OneCoin delays public trading, abandons arrested Indian affiliates
When it was announced about a month ago that OneCoin founder Ruja Ignatova would be answering questions on a live webinar, it was assumed that probably wasn’t going to happen as advertised.
Yesterday the webinar took place and featured Ignatova, CEO Pierre Arens and top earner Sebastian Greenwood. Frequently glancing at notes, the trio attempted to answer pre-screened questions. [Continue reading…]
Monspace Review: YSLM pyramid scheme reboot?
Monspace is headquartered in Malaysia and describe themselves as
a multinational corporation with an active interest in eight primary sectors: Telecommunication, real estate, technology, finance, entertainment, aviation, hospitality and food and beverage.
Jessy Lai is cited as CEO of the company on the Monspace website.
Dato’ Sri Jessy Lai is a multi-faceted entrepreneur with a passion for making ideas a reality and helping mission-driven professionals materialise ideas, elevate performance and accelerate success.
Lai (right) was a top affiliate in Zhang Jian’s YSLM pyramid scheme. In 2014 The Star alleges Lai was caught out lying about YSLM affiliate’s demanding refunds.
Lai reportedly said YSLM had “changed her life” thanks to “big brother Zhang” who helped her gain wealth and fame.
YSLM eventually collapsed and caused an estimated $233 million dollars in losses.
Despite that, Lai was adamant that YSLM was a legal business, blaming the media for a coordinated attack against the company.
Zhang recently resurfaced in Malaysia in connection with a series of bizarre “charity dinners”.
In 2016 Jessy Lai’s Monspace Sky Airline was accused of violating several aviation regulations.
Promotional material for Monspace Sky Airline is reported to have featured Zhang.
Circulating on WeChat were also brochures promoting Monspace Sky Airline’s trip for tourists from China to Langkawi, which prominently featured Zhang holding two thumbs up.
When contacted, Lai refused to comment on the allegations made against her and her airline.
It would seem Zhang is actually behind Monspace, however to date there’s been no official confirmation.
On the regulatory front Monspace was added to the Bank of Malaysia’s list ‘of companies and websites which are neither authorised nor approved under the relevant laws and regulations administered by BNM‘.
On June 1st, 2017 the Philippine SEC issued an advisory warning of unauthorized investment activity in relation to Monspace.
Read on for a full review of the Monspace MLM opportunity. [Continue reading…]
Joseph Craft settles, agrees to relinquish stolen TelexFree Ponzi funds
When TelexFree offices were raided by the FBI, DHS and ICE, Joseph Craft attempted to flee the scene with a big black sports bag.
Inside the bag was a laptop and $37.9 million dollars in cashiers checks, made out to owners Carlos Wanzeler, James Merrill and their accomplices.
Craft’s served as TelexFree’s Chief Financial Officer and was instrumental in TelexFree management’s thwarted exit strategy.
The position also saw Craft paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for providing “accounting, investment and tax services”.
Between 2012 to 2014, Craft was paid approximately $613,000 in stolen TelexFree investor funds.
On April 4th, 2016, the TelexFree Trustee sued Craft and demanded he return the fraudulently received funds.
Including damages, the Trustee went after Craft and his companies Sunwind Energy Doyle North, Sunwind Energy Systems and Sunwind Energy Group, for $1.2 million dollars. [Continue reading…]
Feeder Focus: Ponzi cycler with Platinum World Team Build feeder
Feeder Focus provide no information on their website about who owns or runs the company.
The Feeder Focus website domain (“feederfocus.com”) was registered on June 23rd, 2017.
Mutinda Kisio (right) is listed as the owner, with an address in Nairobi, Kenya also provided.
Other MLM opportunities Kisio has promoted include Platinum World Team Build (Ponzi cycler) and Fund My Cause (bitcoin gifting).
Read on for a full review of the Feeder Focus MLM opportunity. [Continue reading…]
Turbo Bitcoin Machine Review: Ten-level unilevel bitcoin gifting
Turbo Bitcoin Machine provide no information on their website about who owns or runs the business.
The Turbo Bitcoin Machine website domain (“turbobitcoin4u.biz”) was privately registered on July 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…]
OneCoin issued cease and desist by Austrian FMA
After observing violations the Banking Act (Bankwesengesetz), the Austrian Financial Market Authority has issued OneCoin with a cease and desist.
OneCoin stands accused of “carrying out (unauthorized) banking transactions” within Austria. [Continue reading…]
Mannatech Compensation Plan Review 3.0
BehindMLM first reviewed Mannatech back in 2011.
Key areas of improvement I identified were the headache-inducing complexity of Mannatech’s compensation plan, mandatory affiliate autoship and high start-up costs ($3800!).
A 2015 compensation revision saw Mannatech scrap the high start-up cost but overall retain a lot of what made the original compensation plan confusing.
A lot of the confusion in the plan stems from Mannatech’s use of non-standard industry terms, which requires someone trying to understand the compensation plan look up and keep track of ten to fifteen acronyms.
Issues identified in the 2015 revision include pay to play concerns with the All-Star qualification and direct recruitment commissions on affiliate packs.
On July 1st, 2017, Mannatech launched a new compensation plan.
It’s with great excitement and enthusiasm that we enter into a new era as Mannatech.
Developed in collaboration with Associate field leaders across the globe, this Compensation Plan has been specifically designed to reward you fairly and generously for the hard work you put into growing your business.
Read on for BehindMLM’s third Mannatech compensation plan review. [Continue reading…]
Money Exchanger Review: Three currency matrix-based cash gifting
Money Exchanger provide no information on their website about who owns or runs the business.
The Money Exchanger website domain (“moneyexchanger.biz”) was registered on April 7th, 2017.
Obakeng Morake (right) is listed as the owner, through an incomplete address in South Africa.
In 2016 Morake was promoting the WeShare Crowdfunding gifting scheme.
Launched in mid 2015, by mid 2016 WeShare Crowdfunding had collapsed.
Read on for a full review of the Money Exchanger MLM opportunity. [Continue reading…]
JetCoin 2.0 Review: Trading facade dropped, same Ponzi scam
One of the unspoken rules of the MLM underbelly is that once tainted, a company name forever remains tainted.
Thus if the admin(s) of the original scheme which to defraud again, they need to come up with a new name.
The tainting of an MLM underbelly scheme typically comes about through regulatory intervention or the scheme collapsing.
JetCoin collapsed recently due to the latter. And despite having only launched barely a month ago and the ashes of the original not even cooled, a new scheme bearing the same name has just been announced.
Read on for a full review of the JetCoin 2.0 MLM opportunity. [Continue reading…]
Acre fines TelexFree $921,531, orders company pay back investors
Regulatory proceedings against Ympactus, the Brazilian arm of the TelexFree Ponzi scheme, began all the way back in June, 2013.
On June 19th, 2014, Public Prosecutors in the Brazilian state of Acre were granted an injunction against Ympactus.
The ruling was effectively the beginning of the end of the end of TelexFree’s operations in Brazil. [Continue reading…]