Booster, aka Booster AI, Booster International Corp and Booster Lifestyle, fails to provide ownership or executive information on its website.

Booster’s website address (“boosterapp.ai”), was privately registered on December 3rd, 2024.

Further research reveals Booster marketing videos hosted by CNO Shannon Marie and “corp leader” Peter Ohanyan.

Ohanyan credits Shannon Marie with twenty-five years of network marketing experience. I wasn’t able to verify if any of that was at the executive level.

Peter Ohanyan is a serial promoter of fraudulent MLM investment schemes (NRGY, RB Global Crypto Bank, The Berlin Group, 3T Networks, GroceryBit, USI-Tech).

Over on Ohanyan’s FaceBook profile, we find a post citing Matt Ferk as “CEO of an A.I. company”:

On Ferk’s own Facebook profile we confirm he is Booster’s co-founder and CEO:

Ferk appears to have made a name for himself in Lyoness (aka Lyconet, Cashback World and currently myWorld).

Ferk joined Lyoness in 2010. Ferk’s Lyoness run as a promoter lasted till around 2018. After Lyoness Ferk got into professional gambling.

In 2022, Ferk rejoined Lyoness as CEO of myWorld in the US.

Ferk claims he resigned from myWorld after “learn[ing] the real inner workings of” Lyoness. When exactly Ferk resigned is unclear bu the was still promoting myWorld mid 2023:

Why Booster executive information is not provided on Booster’s website is unclear. One possible reason is Matt Ferk, aka Matjaz Ferk, is a wanted fugitive.

In 2021 the DOJ filed a Complaint under seal. The complaint detailed Ferk’s status as a wanted fugitive in Slovenia.

Slovenia had sought extradition of Ferk from the US, prompting the DOJ’s Complaint.

Being a fugitive from the Republic of Slovenia, which has sought FERK’s arrest with a view toward extradition from the United States, pursuant to the extradition treaty between the United States and Slovenia, 18 U.S.C. § 3184, for committing commercial fraud and tax evasion in violation of the criminal laws of Slovenia.

As above, quoted from the DOJ’s Complaint, Ferk is wanted for commercial fraud and tax evasion.

As detailed in the DOJ’s Complaint, circa 2006 Ferk was running a debt collection fraud racket. Ferk’s company Palas was selling non-existent debts to victim companies.

The business records of PALAS, of Victim-I, and of the Purported Debtor Companies reflect that FERK used forged signatures and fake documents (bearing fake stamps, fake invoice numbers, and/or fake debtors’ statements) to cause Victim-I damages of approximately €621,645.766 in exchange for the supposed rights to collect these nonexistent debts.

FERK knew that the claims to the debts did not exist and were based on forged documents.

During the investigation, FERK admitted that he had forged the invoices and the notices of assignment of claim.

FERK also asserted that he used the money he obtained from Victim-I to repay outstanding loans to the mafia.

Ferk’s companies also failed to pay invoices pertaining to purchased construction materials.

Ferk was indicted in Slovenia in 2013 on business fraud charges. A District Court in Murska Sobota convicted Ferk on business fraud charges in April 2014. Ferk was sentenced to one year in prison.

Ferk appealed the sentence twice but the conviction and sentence were upheld. An international arrest warrant was issued for Ferk in March 2024.

In December 2014 Ferk was charged with tax evasion. Circa 2010, Ferk filed false tax assessments detailing fake services performed and corresponding invoices.

Concluding Ferk was “evading criminal proceedings”, Ferk’s indictment was refiled in May 2020.

Upon an investigation by United States law enforcement, FERK was found living in Hamilton County, Tennessee, within the jurisdiction of this Court.

The details of Ferk fleeing Slovenia and turning up in the US with an active international arrest warrant out on him are unclear.

The DOJ’s Complaint was filed under seal based on an investigation concluding “FERK likely will flee if he learns of the existence of a warrant for his arrest.”

Ferk was arrested on January 21st, 2021. Following payment of a $30,000 appearance bond, Ferk was released either late January or early February 2021.

In his opposition to extradition, Ferk argued that the extradition treaty between Slovenia and the US required extradition to take place within the statute of limitations of equivalent charges in the US (mail or wire fraud and tax evasion).

This was five years for business fraud and six years for tax evasion.

On February 1st, 2022, a District Court in Tennessee denied Ferk’s extradition.

On the business fraud charges;

Because the Republic of Slovenia requisitioned the United States to extradite Ferk, the United States’ limitations period applies to Ferk’s business fraud charge.

Thus, under the applicable five-year U.S. limitations period, the Slovenian government had until December 18, 2012, to file an indictment; however, Slovenian authorities did not file the indictment until October 8, 2013.

