DAO Group Ltd and the GoldmanOptions Fraud

Introduction: A Glimpse into the Binary Options Underworld

The collapse of the global binary options industry exposed one of the most pervasive financial scams of the 2010s — a tangled web of shell companies, offshore directors, and payment processors orchestrated primarily by Israeli operators. Among the lesser-known but highly illustrative cases stands the DAO Group Ltd, a company registered in the Marshall Islands that played a central role in running fraudulent trading schemes, most notably through its platform GoldmanOptions (goldmanoptions.com).

While the GoldmanOptions brand itself was short-lived, its operational structure reveals how the DAO Group and its network functioned as a template for online investment fraud. Beneath the surface of slick websites and false trading dashboards lay a coordinated system designed to siphon investor money across borders — powered by complicit payment processors, straw directors, and digital deception.

1. The Emergence of GoldmanOptions and the DAO Network

The binary options industry was at its peak between 2013 and 2017. Marketed as a legitimate form of online trading, binary options platforms lured retail investors with promises of easy profits from betting on financial market movements. In reality, the majority of these platforms were rigged casinos masquerading as trading services.

One such platform was GoldmanOptions, which launched its public operations in August 2016. The website presented itself as a high-end investment brand, featuring professional graphics, fake financial charts, and fabricated testimonials. It was supposedly operated by DAO Processing Ltd, a company registered in the United Kingdom and fully owned by DAO Group Ltd, an offshore holding company incorporated in the Marshall Islands — a notorious secrecy jurisdiction used frequently by scam operators.

Within just a few months, GoldmanOptions began attracting the attention of regulators. In October 2016, the Czech National Bank issued a public warning against GoldmanOptions and its operator, cautioning investors that the entity was not authorized to offer financial services in the country. Shortly thereafter, the company’s social media presence went dark. Its Facebook page, launched in August, posted its last update in October — the same month as the regulatory red flag.

Though the site itself soon vanished, GoldmanOptions was part of a larger pattern — one that revealed the DAO Group’s deep involvement in fraudulent online trading.

2. DAO Group Ltd: The Corporate Shell Behind the Scam

At the core of this scheme was DAO Group Ltd, the parent company and sole shareholder of DAO Processing Ltd in the United Kingdom. DAO Group’s registration in the Marshall Islands allowed it to hide its true owners behind nominee directors and trustee shareholders — a typical tactic used in the binary options underworld to obscure responsibility and avoid prosecution.

Despite these attempts at secrecy, investigative documents later exposed the real masterminds behind DAO Group Ltd:

• Orel Asformas (born April 1991)
• Ariel Hai Mazooz (born September 1983)
• David Mor (born January 1993)

These Israeli nationals were the ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs) of DAO Group Ltd. They represented a new generation of binary options entrepreneurs who learned from earlier scams and replicated their model with minimal variation: a web of offshore entities, fake brokers, and white-labeled trading platforms marketed through aggressive call centers.

The nominee directors for DAO Group Ltd were two Seychelles-based corporate proxies:

• Genevieve Magnan
• Jonathan Bibi

Both individuals have appeared repeatedly as officers in dozens of similar offshore entities linked to binary options scams, payment frauds, and shell operations created by the same administrative provider — Northwestern Management Services Ltd, a Seychelles-based offshore services firm notorious for providing “ready-made” companies and fake officers for fraudulent operations.

Their presence across so many scams indicates complicity far beyond simple paperwork. By acting as front-line directors and signatories, Magnan and Bibi shielded the real operators while ensuring continuity of operations in multiple jurisdictions.

3. DAO Processing Ltd: The UK Front Company

To give the appearance of legitimacy, DAO Group Ltd established a subsidiary in the United Kingdom: DAO Processing Ltd. The company was used primarily for financial and technical operations — including contracts, payment processing, and customer communication.

Registered with Companies House, DAO Processing Ltd listed Paula Gina Jonch-Olmez, a Belizean citizen, as its official director. This pattern — appointing a low-profile foreign national as a figurehead — is characteristic of scam structures that seek to mask control and complicate law enforcement efforts.

