Last week we explored the possibility that Roman Balanko had lied to the Zeek Rewards Receiver.

Officially, Roman Balanko is the CEO of PaymentWorld USA. Balanko and PaymentWorld USA are arguing they have no control over Zeek funds deposited in a VictoriaBank account in Moldova, which was in the name of PaymentWorld Hong Kong.

An agent agreement cited and published by BehindMLM however revealed Roman Balanko is the President of PaymentWorld Hong Kong.

As it stands, Balanko is scheduled to be deposed by the Zeek Receiver on July 22nd. PaymentWorld now want that deposition postponed. [Continue reading…]

Turkey’s Customs and Trade Minister has declared Kairos Technologies to be a pyramid scheme.

The announcement was made after over six thousand complaints were filed with the Ministry, with Kairos Technologies now the subject of an official investigation. [Continue reading…]

Last April the Malaysian Ministry of Tourism and Culture declared WorldVentures was operating illegally in the country.

This was based on the fact that, at the time, ‘the Ministry of Tourism and Culture (had not) issue(d) a license to WorldVentures‘.

WorldVentures still doesn’t have a license, but has instead convinced the Domestic Trade Cooperation and Consumerism Minister they don’t need one.

Why?

WorldVentures’ business model itself has nothing to do with travel. [Continue reading…]

There is no information on the FusionRev website indicating who owns or runs the business.

The FusionRev website domain was registered on the 18th of May 2016, however the domain registration is set to private.

The official FusionRev Facebook group has one admin, Chahal Nicks (right).

On his own Facebook profile, Nicks lists his location as Dublin, Ireland. This is presumably where FusionRev is being operated from.

Of note is that in emails to FusionRev affiliates, Chahal Nicks reverses his name to Nick Chahal.

As far as I can tell Chahal doesn’t have an MLM history.

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

CrowdfundFast launched in June 2016 and identify Lynette Artin (full name: Shirley Lynette Artin Crawford) as CEO of the company.

CrowdfundFast appear to be based out of Michigan in the US, with the company providing the following payment details on their website:

You May Send a Cheque Made Payable To: Shirley Lynette Crawford.

Mail your payment to:
PO Box XXX
Maple Rapids, MI 48853

These same details appear in the CrowdFundFast domain registration (registered May 25th, 2016).

Lynette Artin (right) first popped up on BehindMLM’s radar as the suspected owner of Quick Pay Group in 2014.

Quick Pay Group was an MLM penny auction that solicited $495 investments on the promise of a 100 day ROI, paid out of newly invested funds.

Artin’s name has been attached to GoFunRewards, OfferHubb and Uptown Offers (see comment #4 on the linked review).

All three of these companies were proposed “revenue-sharing” Ponzi schemes, with only GoFunRewards actually officially launching (and then promptly shutting down due to fears of regulatory action shortly after launch).

Today Artin is operating Qkadoo and its attached penny auction, QkaBids. CrowdFundFast has been launched under the Qkadoo brand.

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

On July 7th the USFIA Receiver filed his third report and recommendations.

Spanning the first quarter of 2016, the Receiver’s report covers the scope of USFIA’s business operations, the legitimacy of USFIA, seized real-estate, Steve Chen’s lawyer funds, USFIA investor funds spent on Chen’s family and a Mercedes S550 belonging to Chen. [Continue reading…]

Other than claiming Tempo Wireless is ‘a direct selling division of Tempo Communications‘, there is no information on the Tempo Wireless website that specifically indicates who owns or runs the business.

Somewhat annoyingly, the Tempo Wireless website’s “about us” page makes multiple references to a “founding company” without actually naming it. Why Tempo Wireless do not their founding company on their “about us” page is unclear.

Further research reveals the Tempo Wireless “Home Phone Dealer Policies” states:

All refunds are processed through Birch Communications. Any dealers who choose to refund a customer from their cash drawer will not be reimbursed by Birch Communications.

Birch Communications is

an Atlanta, Georgia-based provider of IP-based communications, network broadband, cloud computing, and information technology services to small, mid-sized, enterprise and wholesale business customers in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. (Wikipedia)

A June 2013 press-release meanwhile reveals that Tempo Wireless was originally Now Communications.

Birch Communications announced today that its prepaid and lifeline division, NOW Communications, has been officially rebranded as Tempo.

“We feel this name change better reflects how we now serve our customers,” said Vincent M. Oddo, Tempo president and CEO.

Birch Communications also acquired Lightyear Wireless (parent company Lightyear Network Solutions) in 2013, which formed the basis for Tempo Wireless’ MLM offering.

According to a recent press-release, Oddo was also CEO and President of Birch Communications until May, 2016.

Birch Equity Partners announced today that Vincent M. Oddo will assume the position of President and CEO of Birch Equity Partners.

Oddo most recently held the positions of President and CEO of Birch Communications, Inc. and Managing Director of Birch Equity Partners.

Tony Tomae (right) is cited as the current CEO and President of Birch Communications (and presumably Tempo Wireless).

Tomae does not appear to have any MLM industry experience. His LinkedIn profile states he has

broad, repeated experience in transforming executive management teams to focus on building a profitable company.

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

Following reports of Slovakian affiliates being unable to withdraw commissions, a warning against Kairos Technologies has been issued by the Slovakian Trade Inspection.

The Slovakian Trade Inspection (SOI) is a financial regulator run by the Slovakian government. In addition to regulation as per local laws, SOI also enforce compliance with EU regulations.

On July 1st SOI published a warning against Kairos Technologies, urging ‘consumers to carefully consider purchasing (the) products of this company‘. [Continue reading…]

Mid last year the GetEasy crackdown began in Tunisia, with the arrest of former CEO, Tiago Fontoura.

The Spanish Civil Guard have since lead the charge, arresting several GetEasy ringleaders in February.

Portugal, infamous for turning a blind eye to Ponzi schemes over the past few years, upped their game and arrested a Portuguese ringleader in Madeira a few months later.

The Spanish Civil Guard have continued their investigation into GetEasy, with a report now detailing the scope of the scam. [Continue reading…]

Things are heating up regarding Paul Burks’ defense experts.

Following an objection filed by the DOJ against John White and Morris Aaron’s proposed expert opinion, Paul Burks filed a reply mostly dismissing the DOJ’s objections.

The DOJ has now filed a reply, claiming Burks seeks to have his experts ‘serve as judge, attorney, and jury.‘ [Continue reading…]