MLM Ponzi scammer Ryan Ginster appears to have killed himself in prison.

Following a guilty plea entered in December 2022, Ginster, 36, was sentenced to 27 months in prison.

In parallel civil proceedings, the SEC sued Ginster in late 2021. The federal regulator alleged that, through his My Micro Profits and Social Profimatic Ponzi schemes, Ginster stole over $3.6 million from consumers.

Ginster’s SEC case resumed after he was sentenced. As per Ginster’s SEC case docket, a notice of his death was filed on January 8th, 2024. [Continue reading…]

Barnaje presents itself as an “anonymous DAO that’s community powered & fraud proof.” This is an instant red flag.

In MLM, admins hide behind claimed decentralization to avoid being named as owners of scams.

The truth is an MLM company doesn’t set up itself. It is set up and owned by an individual or individuals. Typically, these individuals are the primary beneficiaries of the scam.

Another red flag is Barnaje’s marketing videos hosted by robodubbed AI avatars. Again, this is Barnaje’s admins hiding themselves from company affiliates.

Update 20th January 2024 – Further research reveals an official Barnaje Vimeo channel.

On the channel we have official Barnaje marketing videos, hosted by Lynford Theobald.

Theobald, an 80+ year old Utah resident, is a serial promoter of illegal MLM gifting schemes.

BehindMLM first came across Theobald in 2014, as a promoter of the Gold Crowdfunding gifting scheme. /end update

Barnaje’s website domain (“barnaje.com”), was privately registered on May 9th, 2023.

As of December 2023, SimilarWeb tracked top sources of Barnaje website traffic as the US (82%), UK (9%) and Ecuador (7%).

Update 30th May 2024 – Barnaje has abandoned its original .COM domain.

The gifting scam now operates from “barnajedao.com”, privately registered on May 16th, 2024. /end update

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…]

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

TrustBet’s website domain (“trustbet.io”), was privately registered on November 8th, 2023.

In an attempt to appear legitimate, TrustBet provides UK incorporation for TrustBetIO LTD.

TrustBet represents itself to be an MLM cryptocurrency opportunity. It should be noted that the UK’s FCA outright banned MLM cryptocurrency investment schemes on October 8th, 2023.

In TrustBet’s official marketing material, “Paul Cassar” is cited as its founder and CEO.

As per the screenshot above, Cassar is represented by an AI avatar. The same avatar was used to represent MeroBit’s CEO:

Obviously neither Paul Cassar or Manny Stalomn exist.

MeroBit is an MLM crypto Ponzi running the same website template as TrustBet. It’s obvious the same scammers behind Merobit are behind TrustBet.

Whereas the FCA issued a Merobit securities fraud warning on November 30th, 2023, thus far TrustBet appears to have flown under their radar.

Whether the Merobit/TrustBet scammers have launched additional scams is unclear.

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…]

Although they were ordered unsealed last week, details of criminal charges against Alex Dee and Brian Kaplan remain under seal.

Jerry Maurer’s case has been unsealed though, and through it we gain insight into the 8 Figure Dream Lifestyle criminal case.

There’s also reference to a fourth “co-conspirator”, suggesting four 8 Figure Dream Lifestyle arrests might have been made. [Continue reading…]

What was left of the original RICO class-action over Donald Trump’s promotion of ACN has been dismissed. [Continue reading…]

Mevi AI fails to provide verifiable ownership or executive information.

On its website, Mevi AI cites “Timon Dellis” as its CEO:

In official Mevi AI marketing videos however, Dellis is represented by a different man:

Dellis, the video version, is played by Fivver actor “Luis”.

I am an on-camera actor and voice over actor. I have a wide range of accents and character voices that I can perform in both Spanish and English.

In conclusion, Mevi AI CEO “Timon Dellis” doesn’t exist.

Other Mevi AI marketing videos feature low-budget shoots in people’s living rooms:

Mevi AI’s website domain (“mevi.ai”), was privately registered on September 9th, 2023.

As of December 2023, SimilarWeb tracked top sources of traffic to Mevi AI’s website as Poland (60%), India (12%), Vietnam (9%) and Bulgaria (6%).

Poland sticks out like a sore thumb here. It’s possible that whoever is actually running Mevi AI has ties to Poland.

In an attempt to appear legitimate, Mevi AI provides corporate addresses in New Zealand and the UK on its website. Both of these addresses belong to co-work spaces that have nothing to do with Mevi AI.

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…]

OmegaPro.IN, not to be confused with the notorious Dubai-based OmegaPro Ponzi, fails to provide ownership or executive information on its website.

OmegaPro.IN’s website domain (“omegapro.in”), was privately registered on May 11th, 2023.

In the footer of its website, OmegaPro.IN provides a PO Box address in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. For what should be obvious reasons, this is meaningless.

Further attempts to appear legitimate by OmegaPro.IN include:

• a Polish shell company certificate (this is backdated to 2020 and appears to be doctored)
• an insurance document provided by Renaissance Insurance (this is backdated to 2015 and is obviously doctored) and
• a UK shell company certificate for Omega-Pro LTD

Due to the ease with which scammers are able to incorporate shell companies with bogus details, for the purpose of MLM due-diligence these certificates are meaningless.

Furthermore, OmegaPro.IN markets itself as an MLM cryptocurrency investment scheme. The UK’s FCA outright banned MLM cryptocurrency investment schemes on October 8th, 2023.

Further to OmegaPro.IN’s regulatory problems, France’s AMF added OmegaPro.IN to its investment blacklist on December 5th, 2023.

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…]

The Austrian Supreme Court has ruled that Lyoness’ affiliate contract and compensation plan are illegal.

The decision follows legal action taken by the Austrian Association for Consumer Information (VKI).

In Austria’s lower courts, VKI argued

47 contractual clauses that were part of Lyconet agreements and so-called Lyconet compensation plans … (lacked) transparent regulations and … clarity.

VKI’s lawsuit was decided in its favor. The Supreme Court’s ruling reaffirms earlier rulings and is final. [Continue reading…]

Some top earners at least pretend to be remorseful about the millions they stole through OneCoin.

Then there’s Kari Wahlroos, who in an upcoming documentary tells OneCoin victims to “kiss my ass”.

Wahlroos, a Finnish national who describes himself as “one of the grandmaster orchestrators” of OneCoin, is set to feature in “OneCoin – The inside man”. [Continue reading…]

The EchoOne Ponzi scheme has collapsed.

EchoOne initiated its exit-scam on Saturday, December 23rd. The ruse of choice was a “transition to litecoin”. [Continue reading…]