A Ponzi in Paradise: Investors Be Wary…

Si desea leer el artículo en español siga el siguiente link https://medium.com/%40roatan_8937/esquema-ponzi-en-el-para%C3%ADso-678dd4e98107

As the saying goes, “There is no such thing as easy money.” Despite the fact that most of us have likely heard that cautionary phrase, so many still fall victim to the tantalizing promise of low risk and high returns. “I lost 2,000 dollars in Goarbit deposit never received and afterward they restrict me from accessing my money totally for no reason… scam at the open, what could i have done they already have the money?” This review was posted December 14th on TrustPilot and is just one of hundreds of similar reviews written about a company called Goarbit. At our very own AmityAge Academy Bitcoin Education Center here on Roatan we have received no less than eight individuals who came to us for guidance on how they might get back their seemingly lost investments they allegedly made with this very same company.

One of many unfortunate victims here on Roatan is a beloved local dive instructor who I will refer to as Joseph( his name has been changed to respect his privacy). I spoke with Joseph and he told me that both he and his parents were scammed out of a substantial amount of money by Goarbit. He stated that, “Basically you deposit BTC on Goarbit and they ask for memberships fees and withdrawal fees that must be paid with BTC. Withdrawal never happened, they would update and deposit the BTC back on the account. They keep telling everyone to swap to the 3.0 Goarbit, and it just keeps going. It seems to be the modus operandi recruiting at church and even promoting at events and conference centers…promising financial freedom to the already struggling economy.” As I listened to Joseph’s words, they galvanized my already existing doubt and disdain for this project that has taken so much from some of the most vulnerable members of our community. People like Joseph and his parents put their hard earned savings into something with the false hope of building wealth and a better future for their families, only to be frozen from withdrawing funds and losing everything they worked so hard for.

In their own words, Goarbit is a privately held company that acts as a cryptocurrency rental investment fund that allows the user to rent cryptocurrency through their app and earn interest daily through its platform. Goarbit.io states that they “take care of making safe investments with those cryptoassets and give you a return on your invested capital”. The structure of Goarbit is basically identical to the well known MLM(multi-level marketing) format. The idea is that you make money by recruiting other members who also invest for a promise of 0.5 to 1.5% daily of invested capital until you reach 200% ROI. Also, like most MLM companies your ROI(return on investment) is reportedly awarded based on 3 different membership tiers which are dependent on the amount of your investment. How Goarbit differs from a regular MLM company in that it offers no retail products or services. One of the companies’ multiple websites, goarbit.io, vaguely suggests that their investment system involves crypto mining, arbitrage, and trading. However extensive research of the company and their website offers no details or evidence of these activities. So, an important question to ask yourself as a potential investor is where is any external revenue to pay the promised returns coming from? Currently the only verifiable source of revenue entering Goarbit is coming from the next recruit. According to sec.gov, the very definition of a Ponzi scheme is, “an investment scam that involves the payment of purported returns to existing investors from funds contributed by new investors.” The questionable ponzi/pyramid scheme-like structure is only one red flag that waves to the astute observer upon investigating Goarbit. For investors or interested parties who may want to know what is going on with Goarbit a simple internet search yields very sketchy and rather convoluted results. For starters, the company appears to have multiple websites and literal dozens of social media accounts, most of which have been abandoned. It is unclear which are currently active and in operation. There is goarbit.com, goarbit.io, and gofintech.com which appears to be a rebranding effort that was initiated in late 2021 and coincided with the Goarbit founder Maximo Martinez fleeing to Dubai. The company’s relocation to Dubai, which is known for its limited extradition treaties and lack of regulation of MLM related securities fraud coincidentally occurred simultaneously as they initiated the GoFintech rebranding and released GoToken. Just 4 days after the creation of 1.6 million GoTokens on January 16th the balance had dropped to just 95 coins and the coin has seemingly disappeared. Traffic on GoArbit’s official FaceBook page ceased in September 2021 and was seemingly abandoned. Their Twitter account also went cold in March 2020. Both of which are riddled with negative and accusatory comments from what appears to be disgruntled customers accusing them of scamming them out of money and claiming they are unable to withdraw funds. GoArbit’s official linked Instagram account is still posting marketing material but does not allow comments on posts. As an interesting aside, when I was doing research for this article I started following the Goarbit Instagram page to see if it would allow me to view comments. Apparently comments are completely turned off, so my efforts were futile. However, within 20 minutes of simply following the page(zero other interaction or engagement) I had 3 other “followers’’ reach out to me to try and recruit me to the program. I promptly blocked them and unfollowed the page.

I’ve spent the last couple of months contemplating these scams and countless others like it, and trying to understand the psychology behind why people fall for them. What I’ve found is that there are several common factors at play that can make individuals more vulnerable and susceptible. First and foremost, many people are drawn in by the promise of easy money. Ponzi schemes and scams often promise high returns with what seems like little to no risk, which can be especially appealing to those who are struggling financially or who are looking for a quick way to make a large sum of money. That is why Joseph’s poignant words about these companies, “promising financial freedom to the already struggling economy” resonated so deeply.

Another factor that can make people more susceptible to these types of schemes is a lack of financial literacy. Scammers often rely on complex language and jargon to confuse their victims and make it harder for them to understand exactly what they are investing in. If a person doesn’t fully understand how a financial product works, they may be more likely to fall for a scam. That is why we are on a mission at AmityAge Academy to teach financial literacy starting with our youth and extending to all of the community. It is the core of our entire operation.

Additionally, people may be more likely to fall for a Ponzi scheme or scam if they are experiencing high levels of stress or if they are facing significant life changes. During times of uncertainty or turmoil, people may be more desperate for a solution to their problems and may be less likely to critically evaluate an investment opportunity. With inflation looming and interest rates skyrocketing, many people are struggling now more than ever.

Finally, many people fall for Ponzi schemes and scams because they trust the person or group behind them. Scammers often go to great lengths to build trust with their victims, using social proof, personal connections, and even fake testimonials to create a sense of credibility. We saw this at AmityAge where one of our concerned citizens that came in seeking our help to recoup his funds had been recruited by his very own church pastor.

Overall, it’s clear that there are many psychological factors at play when it comes to why people fall for Ponzi schemes and scams. By understanding these factors, we can better protect ourselves and others from falling victim to these types of fraudulent schemes.

So I leave you with this information and implore you to ask yourself before making any investment, “Is it too good to be true?” If the answer is “Yes’’, then it probably is in fact…not true!

If you have been affected by this scam or some other, we encourage you to tell us about it at roatan@amityage.com, or stop by the center and share your story. Share your experience with others in the community to help prevent them from falling victim to the same scams!