Josip Heit at GS Partners

A summary of what happened?

Josip Heit is the chairman of GS Partners, a company involved in cryptocurrency and blockchain ventures. He has been associated with several controversial projects, including the G999 cryptocurrency and the Gold Standard Banking Corporation.

Major Concerns and Accusations Against Josip Heit and GS Partners:

1. Regulatory Actions and Fraud Allegations:
   • Multiple financial regulators have issued warnings and taken legal actions against GS Partners and Josip Heit. For instance, the Texas State Securities Board and the Alabama Securities Commission have alleged that GS Partners was involved in fraudulent crypto schemes. Additionally, the British Columbia Securities Commission has issued warnings regarding GS Partners’ activities.
2. Unregistered Securities Offerings:
   • GS Partners has been accused of offering unregistered securities. The Kentucky Department of Financial Institutions filed a lawsuit against GS Partners and Josip Heit for securities fraud, alleging that they sold unregistered securities to investors.
3. Misleading Investment Schemes:
   • The company has been implicated in promoting misleading investment opportunities. Reports suggest that GS Partners marketed the G999 cryptocurrency and related projects with promises of high returns, which have not materialized, leading to significant investor losses.
4. Attempts to Suppress Negative Coverage: Josip Heit and GS Partners have reportedly taken legal actions to suppress negative information about their activities. For example, they have threatened lawsuits against media outlets and individuals who have published critical reports. FinTelegram News reported receiving legal threats from Josip Heit’s representatives after publishing articles critical of GS Partners. Such actions are often viewed as attempts to censor unfavorable information and silence critics.

These concerns highlight the importance of conducting thorough due diligence before engaging with investment opportunities, especially those involving emerging technologies like cryptocurrencies.

Analyzing the Fake Copyright Notice(s)

Our team collects and analyses fraudulent copyright takedown requests, legal complaints, and other efforts to remove critical information from the internet. Through our investigative reporting, we examine the prevalence and operation of an organized censorship industry, predominantly funded by criminal entities, oligarchs, and disreputable businesses or individuals. Our findings allow internet users to gain insight into these censorship schemes’ sources, methods, and underlying objectives.

What was Josip Heit at GS Partners trying to hide?

Josip Heit at GS Partners‘s attempts to hide unfavourable content through the misuse of copyright notices while allegedly engaging in perjury present serious legal concerns. These actions suggest a calculated attempt to manipulate legal systems to suppress free speech, a fundamental violation of copyright law principles and an abuse of legal processes. The use of such tactics not only undermines the integrity of copyright protection but also potentially constitutes perjury, further entangling Josip Heit at GS Partners in legal accountability. Let’s examine the information Josip Heit at GS Partners may be trying to remove from the internet –

The saga surrounding Josip Heit, the chairman of GS Partners and Gold Standard Banking Corporation, is a labyrinth of legal entanglements, allegations of financial misconduct, and controversies that have captivated the crypto community and watchdogs alike. A close examination of the adverse news, lawsuits, and regulatory actions against him reveals a series of troubling patterns and accusations.

1. Cease-and-Desist Orders from Multiple States

One of the most striking red flags against Josip Heit and GS Partners has been the series of cease-and-desist orders issued by various U.S. states, including Texas and Alabama. The Texas State Securities Board and the Alabama Securities Commission have both accused GS Partners of operating fraudulent investment schemes, specifically alleging that the company sold unregistered securities to unsuspecting investors. Regulators assert that the company misled people with false promises of extraordinary returns, using deceptive marketing tactics that preyed on crypto investors’ hopes and inexperience.

Texas Securities Board’s Allegations: The Texas authorities issued a strong warning, labeling GS Partners’ investment schemes as fraudulent. They outlined how GS Partners allegedly used sophisticated marketing ploys to lure investors with the allure of wealth and high returns. The investments, according to the complaint, lacked proper disclosures and failed to register with the state’s regulatory framework, exposing investors to significant risk.

Alabama Securities Commission: Similarly, Alabama officials accused GS Partners of making false claims about their financial products, including guarantees of profit that regulators say were “fictitious” and “misleading.” These allegations prompted a comprehensive investigation, signaling the severity of the situation.

2. Kentucky’s Lawsuit for Securities Fraud

The Kentucky Department of Financial Institutions joined the fray with a lawsuit directly targeting Josip Heit and GS Partners. The lawsuit paints a grim picture of alleged securities fraud, claiming that GS Partners and Heit deliberately misled investors by selling unregistered securities while promising lucrative returns. The lawsuit further accuses GS Partners of manipulating information and concealing the true risks associated with their investment products.