DAO Processing Ltd’s existence lent GoldmanOptions a veneer of legitimacy, allowing it to claim compliance with European business standards. In reality, this UK registration was purely a facade, serving as a conduit for the collection and laundering of investor funds from victims across Europe.

4. The Blueprint: How DAO Group Operated Its Binary Options Scam

The DAO network followed the standardized Israeli binary options scam model, which combined psychological manipulation, fake trading platforms, and payment laundering. Here’s how it typically worked:

1. Lead Generation and Marketing
   Aggressive online advertising and fake financial news articles lured victims into registering on the platform. Promises of high returns and “guaranteed profits” were common hooks.
2. Account Setup and Deposit
   Once users registered, sales agents — often working from call centers in Tel Aviv, Limassol, or Sofia — would pressure them into depositing funds via credit cards or wire transfers.
3. Fake Trading Interface
   The GoldmanOptions website mimicked a real trading environment but was entirely controlled by the operator. Market data was simulated, and users’ trades had no connection to actual financial markets.
4. Deposit Escalation
   Victims were assigned “account managers” whose goal was to encourage more deposits under the pretense of increasing profits or unlocking premium accounts.
5. Withdrawal Obstruction
   When users attempted to withdraw funds, they were met with excuses — ranging from verification issues to alleged “bonus terms.” Eventually, accounts were frozen or deleted.
6. Payment Processing Layer
   The financial backbone of the scheme relied on specialized payment processors who knowingly facilitated the laundering of stolen funds. This is where the DAO Group’s partners, Payotech Ltd, Payobin, and Moneta International UAB, came into play.

5. Payment Processors: The Financial Enablers

No scam operation of this magnitude could function without payment processors willing to handle the money. DAO Group Ltd relied heavily on Eyal Nachum and Tamir Zoltovsky, two Israeli fintech entrepreneurs whose companies provided transaction routing for many fraudulent brokers.

Payotech Ltd and the Payobin Group

Payotech Ltd operated under the Payobin brand — a payment services group that offered merchant accounts and card processing for online businesses. Ostensibly legitimate, Payobin became a go-to service provider for binary options operators blacklisted by mainstream financial institutions.

By routing payments through Payobin, DAO Group could accept deposits from victims across Europe without raising red flags. Funds were funneled through layers of processors and bank accounts in Cyprus, Lithuania, and Eastern Europe before disappearing into offshore jurisdictions.

Moneta International UAB

Another crucial processor was Moneta International UAB, based in Lithuania, which also worked closely with DAO Group. Documents and emails later revealed direct communication between Moneta staff and DAO operators, including a message from Anat Blutner, a Moneta employee, referencing DAO-related transactions.

Moneta International, which marketed itself as a legitimate financial institution, provided the infrastructure that allowed DAO Group to collect and distribute funds while maintaining plausible deniability.

Following investigative reports by FinTelegram, Moneta International’s records in Lithuania were quietly altered — notably, Tamir Zoltovsky’s name was removed from company filings, though his wife, Yehudit Rozen, remained listed. The timing of these changes suggests deliberate attempts to obscure involvement after exposure.

6. The Offshore Machinery: Northwestern Management and Its Role

The recurring presence of Northwestern Management Services Ltd in DAO Group’s corporate structure underscores the industrial scale of offshore scam facilitation. Based in the Seychelles, Northwestern specialized in creating turnkey offshore companies, complete with nominee directors, bank accounts, and legal paperwork.

For DAO Group, Northwestern provided not only incorporation services but also trustee shareholders — particularly Magnan and Bibi, who acted as officers across multiple scams. Their repeated appearance in corporate registries of binary options brokers — from BeeOptions to BinaryBook — links them directly to one of the largest fraud ecosystems in modern finance.

By using these pre-packaged structures, DAO Group and its peers could launch, run, and shut down fraudulent sites within months, all while staying one step ahead of regulators.

7. Regulatory Red Flags and Global Warnings

The first public indication of trouble came in October 2016, when the Czech National Bank issued a consumer warning against GoldmanOptions and DAO Processing Ltd. The warning stated that the company was offering investment services without authorization.

