WorldVentures’ filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy has triggered an automatic stay in the RICO pyramid case.

Both Plaintiff Melody Yiru and defendants WorldVentures filed suggestions of bankruptcy on December 24th and 28th respectively. [Continue reading…]

Digital Money Markets provides no information on their website about who owns or runs the company.

Digital Money Markets’ website domain (“dmm.cash”) was privately registered on February 5th, 2020.

Digital Money Markets’ website defaults to Spanish, even with English as the set language. This indicates whoever is running the company is a native Spanish speaker.

Official marketing videos featured on Digital Money Markets’ website are hosted on a YouTube channel bearing the name Antonio Prieto Chaves.

Possibly due to language-barriers, I was unable to establish who this is.

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…]

BitLocity provides no information on its website about who owns or runs the business.

BitLocity’s website domain (“bitlocity.io”) was privately registered on October 28th, 2020.

As per current Alexa estimates, the top three sources of traffic to Bitlocity’s website are the US (42%), Jersey (11%) and South Africa (6%).

On the official BitLocity Vimeo channel linked from their website, there’s a video titled “Team Update November 24, 2020”.

The video features Mark Hamlin, discussing “our involvement” in Qtrex. Qtrex being a bitcoin Ponzi pyramid hybrid launched a few months back.

Based on Hamlin’s comments in the video, Qtrex has collapsed (“Qtrex is over”). After Qtrex Hamlin began hosting corporate BitLocity webinars:

Hamlin (right) refers to BitLocity as a “better mouse trap” than Qtrex.

Today we’re gonna introduce you, we’re gonna give you just a taste of what we have created as a leadership team.

If you need to get something done right, you need to do it yourself. So that’s exactly what we’ve done ladies and gentlemen.

We’re very excited to introduce to you our new project ladies and gentlemen, that we have developed.

What follows is a pitch for BitLocity’s “founders club”. He refers to the company in the possessive.

In addition to Qtrex, other scams Mark Hamlin has promoted include Forsage and WeShare Crowdfunding.

Based on his recent social media posts, Hamlin appears to be knee-deep in crypto investment fraud:

I didn’t sit through every video uploaded to BitLocity’s Vimeo channel. In the videos I did skim through, Hamlin didn’t disclose who he’s working with.

In some videos Hamlin introduces another speaker, only referred to as “Brian”.

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…]

Alliance Economics provides no information on its website about who owns or runs the business. The company also goes by Alliance Econ Group and AE Group.

There is another AE Group operating out of India. As far as I can tell the two companies are not related.

Alliance Economics’ website domain (“aegroup.club”) was privately registered on October 8th, 2020.

Alexa currently pegs the US as the only significant source of traffic to Alliance Economics’ website (~100%).

This strongly suggests whoever is running Alliance Economics is based out of the US itself.

My own research led me to prominent US based Alliance Economics promoter, Tommy Holt Jr. (right).

Holt Jr. hosts webinars in which he very much sounds like he’s running the show.

Based on Holt Jr’s presentations, it appears Alliance Economics originally launched as “Alliance Economics 50”.

Alliance Economics 50 operated from the domain “allianceecongroup50.com”, which is now defunct.

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…]

Seedchange provides no information on its website about who owns or runs the business.

What information Seedchange does provide is complete baloney.

Seedchange claims to be

an investment platform that was established in 2012 in San Francisco.

Securities are offered via Seedchange Execution Services, Inc., a broker-dealer registered with the SEC USA and FINRA | SIPC.

Seedchange’s website domain (“scinvesting.com”) was first registered in 2014. The registration was last updated on October 31st, 2020.

I believe Seedchange’s owner(s) took possession of the domain on or around early October (could be as far back as March 2020).

A search of the SEC’s Edgar database reveals Seedchange Execution Services has been registered with the SEC since 2014.

Seedchange Execution Services claims to be “engage(d) in the marketing and sale to accredited investors of securities issued by early stage technology companies”.

