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Tag: Mutual Wealth

  • ‘BitClub Network’ Now Reportedly Set To Launch On Sept. 10, Eve Of Anniversary Of 9/11 Attacks

    bitclub350smallThe BitClub Network “program” — originally set to launch Sept 1, the 75th anniversary of the beginning of World War II — reportedly now will launch on Sept. 10.

    That’s the eve of the 13th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

    The Sept. 10 launch time is pegged for “2pm EST,” which possibly means the “program” is using Panama time. Panama, part of the Americas, does not use Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).

    Some of the money from the Profitable Sunrise HYIP swindle last year went to an entity in Panama City, the SEC said last year. Other Profitable Sunrise money ended up in Australia and the Czech Republic, according to court filings.

    Profitable Sunrise operated through a “mail drop” in England and had a “director” in Seychelles, according to court filings.

    Zeek Rewards Ponzi- and pyramid-scheme figure T. LeMont Silver, an early adopter of BitClub Network who is promising a $600 sign-up bonus and “training” for the “program,” now is using a Seychelles address, according to an email pitch he sent last week.

    Seychelles is a known money-laundering haven. Silver may be operating from the Dominican Republic after parachuting into the nation after the collapse of Zeek in 2012 and the later collapse of two other purported “revenue-sharing programs” he was pitching.

    Those “programs,” which ended up suing each other amid allegations of fraud, were GoFunPlaces/GoFun Rewards and JubiMax/JubiRev. Silver described disaffected prospects as “low-hanging fruit.”

    BitClub Network, which purportedly offers “shares” of “mining pools,” has a Bitcoin theme. The reported buy-in levels are $500, $1,000 and $2,000, with “Founders’” positions going for $3,599.

    Whether Silver even knows precisely who is operating the BitClub Network “program” is unclear. Also unclear is why the “program” chose start dates that corresponded with the starting dates of World War II in Europe and the 9/11 terrorist attacks against the United States.

    Are the dates merely coincidences?

    Hitler’s Nazi Third Reich was hoped to last 1,000 years. BitClub Network, early bird MLM HYIPers say, will pay a daily dividend for 1,000 days.

    HYIP schemes in general are exceptionally murky propositions, with narratives, descriptions and actions that may be designed as taunts against both prospects and regulators. Profitable Sunrise, for example, used images of Jesus Christ in promos and offered a purported “Long Haul” plan with a purported Easter gift to be paid out on April 1, 2013 — April Fool’s Day.

    March 31 of that year was Easter Sunday.

    WCM777 also used images of Jesus Christ. A follow-up scam used images of a golden pyramid.

    John Neil Hirst was charged by the U.K. Serious Fraud Office in 2011 with running a Ponzi scheme that targeted British, French and Americans through a company registered in Panama and Seychelles.

    A 2010 scam known as “Alpha Trade Group” that was promoted on well-known Ponzi-scheme forums purported to be registered in Panama and was using “various corporations and fictitious names registered in Florida” to pull off the scheme, according to court filings.

    David F. Merrick of Traders International Return Network (TIRN) was charged in a 2009 Ponzi scheme that was operating in the United States while funneling money to Panama, Mexico, Malaysia, Switzerland and the Netherlands.

    A 2014 online scheme known as Mutual Wealth might have operated through entities in Panama and the United Kingdom “and through Russian or Belarussian nationals,” the SEC said.

    In August 2013, NEOMutual, a purported “crowdfunding” opportunity that claimed it used bitcoin and a series of offshore payment processors, further claimed to provide daily interest rates of 1.4 percent, 1.6 percent and 1.9 percent on sums between $20 and $250,000.

    It was promoted alongside the bizarrely named “Cash Crop Cycler.” Among the provocative claims on the CashCropCycler website was that the “program” was interested in building “a network that ticks.”

    A 2011 scam known as OneX used an image of a bomb in its logo.

    Silver was a OneX pitchman, alongside Andy Bowdoin, the operator of the $119 million AdSurfDaily Ponzi scheme that he positioned as a “revenue-sharing” program.

    At least one promo for Bitclub Network claims “All Countries” and prospects are accepted for “Legal Passive Income.”

    “EARN PASSIVE for 1,000 Days,” the promo roars.

    “No Ponzi,” it says.

     

  • BULLETIN: Entities Operating As Fleet Mutual Wealth Limited And MWF Financial Are Online Frauds, SEC Says; ‘Program’ Has Presence On TalkGold And MoneyMakerGroup Ponzi Forums; Money Ordered Frozen In SolidTrustPay, EgoPay And Perfect Money Accounts

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    A website styled MutualWealth.com is fraudulent and is part of an international pyramid scheme, the SEC says.