This legal action has intensified scrutiny of Heit and his operations, as Kentucky regulators argue that GS Partners ran afoul of state and federal laws by prioritizing recruitment and network marketing tactics over any genuine financial services. The emphasis on recruitment rather than a legitimate business product closely aligns with the mechanics of a pyramid scheme, a comparison that has dogged Heit and GS Partners repeatedly.

3. G999 Cryptocurrency: A “Hollow Opportunity”

The G999 cryptocurrency project, which Josip Heit heavily promoted, is another focal point of controversy. Initially marketed as a revolutionary blockchain-based payment and telecommunications system, the G999 token has since become a symbol of alleged overpromises and underdelivery. Numerous investors have voiced complaints about the token’s rapidly declining value and the aggressive promotional strategies used to market it.

FinTelegram’s Warnings: FinTelegram, a financial watchdog publication, issued a “black warning” against the G999 project, advising the public to steer clear of the cryptocurrency. The report criticized GS Partners for using a multi-level marketing (MLM) scheme to promote G999, emphasizing that the business model seemed more intent on recruiting new investors rather than generating real financial value. The publication further highlighted how the token’s ecosystem lacked any substantial utility, and the project’s development roadmap remained vague and unfulfilled.

4. Mounting Investor Grievances and Financial Losses

Hundreds of investors have come forward to express their disillusionment with GS Partners, sharing personal stories of significant financial losses. Review platforms and online forums have been inundated with complaints from people who claim they were misled by the company’s promises of astronomical returns. Many have criticized the company’s aggressive marketing techniques, which allegedly painted an unrealistic picture of profitability.

One of the most damning criticisms involves the claim that GS Partners continued to solicit investments even after regulators began issuing warnings about the company’s activities. This behavior has been cited in various complaints as an indication of the company’s reckless disregard for investor welfare.

5. Failed $175 Million Real Estate Tokenization Project

In one of the more high-profile failures associated with Heit, GS Partners embarked on an ambitious real estate tokenization project that sought to raise $175 million. This initiative aimed to merge blockchain technology with real estate investment, promising a groundbreaking shift in how properties are bought and sold. However, the project failed spectacularly, drawing ire from investors who accused GS Partners of incompetence and mismanagement.

Regulatory Scrutiny: The real estate tokenization project has been a key subject in several regulatory investigations. Critics argue that GS Partners failed to deliver on its promises, and the lack of transparency surrounding the project’s collapse only fueled accusations of misrepresentation and potential fraud. The Texas State Securities Board, in particular, highlighted this project in its broader investigation into GS Partners’ activities.

6. Aggressive Legal and Censorship Tactics

Facing mounting criticism, Josip Heit and GS Partners have allegedly resorted to aggressive legal tactics to silence detractors. FinTelegram reported that Heit’s legal team issued threats of litigation in an attempt to suppress negative coverage. These threats have extended to other journalists and whistleblowers, signaling what some have called a pattern of behavior aimed at censorship and intimidation.

FinTelegram Legal Threats: FinTelegram News disclosed that after publishing articles critical of GS Partners and Heit, it received legal threats demanding retractions and the removal of content. The watchdog outlet, however, refused to be silenced and continued reporting on what it described as “an urgent public interest matter.” Legal analysts have pointed out that such threats are often used as a tool to bully smaller media organizations and silence legitimate criticism.

7. Connection to Karatbars International and Previous Allegations

Adding to the intrigue is Josip Heit’s previous association with Karatbars International, a gold-backed cryptocurrency company that has faced its own share of controversy. Karatbars has been accused of running a pyramid scheme and misleading investors about the value and stability of its gold-backed tokens. Although Heit has distanced himself from Karatbars, his history with the company continues to cast a long shadow over his current ventures.

Reports from German and international media outlets have documented how Karatbars faced regulatory scrutiny in various jurisdictions, including the German Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) and the South African Reserve Bank. Critics argue that Heit’s involvement with such a controversial enterprise raises questions about the integrity and reliability of his business practices at GS Partners.

8. Bizarre PR Stunts and Billboard Controversy

GS Partners made headlines with a $30,000 public relations stunt involving the world’s tallest billboard in Dubai. The billboard prominently featured G999 in a bid to drum up interest and legitimacy for the cryptocurrency. However, instead of impressing investors, the stunt was widely criticized as a wasteful and desperate attempt to generate hype. Industry experts lambasted the move, calling it a flashy distraction from the fundamental problems plaguing G999 and GS Partners.