Other European regulators soon followed with similar advisories, and customer complaints began surfacing online — from investors who were unable to withdraw funds or contact support.

Yet, because the core entities were offshore and their operators shielded by layers of nominees, enforcement proved nearly impossible. DAO Group Ltd continued to operate quietly, assisting in the setup of other binary options platforms under different names.

8. The Broader Network: Beyond GoldmanOptions

The DAO Group’s activities did not stop with GoldmanOptions. Investigations suggest it was part of a wider syndicate of Israeli-run scam networks, many linked to GreyMountain Management (GMM) — a notorious corporate group that managed hundreds of fraudulent trading brands.

The structural similarities between DAO Group and GMM operations are striking:

• Offshore holding companies in the Marshall Islands or Seychelles.
• UK-registered subsidiaries to project legitimacy.
• Payment processing through Lithuania, Cyprus, or Belize.
• Use of call centers in Israel, Bulgaria, and Serbia.
• Nominee directors provided by offshore service firms.

This formula became the blueprint for the entire binary options fraud industry, which collectively defrauded victims of billions of euros between 2010 and 2018.

9. The Human Cost: Victims and Deception

Behind the faceless corporate web were thousands of victims — individuals who believed they were engaging in legitimate financial trading. Many were elderly investors or inexperienced traders who fell for promises of easy money.

Emails recovered from similar scams show how sales agents used psychological manipulation — appealing to greed, trust, and fear — to extract repeated deposits. Victims were often congratulated for “wins” shown on fake dashboards, only to discover that withdrawals were impossible.

The DAO Group’s role as a technical and financial facilitator means it directly enabled these losses. Each layer of its structure — from payment processors to fake directors — served to protect the perpetrators while exposing the victims.

10. The Aftermath: Erased Traces and Continuing Shadows

By 2017, international law enforcement had begun cracking down on binary options operations, with Israel officially banning the industry later that year. Many key players moved on to crypto trading, forex, and CFD scams, repurposing their infrastructure and personnel.

Following media exposure, the DAO Group’s visible traces were systematically scrubbed. LinkedIn profiles belonging to Tamir Zoltovsky and other Payotech/Payobin employees were deleted. Company records were amended, websites were taken offline, and domain ownership histories were obfuscated.

Despite these efforts, digital footprints — domain registrations, archived pages, and leaked corporate filings — continue to reveal the scope of the network and its reliance on DAO Group Ltd as a structural pillar.

11. Lessons from DAO Group: How Offshore Networks Enable Fraud

The DAO case demonstrates the mechanics of globalized financial deception:

• Offshore Secrecy: Jurisdictions like the Marshall Islands and Seychelles shield beneficial owners from scrutiny.
• Nominee Directors: Proxy officers such as Magnan and Bibi create layers of separation between real operators and the fraud.
• Complicit Payment Processors: Entities like Moneta International and Payotech provide the infrastructure to move stolen funds across borders.
• Regulatory Arbitrage: Registering shell companies in multiple countries allows scammers to exploit gaps in oversight.

Each of these components, though individually legal, becomes part of a coordinated system of fraud when combined.

Conclusion: DAO Group Ltd and the Legacy of Binary Options Fraud

While GoldmanOptions and DAO Processing Ltd may have vanished years ago, the DAO Group Ltd network remains emblematic of how the binary options industry functioned — an elaborate illusion of legitimacy built on offshore deception and technological manipulation.

At the center were three Israeli operators — Orel Asformas, Ariel Hai Mazooz, and David Mor — whose venture into financial fraud mirrored that of hundreds of others during the same era. Their collaboration with corporate service providers, nominee directors, and payment processors like Payotech and Moneta International enabled the theft of untold sums from unsuspecting investors.

The DAO Group’s story is not just a cautionary tale about one company — it is a case study in how global financial crime adapts, evolves, and rebrands itself under new digital facades. Whether in binary options, crypto exchanges, or online investment schemes, the same infrastructure of deceit persists, only changing names and technologies.

Written by

Nancy Drew

Updated

11 hours ago