WEWE Global

A summary of what happened?

WEWE Global is a cryptocurrency platform that has attracted significant scrutiny due to allegations of operating as a Ponzi and pyramid scheme. The platform offers various crypto-related services, including investment opportunities and financial products, often promoted through webinars and public events.

Major Concerns and Accusations Against WEWE Global:

1. Regulatory Warnings:
   • In February 2023, New Zealand’s Financial Markets Authority (FMA) issued a warning about WEWE Global (also known as The Blockchain Era) and its associated platform, LYOPAY. The FMA noted that these entities were offering cryptocurrency products and services without proper registration or regulation, advising caution when dealing with them.
     Fisheries Management Authority
2. Ponzi Scheme Allegations:
   • Analyses by financial watchdogs have described WEWE Global’s business model as a Ponzi scheme. The platform has been accused of promising high returns through complex investment plans, which are unsustainable and characteristic of Ponzi operations.
     BehindMLM
3. Pyramid Scheme Structure:
   • Reports suggest that WEWE Global employs a multi-level marketing (MLM) structure, incentivizing recruitment of new members to sustain payouts to earlier investors—a hallmark of pyramid schemes.
     BehindMLM
4. Expansion of Questionable Services:
   • WEWE Global has expanded its offerings with services like LyoFI and LYOPAY, which have been integrated into its alleged Ponzi operations. These expansions have raised further concerns about the legitimacy of the platform’s services.
     BehindMLM
5. Aggressive Marketing Tactics:
   • The platform has been criticized for using aggressive marketing strategies, including hosting events and webinars, to attract investors without adequately disclosing the associated risks.
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6. Lack of Transparency:
   • There is a noted absence of clear information regarding the company’s operations, leadership, and financial health, making it difficult for potential investors to make informed decisions.

Given the regulatory warnings, structural concerns, and operational opacity, potential investors are advised to exercise extreme caution when considering involvement with WEWE Global. Engaging with platforms that lack proper regulatory oversight and exhibit characteristics of Ponzi or pyramid schemes poses significant financial risks.

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 WEWE Global trying to hide?

WEWE Global‘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 WEWE Global in legal accountability. Let’s examine the information WEWE Global may be trying to remove from the internet –

Investigative Report: WEWE Global – A Deep Dive into Allegations of Ponzi Schemes, Regulatory Warnings, and Complaints

WEWE Global, a cryptocurrency platform, has come under significant scrutiny from regulators, watchdogs, and financial analysts for allegedly operating as a Ponzi and pyramid scheme. Promoting itself as a global platform for blockchain-based financial services and cryptocurrency investments, WEWE Global uses an aggressive multi-level marketing (MLM) structure to recruit members. This report provides an in-depth examination of the allegations, complaints, and regulatory actions against WEWE Global and its associated services.

1. Background on WEWE Global

A. Corporate Overview

WEWE Global describes itself as a platform that offers a suite of cryptocurrency-related services, including:

• Blockchain-based financial products.
• Investment opportunities promising high returns.
• Digital payment systems, including LYOPAY and LyoFI, promoted as innovative fintech solutions.

B. Operating Model

The platform heavily relies on MLM strategies, incentivizing participants to recruit new members to earn commissions. This recruitment-based approach has drawn criticism and led to accusations that WEWE Global operates as a pyramid scheme.

2. Regulatory Warnings

A. New Zealand Financial Markets Authority (FMA)

• In February 2023, the FMA issued a public warning against WEWE Global and its affiliate LYOPAY.
• The FMA highlighted that these entities were operating in New Zealand without being registered or regulated.
• The warning cautioned investors to exercise extreme care, labeling WEWE Global as a high-risk entity and raising concerns about its business practices.

B. Broader Regulatory Concerns

• Unregistered Operations: WEWE Global is not registered with reputable financial regulatory bodies such as the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Australia’s ASIC, or the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
• Jurisdictional Loopholes: By operating in jurisdictions with lenient regulatory oversight, WEWE Global can avoid the stringent compliance requirements imposed by top-tier regulators.

3. Ponzi Scheme Allegations

A. Unsustainable Investment Model

• Financial analysts and investigative reports have described WEWE Global’s business structure as a Ponzi scheme. The platform’s revenue appears to depend heavily on the recruitment of new members rather than legitimate investment activities.
• Participants are reportedly enticed with promises of high returns, often presented through opaque and complex investment plans.

B. Payment of Returns

• Returns to earlier investors are allegedly financed by funds contributed by newer recruits, a hallmark of Ponzi operations.
• Once recruitment slows or stops, such schemes typically collapse, leaving most participants at a loss.

C. Use of Cryptocurrency

• The platform leverages the complexity and volatility of cryptocurrencies to obscure its operations, making it difficult for investors to track how their funds are being used or distributed.

4. Pyramid Scheme Structure

A. Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) Model

• WEWE Global employs an MLM structure where members earn commissions by recruiting others into the platform.
• Critics argue that the focus on recruitment rather than actual product or service delivery makes the platform more akin to a pyramid scheme.

