gov
Thank you for this article. how we can return at list our invest? billions of dollar gone to sato and miyazaki and scammers pocket. the way is not clear , either we can go to japan police or tips.fbi.gov??
Prance Gold primarily targeted Japanese investors. I don’t even think they had a US presence.
Although the scammers behind Prance Gold have likely already fled offshore, you’re far more likely to initiate an investigation by complaining locally.
Majority of the investors are from japan. We are gathering hundreds of people to go to the police station to make a fraud report already.
Almost 1billion scams and report for Miyazaki Yoko, Jeffrey guo, Ken Henford. The real chief is from singapore! Ceo are actors!
Now our teams are finding Ken & Miyazaki in Tokyo!
Ken Hoofard, is that a guy from Texas?
Yes, Ken Hoofard is from TEXAS. He was doing Neruim(Skincare MLM) a few years ago in Japan.
He is a real nasty self-serving guy.
I saw his and his wife’s were doing the Nerium Life on YouTube video in Korea. This company was considered as an illegal pyramid scheme.
The FTC has announced a lawsuit against it in 2017. Here is the YouTube link; youtu.be/fDMS0Ql8GOw
Im from indonesia, im dead now, i dont have any money now.
Im selling my bike for invest in prance gold and now its a scam. I wish i can kill that guy behind this scam.
Yes we in Japan community is angry now!
PGA is a scam since the start. More than 1billion scam. With Miyazaki Yoko and ken hoofard in Tokyo! We now report to FSA with evidences
Anyone have any update please email me im so desperate now. (Ozedit: email removed)
Stop making uninformed accusations. I know Ken Hoofard for many many years and he had nothing to do with the scammers.
My friend’s team has been cooperating with other top Japan teams and Ken even submitted to provide his wallets and addresses them all, and even to unnecessary interrogation by some of the top idiot Japanese leaders (who, btw, are just as guilty as the PGA company scammers), who made millions and flaunted it all over the net.
Then blamed people like Ken instead of selling some of their ill-gained Lamborghini’s and millions of dollars and offering to give back some to their members who trusted them and and handed over their money to them lock stock and barrel.
instagram.com/takahirosuzuki1018777.fans/
Any way, Ken was simple a local hired rep for the PGA company and only received a salary, which also ceased when withdrawals ceased.
He suddenly lost his job and salary and suddenly became a target by people like these people here and the Japanese leaders who all refuse to admit they are responsible for not doing enough due diligence before collecting tons of money from people, and would rather blame their naivety on someone else.
Take responsibility for YOURSELF! Stop blaming other people. If you want your money back, contact the Japanese leaders (Sato, Suzuki, Duke T, etc) who are also blaming anyone else but themselves so they dont have to give up any of their windfall.
instagram.com/takahirosuzuki1018777.fans/
But really, look in the mirror and ask yourself if you are 100% clean before you blame someone else for your terrible investments.
If Ken Hoofard promoted Prance Gold and profited he’s a scammer.
Whataboutism doesn’t change that fact. Neither does victim shaming.
The real scammers are Singaporeans Jeffrey Guo working with Miyazaki Yoko to scam Japanese community.
All of the videos are in youtube exposing Miyazaki Yoko as the real mastermind behind all of JA, Gainsky, Jenco, PGA.
She received millions of USDT in her USDT wallet, and lies to her own country people. She is cruel and evil.
We Nepalese Japanese are reporting Miyazaki Yoko to the authorises and are haunting her down in Tokyo. be careful!
Ken Hoofard is also lying since day one! Scammers are around!
I wish brutal dead of all of them. I’m sure that they will be cursed for all of their short life!
I spent two years of my life to teach and prepare tens of thousands of people prior to Nerium opening in Japan.
Just weeks before opening, Mark Smith, COO of Nerium brought his puppet Ken Horsford from Korea over to Tokyo, and with the help of a slimy Japanese leader or two, persuaded all but one of my leaders to sign under Horsford, with false promises of extra commissions, holidays at Mark Smith’s Hawaiian retreat etc.
I talked with Ken and he was perfectly happy to step all over mine and my family’s sacrifice for his own gain. The man has no conscience.
Many of my leaders later apologised to me and said they had a new name for Ken. They called him Satan. I hope he is made to pay for his crimes.
Karma took care of the Nerium company in the end, but it is sad to learn that Ken continues to take advantage of people with no thought to the devastation he leaves behind.
Colleen planned to take advantage of these same people by having them join “her” scamming MLM downline, apparently tens of thousands of them, but Ken beat her to it. I’d say that’s karma.
You are wrong. Do your homework. Nerium was not a scam. It was a legitimate company selling a fantastic skincare range.
I worked long hours six days a week teaching individuals and groups about the products and the coming opportunity. In two years I never took one cent from a single person so don’t you dare accuse me of dishonesty.
As it turned out the COO was also the master distributor. That is a conflict of interest.
I discovered sadly that his modus operandi was to allow hopeful, hardworking people with a dream, like me, to work their guts out and then he would go into those new markets and steal their leaders away.
All the people I loved and served, for no immediate financial reward, but with a naive belief that I would be rewarded for all my hard work when the company finally opened, many of them were shocked to find that their leaders had chosen to sign with Ken Hoofard as directed by the greedy COO, Mark Smith.
You are wrong in your nasty accusation of me!
“FTC alleges Neora, formerly known as Nerium, operates an illegal pyramid scheme”
ftc.gov/news-events/blogs/business-blog/2019/11/ftc-alleges-neora-formerly-known-nerium-operates-illegal
I’ll leave it at that.
So it was a legitimate company with fantastic products, but their Chief Operating Officer screwed you over? I’d say that undermines any claim they had on legitimacy, wouldn’t you?
Not to mention the fact that Nerium’s product line is highly suspect, being based on a poison (oleander) so dangerous Canada won’t even allow its import.
I can’t speak to your motives; maybe you wanted nothing but the best for those ten thousand you had lined up. But the cruel mathematical fact of endless-chain recruiting is that the vast majority get royally screwed.
Sure, there’s a (slim, slim) chance one could join an MLM and make big bucks, but if they do it’ll be at the expense of their downline. 99% in MLMs lose money so the 1% can can at least break even.
Of those 1%, fewer than one in 20 earn more than middle-management wages.
Maybe some people are OK with that if they’re in the elite 0.05%, but it would bother the heck out of me.
Yoko Miyazaki got arrested in Japan. I saw video Police and riots surrounded her in front of the hotel.
Source?