The last public report filed by Seedchange Execution Services was on June 3rd, 2019. The report details $145,975 in losses for the year ended March 31, 2019.

There is nothing about Seedchange’s new investment scheme in Seedchange Execution Services’ filings.

As far as I can tell Seedchange Execution Services has nothing to do with Seedchange the investment scheme. 

This is confirmed in an October 29th consumer alert, issued by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation;

DFPI has received information that the website SCinvesting.com is marketing itself as licensed Broker-Dealer Seedchange Execution Services Inc., or Seedchange (CRD number 165587).

The website is using the name, address, iconography, and website template of Seedchange, and could possibly be offering investments in violation of California law.

Someone has simply registered a domain and plagiarized Seedchange Execution Services’ to represent a newly created company.

Given this, it’s a safe bet all information provided on Seedchange’s website is bogus.

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…]

Griddy Pro is the MLM marketing arm of Texas-based energy reseller Griddy.

Griddy’s website lists co-founder Nicholas Bain and Gregory Craig, both of whom have a history in the energy sector.

As per their respective Griddy corporate bios;

Mr. Bain has been championing the investment and growth of renewable energy for more than 15 years.

He previously established Allco Wind Energy, oversaw the largest wind farm development project in the United States, and was the CEO of Graphite Energy prior to co-founding Griddy.

Mr. Craig has been a pioneer in the US energy industry for nearly 25 years.

After launching Cook Inlet, one of the largest wholesale energy traders in North America, Craig went on to lead Commerce Energy as chairman and CEO before co-founding Griddy.

Griddy Pro was announced earlier this month, with coverage revealing the appointment of “new leaders”.

Griddy’s new leaders, CEO Michael Fallquist, COO Christian McArthur and CFO Roop Bhullar, previously led Connecticut-based Crius Energy, which was sold last year for $400 million to Vistra, Irving-based owner of the TXU Energy brand.

Former Griddy CEO Greg Craig will remain on the Griddy board.

Crius Energy was a “strategic partner” of Viridian Energy, a former MLM company BehindMLM reviewed in 2017.

Griddy’s new CEO, Michael Fallquist (right), founded both Viridian Energy and Crius Energy.

In December 2017 Viridian unexpectedly announced it was abandoning its MLM business model. Distributors were caught off-guard but given four months notice.

Three months later it was revealed Viridian settled a deceptive marketing and sales tactics complaint with Massachusetts for $5 million.

Viridian’s website is still up today, however Alexa traffic estimates suggest there isn’t much going on.

Crius Energy struggled and, after cutting 270 jobs the same year Viridian settled with Massachussets, was sold to Vistra in early 2019 for $436 million.

Griddy Pro marks Michael Fallquist’s return to both the energy sector and MLM industry.

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

After failing to challenge the scientific validity of a damning paper on Herbalife’s products, the multi-billion dollar MLM company resorted to legal threats to get it unpublished. [Continue reading…]

In announcing their withdrawal as Mirror Trading International’s attorneys, the law firm Ulrich Roux and Associates stated it

made it clear from the outset that we were in no position to provide potential clients with financial advice as to whether they should invest with MTI, as we are not financial advisors, nor are we specialists in Bitcoin or any other form of cryptocurrency trading.

URA is in no way affiliated to MTI and can accordingly not be held responsible or liable for any profit or loss arising from any investment made, using the MTI platform.

If that sounds like a law firm desperately trying to cover its ass, you’re not wrong.

Here’s why. [Continue reading…]

WorldVentures has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The news was shared with the company’s affiliates via a December 22nd email sent out by COO Michael Poates.

A press-release was also uploaded to WorldVentures’ website, both of which are quoted from below. [Continue reading…]

Mirror Trading International’s collapse continues to follow the BTC Global Team playbook.

In the latest update, Cheri Marks spins quite a story. [Continue reading…]