    BULLETIN: (7th Update 8:51 p.m. ET U.S.A.) Entities known as Fleet Mutual Wealth Limited, MWF Financial Limited and Mutual Wealth are frauds that filed invalid forms with the SEC to dupe the masses, the SEC said.

    An associated web domain styled MutualWealth.com also is a fraud, the SEC said in a statement and emergency court filing that alleges a pyramid scheme in which promoters become referral agents or purported “accredited advisors” to earn recruitment commissions.

    “Mutual Wealth used Facebook and Twitter as well as a team of recruiters to spread a steady stream of lies that tricked investors out of their money,” said Gerald W. Hodgkins, an associate director in the SEC’s Division of Enforcement.

    Some recent scams have purported to operate out of Hong Kong, something that appears also to be the case with Mutual Wealth.

    “[A]lmost nothing that Mutual Wealth represents to investors is true,” the SEC said.  “The company does not purchase or sell securities on behalf of investors, and instead merely diverts investor money to offshore bank accounts held by shell companies.  Mutual Wealth’s purported headquarters in Hong Kong does not exist, nor does its purported ‘data-centre’ in New York.  Mutual Wealth also lists make-believe ‘executives’ on its website, and falsely claims in e-mails to investors that it is ‘registered’ or ‘duly registered’ with the SEC.

    And, the SEC said, Mutual Wealth may operate through entities in Panama and the United Kingdom “and through Russian or Belarussian nationals.”

    From the SEC complaint (italics added):

    Investors who complete an account application are instructed to transfer money to Mutual Wealth either by wire transfer to banks located in Latvia and Cyprus or through third-party payment processors such as SolidTrust Pay, EgoPay, or Perfect Money.

    Like other fraud schemes, Mutual Wealth has a presence on the MoneyMakerGroup and TalkGold Ponzi forums.

    U.S. District Judge Dolly M. Gee of the Central District of California has ordered an asset freeze on all accounts “at any bank, financial institution, brokerage firm, or third-payment payment processor (including those commercially known as SolidTrust Pay, EgoPay, and Perfect Money) maintained for the benefit of Mutual Wealth,” the SEC said.

    Assisting in the probe are the FBI, the Financial and Capital Market Commission of Latvia, the Ontario Securities Commission and the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, the SEC said.

    From the SEC’s statement (italics added):

    According to the SEC’s complaint, Mutual Wealth operates through entities in Panama and the United Kingdom and uses offshore bank accounts in Cyprus and Latvia and offshore “payment processors” to divert money from investors.  Mutual Wealth’s sole director and shareholder presented forged and stolen passports and a bogus address to foreign government authorities and payment processors.

    As in previous scams, the Mutual Wealth fraud spread on social media, the SEC said.

    “Mutual Wealth maintains Facebook and Twitter accounts that link to its website and serve as platforms through which it lures new investors,” the SEC said.  “Some of Mutual Wealth’s ‘accredited advisors’ then use social media channels ranging from Facebook and Twitter to YouTube and Skype to recruit additional investors and earn referral fees and commissions.

    “Mutual Wealth’s Facebook page spreads such misrepresentations as ‘HFT portfolios with ROI of up to 250% per annum.  Income yield up to 8% per week,’” the SEC said.  “A Facebook post on Aug. 12, 2013, boasted ‘$1000 investment into the Growth and Income Portfolio made on April 8th, 2013 is now worth $2,112.77.’  Mutual Wealth regularly posts status updates for investors on its Facebook page, and the comment sections beneath the posts are often filled with solicitations by the accredited advisors.  Mutual Wealth also tweets announcements posted on its Facebook page.”

    Regulators have been warning for years about scams spreading on social media.

    Scammers recently have been purporting they are conducting IPOs or pre-IPOs or are registered with the SEC.

    “Mutual Wealth has filed three Securities Act Forms D with the Commission,” the SEC said. “Each Form D purports to give notice of offerings of securities that are exempt from registration with the Commission under Regulation D of the Securities Act.

    “But Mutual Wealth’s offers and sales of securities do not qualify for the exemptions cited in the Forms D or any exemption under from registration under Regulation D of the Securities Act. Consequently, the Forms D are invalid and of no legal effect,” the SEC said.

    About 150 U.S. investors opened Mutual Wealth accounts, plowing “at least” $300,000 into the scheme, the SEC said.

    Note: Thanks to Jordan Maglich at PonziTracker.com.

    Screen stot of section of SEC complaint alleging that Mutual Wealth is a pyramid scheme. Red highlights by PP Blog.
    Screen shot of section of SEC complaint alleging that Mutual Wealth is a pyramid scheme. Red highlights by PP Blog.