B. Red Flags in Recruitment Practices

• Aggressive marketing strategies, including webinars, events, and promotional materials, target unsophisticated investors.
• Participants are incentivized to recruit aggressively, often with little understanding of the underlying financial risks.

5. Expansion of Dubious Services

A. LYOPAY and LyoFI

• WEWE Global has expanded its ecosystem by introducing services like LYOPAY (a payment solution) and LyoFI (a crypto-finance platform).
• These services are promoted as cutting-edge fintech solutions but are often integrated into the MLM structure, raising questions about their legitimacy.

B. Lack of Transparency

• Details about the functionality, compliance, and sustainability of these services are sparse.
• Financial watchdogs have warned that such expansions are often used to perpetuate Ponzi schemes by giving the appearance of legitimate operations.

6. Customer Complaints and Negative Reviews

A. Promised Returns Not Delivered

• Numerous online reviews and testimonials highlight dissatisfaction among participants, many of whom claim they never received the promised returns on their investments.

B. Withdrawal Issues

• Several users report difficulties withdrawing funds, with the platform imposing arbitrary conditions or delays.

C. Lack of Customer Support

• Complaints about unresponsive customer service are widespread, with many investors alleging that they were left in the dark after depositing significant amounts of money.

D. Misleading Marketing

• Participants have accused WEWE Global of using deceptive advertising tactics, such as emphasizing guaranteed returns and downplaying the risks involved.

7. Media Coverage and Watchdog Investigations

A. Reports by Financial Watchdogs

• Websites like BehindMLM and Valforex have published detailed analyses accusing WEWE Global of being a Ponzi scheme.
• These investigations point to the platform’s unsustainable business model and lack of transparency as major red flags.

B. Media Warnings

• Outlets in New Zealand and Europe have raised alarms about WEWE Global’s operations, cautioning potential investors to avoid the platform.

C. Criticism from Blockchain Experts

• Blockchain analysts have criticized WEWE Global for misusing the credibility of cryptocurrency technology to lend legitimacy to a questionable business model.

8. Broader Implications for Cryptocurrency Investment Platforms

The case of WEWE Global reflects broader challenges in the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry, particularly in the realm of MLM and investment schemes.

A. Exploitation of Regulatory Gaps

• Platforms like WEWE Global exploit the lack of global consensus on cryptocurrency regulation, allowing them to operate in a legal gray area.

B. Risks to Retail Investors

• Unsophisticated investors are often lured by promises of high returns, only to face significant financial losses.

C. Damage to the Crypto Industry’s Reputation

• Cases like WEWE Global undermine public confidence in legitimate blockchain and cryptocurrency projects, slowing industry adoption.

9. Recommendations for Investors

A. Conduct Thorough Research

• Verify the regulatory status of any investment platform.
• Look for clear, verifiable details about the company’s operations, leadership, and financial health.

B. Avoid Platforms with Aggressive Recruitment Models

• Be wary of platforms that prioritize recruitment over actual services or products.

C. Prioritize Regulated Platforms

• Invest only with platforms regulated by reputable financial authorities.

10. Conclusion: A Platform Under Scrutiny

WEWE Global’s operations exhibit numerous characteristics of Ponzi and pyramid schemes, raising significant concerns about its legitimacy. The regulatory warnings, customer complaints, and lack of transparency highlight the risks associated with investing in such platforms.

Key Takeaways:

1. High Risk of Financial Loss: Investors face significant risks due to the platform’s unsustainable business model and opaque operations.
2. Lack of Accountability: Operating without regulation leaves investors with limited recourse in case of disputes.
3. Potential Collapse: Like other Ponzi schemes, WEWE Global may face eventual collapse, leaving most participants at a loss.

Investors are urged to exercise extreme caution and consider regulated alternatives before engaging with platforms like WEWE Global. This case underscores the importance of due diligence and regulatory compliance in the evolving world of cryptocurrency investment.

How do we counteract this malpractice?

Once we ascertain the involvement of WEWE Global (or actors working on behalf of WEWE Global), we will inform WEWE Global of our findings via Electronic Mail.

Our preliminary assessment suggests that WEWE Global may have engaged a third-party reputation management agency or expert, which, either independently or under direct authorization from WEWE Global, initiated efforts to remove adverse online content, including potentially fraudulent DMCA takedown requests. We will extend an opportunity to WEWE Global 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 WEWE Global 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 WEWE Global is finding out the hard way.

Potential Consequences for WEWE Global

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 WEWE Global Committing a Cyber Crime?

Yes, it seems so. WEWE Global 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. WEWE Global 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 WEWE Global 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. WEWE Global 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 WEWE Global 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, WEWE Global either premeditated actions or were unaware of the consequences. Despite hiring an agency to make Google disregard any negative information about WEWE Global, 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. WEWE Global is in great company ….

What else is WEWE Global hiding?

We encourage you to ‘Dork‘ Google by searching for keyword combinations such as [WEWE Global] + {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 WEWE Global 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.