The United States’ Motion for Certification for Extradition is hereby DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE as to the business fraud charge under Article 234a of the Slovenian Criminal Code.

And for tax evasion;

The Republic of Slovenia alleges that, in January 2010, Ferk submitted false data in connection with a value-added tax assessment of approximately €51,000 EUR.

Local prosecutors then indicted Ferk for tax evasion on December 17, 2014. There is no question that the December 2014 indictment falls within the applicable six-year limitations period.

However, subsequent developments with respect to the Slovenian tax evasion charge complicate the timeliness issue.

This pertains to the refiling of Ferk’s tax evasion indictment in 2020.

Slovenian prosecutors waited nearly five years before indicting Ferk in 2014.

Three years later, in July 2017, a Slovenian Court dismissed the December 2014 indictment.

Applying 18 U.S.C. § 3288 for tolling purposes under Article 7, the Slovenians had six months to re-indict Ferk after the limitations period expired or file for tolling of the limitations period.

They did neither. Instead, they chose to resurrect the dismissed 2014 indictment in 2020, which placed Ferk’s prosecution outside the six-year limitations window under 26 U.S.C. § 6531(2).

Accordingly, Ferk’s charge of tax evasion is timebarred under Article 7 of the Extradition Treaty.

To the best of my knowledge Ferk remains a wanted fugitive in Slovenia through three filed criminal cases.

Coinciding with Booster’s launch, Ferk threatened OffshoreAlert with litigation for reporting on his extradition proceedings back in January.

In an email sent to OffshoreAlert, Ferk asserts its coverage of his extradition proceedings is “inaccurate and defamatory”.

The post in question alleges that I was being prosecuted in a 2021 extradition request. However, the claim is demonstrably false and misleading.

This case was finalized and closed in 2021 by the U.S. Federal Court in Tennessee, with a verdict of NOT GUILTY/NO EXTRADITION.

If the post is not removed before January 15, 2025, I will have no choice but to involve my legal counsel to pursue all available remedies, including seeking damages for defamation and reputational harm.

As of April 2025, OffshoreAlert’s posts on Ferk’s extradition proceedings remain available.

As per BehindMLM’s own research into Ferk’s extradition proceedings above, we can confirm there was no verdict and Ferk wasn’t found “not guilty”.

The DOJ’s requested extradition application was denied due to statute of limitations technicalities. Ferk has yet to serve prison time on his business fraud conviction, or answer for the underlying alleged tax evasion fraud charges.

Beyond Ferk, Booster’s other co-founders are not disclosed.

Update 20th April 2025 – In the twenty-four hours since this review was published, Booster appears to have made changes to their website.

When I was researching Booster yesterday the website was stuck on a “replicated for affiliates” page, as documented in the conclusion of this review. This was the page presented, irrespective of any links clicked on and opened.

Today Booster’s website provides a bit more information, including executive information.

Ferk is acknowledged as a co-founder of Booster. His Booster corporate bio acknowledges his criminal activity but deflects the conduct, which he admitted to as per the DOJ’s filings, as “fabricated charges” from politicians.

Ferk’s bio also falsely states;

A groundbreaking case in U.S. Federal Court examined the allegations and deemed them unfounded.

As per detailing of Ferk’s extradition case detailed in this review, at no point did the Tennessee District Court find Ferk’s criminal charges in Slovenia were “unfounded”.

Marko Kesteli (right), from Croatia, is listed as Booster’s other co-founder and COO.

Kesteli is credited with “15 years of experience in network marketing”, which I was unable to verify.

Finally it’s worth noting Shannon Marie is cited as a “preferred shareholder” of Booster.

Booster isn’t registered with the SEC so what Marie is a preferred shareholder of is unclear. /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…]

BehindMLM first reviewed Immunotec in 2013.

As per reader request we queued Immunotec for a review update back in February.

Today we’re revisiting Immunotec for an updated review to see what’s changed. [Continue reading…]

The Xtream Lifestyle pyramid scheme has been sold off to iGenius.

As reported by BusinessForHome on April 16th; [Continue reading…]

EOS Quantify fails to provide ownership or executive information on its website.

EOS Quantify’s website domain (“eosissued8.com”), was

EOS Quantify has already attracted the attention of financial regulators. The Central Bank of Russia issued an EOS Quantify pyramid fraud warning on April 14th, 2025.

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…]

Mareway Global fails to provide verifiable ownership or executive information on its website.

Supposedly Mareway Global was “founded in 2019 in United Kingdom by Alan Williams, Peder Berge and 12 employees”.

Mareway Global’s website domain (“mareway-global.com”), was registered in September 2024.

Mareway Global didn’t exist until late 2024 and there is no evidence “Alan Williams” or “Peder Berge” exist.

