Pyramid Scheme
SEC charges 11 individuals over $300M crypto ‘pyramid scheme’
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged 11 individuals for their alleged role in the creation of a “fraudulent crypto pyramid scheme” platform Forsage. The charges were laid in a United States District Court in Illinois on August 1, with the SEC alleging that the founders and promoters of the platform used the “fraudulent crypto pyramid and Ponzi scheme” to raise more than $300 million from “millions of retail investors worldwide.” The SEC complaint states that Forsage was modeled such that investors would be financially rewarded by recruiting new investors to the platform in a “typical Ponzi structure,” which spanned multiple countries including the United States and Russia. According to the SEC, a Ponzi scheme is an investment fraud th...
BBC exposes European pyramid scam exploiting Africans, others
A new investigation by BBC Africa Eye has uncovered a global pyramid scam, run from Europe, that is using smartphones to cheat ordinary people across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Crowd1 describes itself as “the fastest growing crowd marketing company in the world” and produces social media videos which show members buying new cars and enjoying luxury holidays. Using nothing but a smartphone, Crowd1 claims, you can become a millionaire by promoting and selling a series of exciting digital products to your network. These claims have persuaded thousands of people across Africa to hand over the 99 Euros that buys an entry-level membership to Crowd1. But a six-month investigation by BBC Africa Eye reveals that, behind the slick marketing, Crowd1 is peddling a range of bogus products and fal...
