As a result of a lack of communication from USI-Tech management, the rumor mill went into overdrive over the weekend.

Were USI-Tech going to honor 140% ROI BTC package payouts? Were secret negotiations going on between the SEC and USI-Tech?

And bearing in mind an SEC investigation has yet to even be confirmed, there was also one about the SEC dropping its case due to a lack of evidence.

All par for the course when a Ponzi collapses and nothing those who follow the MLM underbelly haven’t seen before.

In the aftermath of the weekend what we can report on are three significant developments:

1. USI-Tech has formally suspended affiliate withdrawals
2. $17 million in ethereum was withdrawn from a mining pool bearing the name “USITech” and
3. USI-Tech’s TechCoin whitepaper reveals it’s just another “me too” altcoin

Let’s take a deeper look into each of them. [Continue reading…]

My Bit Rush provide no information on their website about who owns or runs the business.

The My Bit Rush website domain (“mybitrush.com”) was registered on July 14th, 2017.

Andres De la Parra of Bit Rush LTD International is listed as the owner, with an address in Madrid, Spain also provided.

I wasn’t able to find anything connecting De la Parra to My Bit Rush outside of the domain registration, raising the question of whether he actually exists.

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…]

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

The Bitcoin Solve website domain (“bitcoinsolve.com”) was registered on October 15th, 2017.

“Bittrex Crypto Curruncy LTD” is listed as the owner, with a bogus address in the US also provided.

This appears to be an attempt to associate Bitcoin Solve with the well-known Bittrex cryptocurrency exchange, albeit an extremely poor one by someone who can’t spell.

The same bogus corporation appears on the footer of the Bitcoin Solve website, with a slightly modified yet equally bogus address.

In another attempt to feign legitimacy, Bitcoin Solve provides an UK incorporation document for “SCURE-Investment Limited”.

Whether this incorporation has anything to do with Bitcoin Solve is unclear.

In any event UK incorporation is dirt cheap and for the most part unregulated. They are a favorite for scammers looking to incorporate dodgy companies.

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…]

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

The Mint Builder website domain (“mintbuilder.com”) was registered on October 12th, 2017.

Matt Barkes is listed as the owner, with an incomplete address in West Sussex, UK also provided.

According to his Facebook profile, Barkes (right) lives in the US state of Indiana. This is presumably where Mint Builder is actually being operated from.

Barkes first appeared on BehindMLM’s radar back in 2012 as the founder and CEO of ISN Coins.

ISN Coins operated as a pyramid scheme, combining numismatic coins with affiliate autoship recruitment.

After the original incarnation of ISN Coins collapsed, in 2014 a reboot was launched with a new compensation plan.

Granted ISN have made a better effort in stocking their online store and changing up their compensation plan, but unfortunately the underlying business model appears to remain the same.

As with the original model, ISN Coins 2.0 had little to no retail appeal and was again focused on affiliate autoship recruitment.

Today Alexa don’t even bother to rank the ISN Coins website domain, suggesting the scheme has long-since collapsed.

Mint Builder appears to be an attempt to resuscitate ISN Coins under a new name.

A message on the ISN Coins website acknowledges that the company “is now Mint Builder”.

Why Matt Barkes’ name doesn’t appear anywhere on the Mint Builder website is unclear.

Read on for a full review of the Mint Builder MLM opportunity. [Continue reading…]

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

The Kinetic Union website domain (“kineticunion.io”) was privately registered on December 11th, 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…]

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

The Capital Expanse website domain (“capitalexpanse.net”) was privately registered on September 22nd, 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…]

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

The CryptOnion website domain (“cryptonion.io”) was privately registered on July 24th, 2017.

CryptOnion provide a UK incorporation number on their website for “CryptOnion Limited”.

CryptOnion Limited was incorporated on July 31st, 2017. The Bristol address used to incorporate the company is the same as that of the recently launched Ecovill Nature Ponzi scheme.

UK incorporation is dirt cheap and for the most part unregulated. They are a favorite for scammers looking to incorporate dodgy companies.

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…]

In a move that is unlikely to have surprised anybody, USI-Tech has severed ties with the US and Canada.

Rather than operate legally in the US and Canada and register with the appropriate regulatory bodies, USI-Tech has instead elected to abandon its legal obligations and focus on scamming investors elsewhere in the world. [Continue reading…]

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

The Falcoin Coin website domain (“falconcoin.co”) was privately registered on October 7th, 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…]

The Merkle was founded in 2014 and covers ‘the latest crypto, finance, infosec and tech news‘.

The Merkle has a dedicated cryptocurrency news section and also includes a variety of educational articles relating to Bitcoin, you can find anything from how to make money with bitcoin to how to create your own cryptocurrency.

Learn about scams, malware, and ransomware in the education category and take a look at our comparisons and reviews of popular wallets, exchanges, and other services in the cryptocurrency land.

Despite having a history of accurately reporting on MLM cryptocurrency fraud, when it comes to BitConnect evidently The Merkle has blinders on. [Continue reading…]