In an attempt to appear legitimate, Mareway Global provides a UK certificate for “Mare Clausum LTD” on its website. This appears to be an unrelated company that has nothing to do with Mareway Global.

In what appears to be a nod to everything on Mareway Global’s website being made up, a “promo video” link buried in the source-code links to Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up”:

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…]

Zinzino has acquired what’s left of Valentus Global for SEK $20 million (~$2 million USD).

Zinzino, a nutritional supplement MLM company, announced the acquisition on April 11th. [Continue reading…]

Eaconomy has secured a preliminary injunction against Ali Saleh.

Saleh sued Eaconomy in 2023. Saleh claims Eaconomy owes him $150,000.

Eaconomy and owner Hassan Mahmoud filed a counterclaim against Saleh alleging defamation. As part of their counterclaim, Eaconomy and Mahmoud filed for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction in April 2024. [Continue reading…]

Pending court approval, James Ward has settled Apex Financial securities fraud charges brought against him by the SEC.

Apex Financial was an MLM crypto Ponzi launched in 2021. The scheme was built around APT, a token Ward created.

In its September 2024 Complaint, the SEC alleged Ward defrauded “at least 70 investors” out of “at least $852,000”.

A joint motion seeking approval of a consent judgment was filed by the SEC on March 19th. [Continue reading…]

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

Iqonic’s website domain (“iqonic.life”), was privately registered on March 1st, 2025.

A BehindMLM reader noted Eaconomy had disabled its website earlier this month.

As at time of publication, April 14th, 2025, that remains the case:

This prompted me to take a closer look, revealing Eaconomy promoters touting an Iqonic reboot circa April 1st;

Eaconomy social media accounts were was abandoned January 2025. Eaconomy owner Hasan Mahmoud’s last FaceBook post is dated November 28th, 2024.

In the post Mahmoud shills some crypto coin:

As far as I can tell, there doesn’t appear to be an official Iqonic reboot announcement.

Nonetheless, Iqonic marketing confirms Mahmoud is still running the company:

• Hassan Mahmaoud [sic] – founder and CEO Iqonic
• Edwin Hayes – President Iqonic
• Jarrod Wilkins – VP of Business Development

Mahmoud made a name for himself promoting Enagic water filters. His first appearance on BehindMLM was in 2019, as co-owner of SilverStar Live.

SilverStarLive was an unregistered MLM trading scheme. A CFTC investigation into SilverStarLive found the company and Mahmoud

acted as commodity trading advisors (“CTAs”) without being registered with the Commission as such, by exercising discretionary trading authority over the forex trading accounts of U.S. customers who were not eligible contract participants (“ECPs”).

Mahmoud settled the CFTC’s fraud allegations in 2019 for $75,000.

After SilverStarLive came Eaconomy, another trading themed MLM company. Eaconomy went on to collapse multiple times. A third and final reboot was launched in 2021.

Since launch, Eaconomy has received regulatory fraud warnings from Canada, Norway, New Zealand, Slovakia, the UK and Czechia.

In the lead up to Iqonic’s launch, Mahmoud sued My Daily Choice and owner Josh Zwagil back in January.

Zwagil retaliated by teaming up with Candace Ross, Mahmoud’s ex-wife and Eaconomy co-founder, to accuse Mahmoud of fraud.

Both lawsuits were dismissed on February 24th, suggesting a settlement was reached. No details have been made public.

Edwin Haynes popped up on BehindMLM’s radar in 2022, as founder and CEO of Axxces.

Axxcess was an MLM trading scheme built around crypto buzzwords and automated “social trading”.

Today Axxces’s website domain is parked. The company’s social media accounts were abandoned in February 2024.

Jarrod Wilkins is an Eaconomy executive carryover:

Considering Eaconomy ownership was a contention point in both January 2025 Eaconomy lawsuits, it remains unclear whether Candace Ross and Josh Zwagil have an ownership stake in Iqonic.

I was able to tie Zwagil (right) directly to Iqonic through the company’s apps. Iqonic uploaded its app to Google Play and Apple Store earlier this month.

Iqonic’s app developer is MLM Protec LLC, a Delaware shell company owned by Zwagil.

Zwagil isn’t disclosed as the owner of MLM Protec LLC on its website. Instead, somewhat deceptively, Zwagil features as a customer testimonial:

Whether Zwagil has an ownership stake in Iqonic or just owns the company developing its app is unclear. It’s extremely likely whatever the case, the details are part of the settlement reached in the January 2025 lawsuits.

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

On April 10th, 2024, BehindMLM turned fifteen. MLM news kept me from publishing this earlier but today we’re taking a look back on the past twelve months.

Welcome to BehindMLM’s State of the Scam 2025. [Continue reading…]