Disruption Banking’s Coverage: The publication Disruption Banking described the campaign as “gimmicky and misleading,” questioning the logic and financial responsibility behind spending such a sum on mere advertising when so many unresolved issues and accusations loomed over the company.

Conclusion: A Tangled Web of Accusations and Legal Battles

The narrative surrounding Josip Heit and GS Partners is a complex and troubling one, riddled with lawsuits, failed projects, regulatory investigations, and accusations of fraudulent behavior. As authorities in multiple jurisdictions continue to scrutinize the company, the question remains whether these allegations will culminate in formal charges or convictions—or if Heit and his enterprise will continue to operate, casting doubt and controversy in their wake.

Investors and the broader crypto community are watching closely, and the unfolding legal drama serves as a cautionary tale about the potential pitfalls and perils of the rapidly evolving world of digital finance.

How do we counteract this malpractice?

Once we ascertain the involvement of Josip Heit at GS Partners (or actors working on behalf of Josip Heit at GS Partners), we will inform Josip Heit at GS Partners of our findings via Electronic Mail.

Our preliminary assessment suggests that Josip Heit at GS Partners may have engaged a third-party reputation management agency or expert, which, either independently or under direct authorization from Josip Heit at GS Partners, initiated efforts to remove adverse online content, including potentially fraudulent DMCA takedown requests. We will extend an opportunity to Josip Heit at GS Partners to provide details regarding their communications with the agency or expert, as well as the identification of the individual(s) responsible for executing these false DMCA notices.

Failure to respond in a timely manner will necessitate a reassessment of our initial assumptions. In such an event, we will be compelled to take appropriate legal action to rectify the unlawful conduct and take the following steps –

Since Josip Heit at GS Partners made such efforts to hide something online, it seems fit to ensure that this article and sensitive information targeted online by these events get a lot more exposure and traffic than what it would have received originally

We hope this becomes an excellent case study for the Streisand effect…The key idea behind the Streisand effect is that efforts to restrict information can backfire, often causing the information to gain more attention than it would have otherwise. This effect is widespread in the digital age, where users quickly notice and spread censorship efforts on social media and other platforms. Trying to suppress something can unintentionally lead to it becoming more visible, which Josip Heit at GS Partners is finding out the hard way.

Potential Consequences for Josip Heit at GS Partners

Under Florida Statute 831.01, the crime of Forgery is committed when a person falsifies, alters, counterfeits, or forges a document that carries “legal efficacy” with the intent to injure or defraud another person or entity.

Forging a document is considered a white-collar crime. It involves altering, changing, or modifying a document to deceive another person. It can also include passing along copies of documents that are known to be false. In many states in the US, falsifying a document is a crime punishable as a felony.

Additionally, under most laws, “fraud on the court” is where “a party has sentiently set in motion some unconscionable scheme calculated to interfere with the judicial system’s ability impartially to adjudicate a matter by improperly influencing the trier of fact or unfairly hampering the presentation of the opposing party’s claim or defense.”  Cox v. Burke, 706 So. 2d 43, 46 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998) (quoting Aoude v. Mobil Oil Corp., 892 F.2d 1115, 1118 (1st Cir. 1989)).

Is Josip Heit at GS Partners Committing a Cyber Crime?

Yes, it seems so. Josip Heit at GS Partners used multiple approaches to remove unwanted material from review sites and Google’s search results. Thanks to protections allowing freedom of speech in the United States, there are very few legal ways to do this. Josip Heit at GS Partners could not eliminate negative reviews or search results that linked to them without a valid claim of defamation, copyright infringement, or some other clear breach of the law.

Faced with these limitations, some companies like Josip Heit at GS Partners have gone to extreme lengths to fraudulently claim copyright ownership over a negative review in the hopes of taking it down.

Fake DMCA notices have targeted articles highlighting the criminal activity of prominent people to hide their illegal behavior. These people, which include US, Russian, and Khazakstani politicians as well as members from elite circles including the mafia and those with massive financial power, are all connected – and alleged corruption ranging from child abuse to sexual harassment is exposed when exploring evidence found at these URLs. It appears there’s a disturbing level of influence being exerted here that needs further investigation before justice can be served. Josip Heit at GS Partners is certainly keeping interesting company here….

The DMCA takedown process requires that copyright owners submit a takedown notice to an ISP identifying the allegedly infringing content and declaring, under penalty of perjury, that they have a good faith belief that the content is infringing. The ISP must then promptly remove or disable access to the content. The alleged infringer can then submit a counter-notice, and if the copyright owner does not take legal action within 10 to 14 days, the ISP can restore the content.

