DAO1 has received a securities fraud warning from New Zealand’s Financial Markets Authority (FMA). [Continue reading…]

South African authorities have recovered R475,000 from Chinese “click a button” app Ponzi scammers (~$25,640 USD). [Continue reading…]

AI-OPSAi fails to provide ownership or executive information on its website.

AI-OPSAi’s website domain (“ai-opsai.com”), was registered with bogus details on December 7th, 2024.

Of note is AI-OPSAi’s website domain being registered through the Chinese registrar Alibaba (Singapore).

As always, if an MLM company is not openly upfront about who is running or owns it, think long and hard about joining and/or handing over any money. [Continue reading…]

Back in October 2024 someone registered the domain “behindmlmreviews.com”.

In or around late November, a poor attempt at cloning BehindMLM’s website was attached to the domain.

Now scammers behind the site are charging $500 for fake BehindMLM reviews – and neither the domain registrar or hosting company are doing anything about it. [Continue reading…]

Jason Cardiff has disobeyed court orders instructing him to return to the US by January 19th.

In the lead up to Cardiff’s potential fugitive status, the DOJ executed a previously filed extradition warrant. [Continue reading…]

Eaconomy and co-owner Hassan Mahmoud has filed suit against My Daily Choice owner Josh Zwagil.

In a Nevada suit filed on January 21st, Mahmoud claims Zwagil’s company Creative Brands attempted a “hostile takeover” of Eaconomy. [Continue reading…]

On January 26th BehindMLM published its Vyb review, identifying it as a recruitment-driven pyramid scheme.

Over the 48 hours since:

• Vyb co-owner and CEO Aundray Russell nuked his FaceBook account
• Vyb lost its payment processor
• Vyb’s website has been deleted and
• Vyb co-owner Megan Lynch held a “meltdown” webinar, leaning heavily into religious affinity fraud

Let’s discuss. [Continue reading…]

Eaconomy co-founder Candace Ross has sued Hassan Mahmoud.

Ross, who is also Mahmoud’s ex-wife, has accused him of “fraud and mismanagement”. [Continue reading…]

Blue Ocean Society fails to provide ownership or executive information on its website.

By its own admission, Blue Ocean Society intentionally withholds crucial due-diligence information from consumers:

Blue Ocean Society (BOS) is an exclusive, invitation-only private wealth club that brings together visionary individuals seeking extraordinary opportunities for growth and prosperity.

We curate access to blue-chip opportunities typically reserved for ultra-high-net-worth individuals and institutions, making them accessible through our collective approach.

Our society is built on the pillars of privacy, protection, and careful curation.

Membership is by invitation only. You must be invited by an existing member who knows, likes, and trusts you personally.

One name we can attach to Blue Ocean Society is “Kerianne”:

The above, from an official Blue Ocean Society investor email, cites Kerianne as a “Manager” of the company.

On social media Kerianne Mellott cites herself as a “Former Marketing Exec turned Artist, Designer, Investor, International Luxury Events Manager”.

Mellot is also a resident of California in the US.

Who Mellot works with to run Blue Ocean Society is unclear but they are most likely also based in the US.

To that end two unconfirmed names who appear to be attached to Blue Ocean Society are Ellis Botman (aka Elisabeth Botman) and Ken Shuler (aka Doyle Shuler).

Shuler and Botman were cited in a Reddit thread discussing Blue Ocean Society in late 2024:

The thread has multiple Blue Ocean Society investors complaining about withdrawal delays, which we’ll further explore in the conclusion of this review.

Shuler and Botman also popped up in email communications I’ve had with Blue Ocean Society investors. I don’t have anything official tying either to Blue Ocean Society but this isn’t surprising given the secrecy of the scheme (again further explored in the conclusion below).

BehindMLM last came across Shuler and Botman working together in BotTronic, an fraudulent MLM crypto investment scheme launched in 2021.

(Sidenote: Elisabeth Botman appears to have transitioned to “Ellis” sometime after BotTronic.)

Update 27th January 2025 – This slipped my attention when I was doing my initial round of research; Ellis Botman and Ken Shuler both appear on a background marketing video on Blue Ocean Society’s website (click to enlarge):

From this it’s looking highly likely Botman and Shuler are behind Blue Ocean Society. /end update

Blue Ocean Society’s website domain (“blueoceansociety.club”), was first registered in August 2022. The private registration was last updated on August 12th, 2024.

Official Blue Ocean Society communication emails cite the shell company Blue Ocean Management LLC (registration unclear), tied to an undisclosed address in St Kitts & Nevis.

St Kitts & Nevis is a tax haven with little no known regulation of MLM related fraud.

As always, if an MLM company is not openly upfront about who is running or owns it, think long and hard about joining and/or handing over any money. [Continue reading…]

Salavi88 fails to provide ownership or executive information on its website.

Salavi88 operates from two known website domains: salavi.xyz and salavi88.com. Both of Salavi88’s website domains were privately registered on December 28th, 2024.

As always, if an MLM company is not openly upfront about who is running or owns it, think long and hard about joining and/or handing over any money. [Continue reading…]