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A South African group calling itself “Anonymous ZA” has released recent information apparently backing up long-standing allegations that Mirror Trading International (MTI), an alleged bitcoin investment company, is running a multi-level marketing scam. The new information, which was allegedly obtained after a breach of MTI’s internal systems, shows that the investment company is “completely structured around a tree / pyramid scheme.”
According to one report, the leaked data suggests that MTI has a practice of distinguishing between “normal members and founding members.”
When evaluating the data, Anonymous ZA says it would appear that while “deposits made by founding members are not easily traceable, they (the founders) apparently get a better return on investment than regular members.” The data also shows that “founding members are also at the top of the pyramid scheme and earn more money from their binary bonuses than ROI or any other source.”
Perhaps in revelations that can give credence to the allegations that are often made against MTI, the report quoting Anonymous ZA says:
“The database further shows payments of $ 86.25 million (8,171.6 BTC) to normal members, with $ 21.4 million (2,036.5 BTC) in the form of bonuses for recommending new members. The payments to the founding members amount to 18.45 million dollars (1744 BTC) “.
The report confirms that members are paid to recruit new members, but does not provide the number of founding members.
In early July, the Texas State Securities Board (TSSB) accused MTI of also running a multi-level marketing scam, as it operated in the state of Texas without a license. Subsequently, the TSSB issued a cease and desist order against MTI and some of its employees. Subsequently, the South African regulator, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) issued its own public statement repeating the allegations made by TSSB. However, the FSCA statement goes further by asking investors to withdraw their funds from MTI.
Anonymous ZA closes its statement in which it says “unless MTI can show or prove control of a Bitcoin wallet, or other storage facility worth 17k BTC, it will maintain its opinion that: MTI is a Ponzi scheme” .
Meanwhile, following the latest revelations, MTI management acted to confirm the violation with a fierce response. Cheri Marks, one of the founding members and spokesperson for MTI, suggests that those behind the offense that occurred on September 18 committed a criminal offense, and then Marks threatens to take legal action against the perpetrators and those who publish stories based on illegally obtained information:
Yes, we had a security breach in our admin portal. Yes, it was a criminal act. Yes, we will press charges and anyone who posts illegally obtained personal information will be referred to our legal advice.
Marks then attacks assumptions that MTI had ceased operations by claiming that “more than 34,000 withdrawals to the tune of 5,933 bitcoins were made in August without even a hitch.”
Throughout the spiel, Marks challenges the media to name a single disgruntled investor out of the “170,000 who are growing their bitcoin with MTI.”
Still, Marks fails to adequately address concerns that founders possibly get bigger payouts than the rest of the investors. Instead, Marks chooses to boast of her founding status by saying:
“The fact that MTI has founding members is nothing new. Yes, there is an extra share of the profits for them and this does not affect the company or the members in any way, nor is it a state secret ”.
Throughout the seventeen-minute video, Marks complains about media bias and “intent to smear, not to provide a decent and informed view of MTI, its founders, shareholders or members.”
Marks also briefly discusses MTI’s interactions with the FSCA, but does not provide a satisfactory answer as to why the regulator went ahead and asked investors to withdraw funds even after the “MTI CEO opened our live trading account and the BTC balance for the FSCA to see. “
Surprisingly, right after meeting with FSCA, the investment firm made the decision to invest only in bitcoins. Critics argue that the measure was intended to remove MTI from the tutelage of regulators. Meanwhile, reports say that the FSCA has learned of the data leak and is investigating it.
What are your thoughts on the latest revelations about the MTI scam? Let us know what you think in the comment section below.
Image credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons
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