EcomCash provide no information on their website about who owns or runs the business.

The EcomCash website domain (“ecomcash.io”) was privately registered on November 26th, 2017.

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…]

Monyx provide no information on their website about who owns or runs the company.

There is a vending machine payment app bearing a similar name (Monyx Wallet), however as far as I can tell the two companies are unrelated.

The Monyx website domain (“monyx.io”) was privately registered on November 17th, 2017.

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…]

Following an investigation by the Manatoba Securities Commission, USI-Tech has been compared to that of Ponzi and pyramid schemes. [Continue reading…]

Mining Max launched its cryptocurrency MLM opportunity back in June.

Mining Max affiliates who invested $3200 were promised a two year ROI, purportedly generated via mining of ethereum.

As is the case with pretty much every cryptocurrency MLM opportunity, turns out that was a load of baloney. [Continue reading…]

If one was to sum up the MLM industry in 2017, there is no doubt it is the year cryptocurrency opportunities took off.

Sadly I’ve yet to see one that’s even remotely legitimate, with the vast majority simply fiat Ponzi schemes swapped out with a cryptocurrency (be it bitcoin, an ICO, or non-publicly tradeable points).

Here at BehindMLM we observed the marriage between cryptocurrency and MLM emerge during 2014.

Over 2015 and 2016 the MLM cryptocurrency niche grew rapidly, mostly due to the ruthless targeting of those new to cryptocurrency. What might have started out as genuine attempts to spread cryptocurrency awareness, soon saw “let met educate on cryptocurrency” deteriorate into “let me pitch you on my latest Ponzi scam”.

In 2017 the development of off-the-shelf ICO scripts and meteoric rise of bitcoin’s value, meant all of a sudden everyone in MLM was a “cryptocurrency expert”.

As has the development side of the MLM cryptocurrency niche taken a few years to get going, so too has regulation. At least in the US.

Whereas Europe for the most part apart appears to be content issuing warnings and then sitting back and watching investors lose millions of dollars, SEC Chairman Jay Clayton has revealed a decidedly different approach. [Continue reading…]

Start Options provide no information on their website about who owns or runs the business.

The Start Options website domain (“startoptions.com”) was initially registered in December, 2005. The domain registration details were recently updated on December 18th, 2017.

A residential condo address in Manilla, Philippines is provided on the Start Options website.

An official Start Options business presentation provides a corporate address in Auckland, New Zealand.

Further research however reveals this address actually belongs to a cafe.

As far as I can tell Start Options has no physical presence in either the Philippines or New Zealand.

The Start Options support email address contains the name “William Adelbert”.

No information about this individual exists in connection with Start Options, so it’s assumed to be a pseudonym.

Start Options current incarnation appears to have surfaced on or around May, 2017.

As of mid 2016, Start Options was a binary options investment scheme:

That opportunity appears to have collapsed around late October, 2016.

When the current Start Options website surfaced, the admin email was named “Marcello Flaviano”. A corresponding Twitter account was created on or around June, 2017.

Also featured on the original website was the following message on the website footer:

Start Option is a regulated investment services firm authorised in the conduct of its activities by the New Zealand Securities and authorities under FSP number FSP1623

The quoted FSP number corresponds to the 2005 incorporation of City Forex.

Corporate records reveal City Forex is owned by Sunil Kumar Cheruvattath.

Cheruvattath personally filed City Forex’s last Annual Confirmation FSP filing back in July, 2017.

Outside of a few additional New Zealand incorporations (City New Zealand Limited and Indokiwi Ventures Limited), I was unable to find anything further on Cheruvattath.

Either way, it appears Cheruvattath owns and operates Start Options.

The name sounds very Indian, however Cheruvattath could be operating from anywhere (likely Oceania or South East Asia).

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…]

DavorCoin provide no information about who owns or runs the company on their website.

The DavorCoin website domain (“davor.io”) was privately registered on October 18th, 2017.

French and English are the primary languages used on the DavorCoin website, suggesting whoever is running the company is based out of Europe.

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…]

Another day, another regulatory condemnation of USI-Tech’s Ponzi scheme.

The latest warning is from the Canadian province of Novia Scotia.

On December 21st Novia Scotia’s Securities Commission published a warning cautioning investment in USI-Tech. [Continue reading…]

USI-Tech can’t seem to catch a break this week, following its third run in with securities regulators in as many days.

Hot on the heels of a similar warning issued by the British Columbia Securities Commission on December 18th, today New Brunswick’s Financial Consumer Services Commission issued their own USI-Tech investor warning. [Continue reading…]

Cleber Rene Rizerio Rocha, better known as the TelexFree mattress money mule, was busted earlier this year trying to launder $20 million in stolen Ponzi funds.

Following a guilty plea in October, Rocha was scheduled to be sentenced on December 20th.

On December 18th Rocha filed a motion requesting his sentencing hearing be continued. The motion was denied.

On December 19th Rocha filed a supplemental motion in support of his original motion, which was granted on December 20th. [Continue reading…]