EDITOR’S NOTE: The Legisi HYIP scheme was a Ponzi-board “program” that tried to hide underground in 2007/08, even as state and federal investigators were conducting an undercover probe that eventually led to the arrests and subsequent convictions of the purveyor-in-chief and a pitchman for the $72 million fraud.
One of the evidence exhibits in the case included the words “MoneyMakerGroup.com” written out in longhand by a Legisi investor. Case files used in an SEC exhibit also show page after page of postings from Legisi’s so-called “private” forum. In addition to prison sentences, millions of dollars in civil judgments were imposed in the Legisi prosecution.
Like Legisi, Achieve Community is a Ponzi-board “program” that has installed a “private” forum.
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2ND UPDATE 12:38 P.M. ET U.S.A. As the PP Blog noted on Dec. 11, Achieve Community appeared to be prepping to follow a playbook used by predecessor scams such as AdViewGlobal and others — that is, compartmentalize information by creating a members-only private forum to make it the only source of info from the “opportunity” itself.
This typically occurs when a scam begins to sense it has been entirely too public in its scamming through public venues such as Facebook or Ponzi forums and that members themselves — through individual promos — are hastening the day of a “program’s” final demise.
Achieve Community now appears to have turned its back on (or is in the process of retreating from) the once-ballyhooed “TheOfficialAchieveCommunity” Facebook site. At the same time, it appears to be discouraging individual promoters from continuing to use Facebook for their Achieve pitchfests.
“We are no longer able to be a Facebook program – and that is not up for debate – there are several reasons for this – and most have to do with our processors,” Achieve Community co-founder Kristi Johnson reportedly has written.
A real head-scratcher, that one.
“If you have questions about our program come to the [Achieve private] Forum to ask them,” Kristi continues. “If you are a member with time, come to the Forum to help answer your community members please.”
And, she adds, “If our information continues to be shared through unofficial Facebook groups or timelines or questions about everything Achieve anywhere on Facebook, we will not get the processors that we want to work with. It’s that simple.
“You all can decide if you want to see Achieve continue or not. If you do want us to continue come to the Forum. If not, stay on Facebook with these unofficial groups and questions. I’ll leave it to our community.”
Kristi did not identify any of the “unofficial groups.” Nor did she say whether she was concerned about individual promos on YouTube such as those from Rodney Blackburn.
Like many “cycler” promoters on the Internet, Rodney is a one-person PR train wreck. For example, he now has announced on YouTube that he’s promoting “Unison Wealth” and, in the process, joining other Achievers who are doing so.
In Rodney’s promo, a link to Facebook flashes on the screen at about the 8:35 mark.
“As far as I can see, as far as I understand . . . everything is fine with the Achieve Community,” Rodney ventures in his 10:30 YouTube combo promo for Achieve, Unison Wealth and the “Legendary Income Solutions Team or LIST.
The promo, complete with three exclamation marks, is titled “LIST – Achieve Community Update and More!!!”
But as soon as Rodney utters soothing words about Achieve, he seems to take them back. “Kristi is under a tremendous amount of stress as far, in my opinion, [as] trying to get everything up and running. But, guys, we can’t lose focus that she has done everything that she says she’s gonna do. Has it been at the exact timelines all the time? No.”
He then talks about debit “cards” purportedly from Global Cash Card not being “out” and “all these [Achieve] delays” over the past few weeks after Achieve reportedly lost its ability to conduct business through Payoneer weeks ago.
Talking about damning someone with faint praise.
Regardless, Rodney then switches course again, assuring his audience that Kristi isn’t responsible for any of the problems at Achieve. He further ventures that the MLM trade/networking marketing business in general has been impressed by the way Achieve does business and therefore would adopt Achieve practices.
“That tells you something,” Rodney asserts. “Kristi was onto something when she created this. And so, you gotta tip your hat to her.”
Unison Wealth” is “an excellent opportunity for people to come in,” Rodney says — this after noting his LIST downline group stresses “passive” programs.
The passivity of a scheme is an element in what constitutes an “investment contract” under U.S. and state-level securities laws. A recent example of this can be found in the lawsuits against alleged “winners” in the Zeek Rewards Ponzi- and pyramid scheme, including lawsuits filed this week against alleged Zeek winners who hail from Australia.
Zeek’s court-appointed receiver is seeking the return of the alleged winnings, saying they came from Zeek victims. The receiver also has sued U.S. and Canadian alleged winners.
Achieve “winners” potentially could experience the same outcome if litigation emerges.
Like Achieve, Unison Wealth is a Ponzi-board program. The TalkGold forum got a prominent mention in court filings earlier this month in the U.S.-led prosecution of Liberty Reserve, a defunct money-moving business once used by criminals the world over.
So, the following bizarre circumstance has evolved: Achieve — a “program” with an 800 percent ROI and targeted at senior citizens and promoted on Ponzi forums — suddenly says it’s “no longer able” to be a Facebook “program” and that the issue is “not up for debate” because post-Payoneer processors might get the wrong idea about Achieve.
This appears to be occurring as Achieve is engaging in a Zeek Rewards- and TelexFree-like game of payment-processor roulette, potentially now including iPayDNA and Global Cash Card.
Nothwithstanding the bizarre assertion that Achieve once was “able” to be a Facebook “program” but now cannot be, Achieve will be no less a Ponzi scheme whether it goes underground or not.
