Following a dramatic drop in recruitment, Gift of Legacy appears to be collapsing from within.

Admins are fighting, recruitment has collapsed and anybody who asks questions is having their account(s) seized. [Continue reading…]

The Z System, also going by the Z 712 Money System, is the latest MLM opportunity from serial scammer Paul Darby.

To his credit, Darby fronts The Z System in a marketing video front and center on the company’s website.

BehindMLM first covered Darby in 2013, as owner of the YouGetPaidFast gifting scheme. Back then Darby was launching various scams under Unimax Services branding.

After YouGetPaidFast collapsed, Darby continued promoting third-party scams to his victims.

Darby dropped off after Internet Lifestyle Network, at least as far as popping up on BehindMLM’s radar. Darby’s YouTube channel reveals he’s been flogging a “new” marketing system under various names over the past few years.

The Z System’s Terms and Conditions document suggests Darby is based out of Texas in the US.

Read on for a full review of the Z System’s MLM opportunity. [Continue reading…]

Authorities in Venezuela have arrested Generation Zoe promoter César Julio Gómez López.

Following an investigation by the Scientific, Criminal and Criminalistic Investigation Service Corps (CICPC), Lopez has been charged with fraud related to “false investments”. [Continue reading…]

Paraiba World has received a second securities fraud warning from Switzerland’s Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA).

FINMA’s first Paraiba World fraud warning was issued in March and targeted Paraiba World Switzerland.

FINMA’s second warning pertains to the associated shell company Unique Private Bank LTD. [Continue reading…]

Hacken Pool provides no information on its website about who owns or runs the company.

Hacken Pool’s website domain (“hackenpool.com”), was registered on June 19th, 2021. The domain registration was last updated on March 22nd, 2022.

Hacken Pool’s website domain registration lists “Isabella Alexander” as the owner, complete with a bogus address in the UK.

Hacken Pool also operates from the secondary domain “hpbackoffice”, privately registered on March 16th, 2022.

In Hacken Pool’s official presentation PDF we find an email address:

This corresponds to Ahmad Fathurizqi, who appears to be based out of Malaysia.

In an attempt to appear legitimate, Hacken Pool provides incorporation certificates for “Hacken Pool Trading Limited” and “Hacken Limited”.

Hacken Pool Trading Limited was incorporated in the UK on March 22nd, 2022.

Hacken Limited was incorporated in 2014 and doesn’t have anything to do with Hacken Pool.

An MLM company operating or claiming to operate out of the UK is a red flag.

UK incorporation is dirt cheap and effectively unregulated. On top of that the FCA, the UK’s top financial regulator, do not actively regulate MLM related securities fraud.

As a result the UK is a favored jurisdiction for scammers looking to incorporate, operate and promote fraudulent companies.

For the purpose of MLM due-diligence, incorporation in the UK or registration with the FCA is meaningless.

Whether Ahmad Fathurizqi is running Hacken Pool is unclear. At the very least his involvement suggests, as opposed to the UK, that Hacken Pool has ties to Malaysia.

Another possibility is neighboring 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…]

Whereas “click a button” Ponzis typically have a functioning website, GoTik directs website visitors straight to their app:

GoTik operates from the domain (“gotik.info”), privately registered on July 8th, 2022.

Despite being run in Spanish and targeting Colombians, if we look at GoTik’s website source-code we find Chinese:

This strongly suggest whoever is behind GoTik has ties to China.

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…]

O’Qubuss is being run in secret. That’s because it’s likely a reboot of the twice collapsed IX Inversors Ponzi scheme.

A visit to O’Qubuss’ website reveals a blank page. Apparently the signup form and backoffice are only accessible with an O’Qubuss referral link.

This is an attempt to hide the scheme from authorities.

O’Qubuss’ website domain was privately registered on June 23rd 2022.

O’Qubuss marketing confirms ties to Alexander Hernandez:

Hernandez was CEO of the IX Inversors Ponzi scheme.