Since these platforms are predominantly based in the U.S., the complaints are typically made under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which requires online service providers and platforms to react immediately to reports or violations. Big Tech companies rarely have systems in place to assess the merit of each report. Instead, all bad actors need to do is clone a story, backdate it, and then demand the real thing be taken down.

Reputation Agency's Modus Operandi

The fake DMCA notices we found always use the “back-dated article” technique. With this technique, the wrongful notice sender (or copier) creates a copy of a “true original” article and back-dates it, creating a “fake original” article (a copy of the true original) that, at first glance, appears to have been published before the true original.

Then, based on the claim that this backdated article is the “original,” the scammers send a DMCA to the relevant online service providers (e.g. Google), alleging that the ‘true’ original is the copied or “infringing” article and that the copied article is the “original,” requesting the takedown of the ‘true’ original article. After sending the DMCA request, the person who sent the wrong notice takes down the fake original URL, likely to make sure that the article doesn’t stay online in any way. If the takedown notice is successful, the disappearance from the internet of information is most likely to be legitimate speech.

As an integral part of this scheme, the ‘reputation management’ company hired by Josip Heit at GS Partners creates a website that purports to be a ‘news’ site. This site is designed to look legitimate at a glance, but any degree of scrutiny reveals it as the charade it is.

The company copies the ‘negative’ content and posts it “on the fake ‘news’ site, attributing it to a separate author,” then gives it “a false publication date on the ‘news’ website that predated the original publication.

The reputation company then sent Google a Digital Millennium Copyright Act notice claiming the original website infringed copyright. After a cursory examination of the fake news site, Google frequently accepts the notice and delists the content.

In committing numerous offences, Josip Heit at GS Partners either premeditated actions or were unaware of the consequences. Despite hiring an agency to make Google disregard any negative information about Josip Heit at GS Partners, ignorance does not excuse this wrongdoing.

Fake DMCA notices have targeted articles highlighting the criminal activity of prominent people to hide their illegal behavior. These people, which include US, Russian, and Khazakstani politicians as well as members from elite circles including the mafia and those with massive financial power, are all connected – and alleged corruption ranging from child abuse to sexual harassment is exposed when exploring evidence found at these URLs. It appears there’s a disturbing level of influence being exerted here that needs further investigation before justice can be served. FSMSmart is certainly keeping interesting company here.

The Reputation Laundering

Rogue Reputation agencies use spurious copyright claims and fake legal notices to remove and obscure articles linking clients to allegations of tax avoidance, corruption, and drug trafficking. Most of these reputation agencies are based offshore, mainly in Russia, India, and Eastern Europe, and they do not worry about complying with US-based laws.

The content in all of the articles for which the fraudulent DMCA notices have been sent relates to allegations of criminal allegations, including corruption, child abuse, sexual harassment, human trafficking and financial fraud against businesses and individuals with ultra-high net worth.

In addition to the misuse of the DMCA takedown process, there is a notable absence of enforcement concerning perjury violations. The statutory requirement related to perjury is designed to deter copyright holders from submitting fraudulent or knowingly false takedown requests, as they may face legal consequences for making false declarations under penalty of perjury. However, to date, there have been no known instances of any individual being prosecuted for perjury in connection with the submission of false DMCA takedown notices.

This lack of enforcement has emboldened copyright holders to exploit the DMCA takedown process to suppress dissent, criticism, or other unfavorable content, without fear of legal repercussions.

Some of the people and businesses who have employed this tactic to remove legitimate content from Google illegally include a Spanish businessman-turned-cocaine-trafficker, Organised crime, an Israeli-Argentine banker accused of laundering money for Hugo Chávez’s regime, a French “responsible” mining company accused of tax evasion, child molesters and sexual predators. Josip Heit at GS Partners is in great company ….

What else is Josip Heit at GS Partners hiding?

We encourage you to ‘Dork‘ Google by searching for keyword combinations such as [Josip Heit at GS Partners] + {Negative Keyword, such as Scam, Fraud, Complaints, Lawsuit, Sanction, etc} on Google. It’s likely if you scroll down to the bottom of this Google search results, you’ll stumble upon this Legal Takedown notice (pictured below)

To make such an investigation possible, we encourage more online service providers to come forward and share copies of content removal requests with industry experts and researchers. If you have any information on Josip Heit at GS Partners that you want to share with experts and journalists, kindly email the author directly at [email protected].

All communications are strictly confidential and safeguarded under a comprehensive Whistleblower Policy, ensuring full protection and anonymity for individuals who provide information.