Launched in 2021, IX Inversors began to attract the attention of authorities in February 2022. Both Spain and Ecuador issued securities fraud warnings against the Ponzi scheme.

IX Inversors would eventually go on to collapse, with Hernandez framing it as a “liquidation”. This saw the brief reboot of DIA, which was followed by an even briefer Hyperuincap reboot.

In March 2022 Ecuador escalated its investigation into IX Inversors and Hernandez.

The Superintendencia de Bancos had forwarded its findings to the Financial and Economic Analysis Unit (UAFE), with the aim of further investigating money laundering and financial crimes.

That saw IX Inversors, DIA and Hyperuincap officially collapse. Well, at least until Hernandez resurfaced in June with O’Qubuss.

Hernandez, originally from Ecuador, is believed to have fled the country. His current whereabouts and status are unknown.

Like its predecessors, O’Qubuss is primarily being promoted across Latin America.

O’Qubuss scammers are primarily recruiting investors through shady WhatsApp and Telegram groups:

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…]

BehindMLM first reviewed IDLife back in 2014. Back then IDLife was fronted by founder and CEO Logan Stout.

Of note was IDLife wading into dangerous regulatory territory, by representing itself to be a pharmacy equivalent.

The clear implication was IDLife’s supplements were comparable to prescribed medication.

Back in April IDLife issued a press-release announcing Josh Paine had signed on CEO of the company.

To support his vision for the company, Josh Paine has solidified the IDLife executive team and has begun to outline key initiatives.

Logan Stout had been looking for four years for someone “with the same core values IDLife stands for and someone with excellent operational and financial expertise and a proven background. Josh Paine is exactly what I prayed for.”

Before joining IDLife, Josh Paine has been credited with scaling six notable companies, building profitable organizations on a global scale while following the principles of Conscious Capitalism.

Not being familiar with Conscious Capitalism, I looked it up.

Conscious Capitalism is the integration of beliefs in pro-capitalism & systems improvement, personal & business advancement, and social & environmental impact.

Doesn’t seem harmful, so sure.

Noticeably absent from IDLife’s press-release is the MLM company Paine made a name for himself in the industry with, WorldVentures.

Paine was appointed CEO of WorldVentures back in 2017. Prior to that he was involved in the business through Rovia.

Under Paine’s leadership WorldVentures was run into the ground, collapsed and eventually filed for bankruptcy in late 2020.

WorldVentures had of course been operating as a pyramid scheme for over a decade before Paine signed on. Given his prior involvement through Rovia and then signing on as CEO however, Paine’s role in WorldVentures’ collapse shouldn’t be ignored.

Oh and turns out Conscious Capitalism and Paine go way back.

Why this DFW company is steering toward conscious capitalism (Oct 2018)

After a year at the helm of WorldVentures Holdings, a Plano-based direct seller in the travel industry, Josh Paine is looking to stay.

That’s significant because Paine is known as a turnaround specialist. Typically, after months of eliminating inefficient processes and people, along with implementing new strategies, Paine’s work is done.

A private equity firm then will come in for a major investment, and Paine is off to the next adventure with a troubled company.

“Companies only call me when stuff hits the fan,” Paine said.

I’m trying not to read too much into that with respect to Paine’s appointment at IDLife.

Logan Stout is still around as IDLife’s Chairman.

Half of of IDLife’s top executives however appear to have been replaced by WorldVentures refugees.

Given how WorldVentures ended, I’m not sure if that was the smartest of moves on Stout’s part.

In any event, eight years later, today BehindMLM is revisiting IDLife for an updated review. [Continue reading…]

VCCP was a “click a button” Ponzi scheme targeting Colombia

The scheme recently collapsed, leading to a new type of exit-scam. [Continue reading…]

Coinaxium fails to provide company ownership or executive information on its website.

Coinaxium’s website domain (“coinaxium.com”), was privately registered on March 11th, 2022.

SimilarWeb reports an uptick of traffic to Coinaxium’s website beginning June 2022:

Top sources of traffic are France (36%), the UK (21%) and Switzerland.

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…]