Welcome to our Fundz review regarding the website currently found at fundsz.com.
Did they scam you? Or, are you wondering what’s the story with Fundsz? This article is for you. Read on!
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has recently filed a complaint against
- Rene Larralde of Melbourne, Florida
- Juan Pablo Valcarce of West Melbourne, Florida
- Brian Early of New Orleans, Louisiana
- Alisha Ann Kingrey of Franklin, Arkansas
- and their unincorporated entity, Fundsz
The complaint accuses them of fraudulently soliciting clients to trade in cryptocurrencies and precious metals.
On August 2, U.S. District Court Judge Wendy Berger issued a restraining order that froze the defendants’ assets, preserved records, and appointed a temporary receiver.
A hearing regarding the CFTC’s request for a preliminary injunction is set for August 23.
The CFTC’s ongoing litigation aims to secure restitution for the defrauded investors, the disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, civil monetary penalties, permanent trading and registration bans, and a permanent injunction against further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA).
What is the Fundsz Scam?
The case’s background reveals that from October 2020 onwards, the defendants lured participants with claims that Fundsz consistently yielded over 3% returns weekly using a unique algorithm for trading cryptocurrencies and precious metals.
They also boasted about their consistent and accurate payments for seven years.
They further claimed that an initial $2,500 investment in Fundsz could grow to $1 million in 48 months without additional deposits.
Get in touch with our affiliated Cryptocurrency Forensic Specialists at CNC Intelligence for free by filling out the form below.
Moreover, the defendants portrayed Fundsz as a charitable initiative, suggesting that investments would support various humanitarian causes.
Despite their claims of having over 14,000 participants, the CFTC alleges that Fundsz did not trade customer funds. Instead, the defendants fabricated weekly returns to present to their clients.
The CFTC warns that even if orders are made to repay defrauded victims, full recovery might be impossible if the culprits lack the necessary funds or assets.
Fundsz.com Review
Fundsz.com was registered through Namecheap, Inc. on May 23, 2020. It was updated on May 2, 2023, and is set to expire on May 23, 2024. It is protected by Cloudflare and a privacy service provided by withheld for privacy.
Fundsz.com is a US-based investing company ranked 401,723 globally, according to SimilarWeb, and 110,691 in the USA. Its category rank is 971 in Finance > Investing in the US. It received more than 100,000 visits in July 2023 from the United States, France, Jamaica, Mexico, Canada, the UK, and other countries.
Its SEMrush authority score is 11%, with 9.3k backlinks from 521 referring domains.
According to their homepage, Fundsz is a platform that uses blockchain technology to help individuals, charities, and organizations raise sustainable income. The decentralized platform emphasizes its high-tech, high-touch, and high-impact approach.
The site claims to have the support of over 14,000 community members and emphasizes the importance of charitable donations in bringing people together for a common cause.
The platform is gearing up for a significant global launch and encourages visitors to secure their position early. They claim to be the world’s first in several areas, including instant peer-to-peer donation payments, a decentralized fundraising platform, and a team-building tool.
Additionally, they offer a “Financial Freedom Library” with professional weekly content and a video library covering various financial topics.
Disclaimer
The “FUNDSZ” website provides a disclaimer about its services. It clarifies that it is a cryptocurrency platform, not an exchange, funding portal, custodian, or any licensed financial entity in the U.S. or elsewhere.
The platform does not endorse cryptocurrency, precious metals, or investment strategy.
It emphasizes the speculative nature of cryptocurrencies and the associated risks, noting that they are not legal tender backed by the U.S. government or insured by the FDIC.
FUNDSZ does not guarantee profits or provide legal, financial, or tax advice.
The platform also disclaims any liability related to the accuracy or completeness of its information and requires participants to be at least 18 years old.
Services Agreement
The “FUNDSZ” website presents a Services Agreement that outlines the terms and conditions for using the platform.
Users who access the member’s area certify they are over 18 and agree to the terms.
FUNDSZ emphasizes that it is not a licensed entity in any financial or legal capacity and is strictly for educational purposes.
The platform warns participants about the inherent risks associated with their services and disclaims any responsibility for outcomes.
The agreement also details prohibited activities, such as stacking and re-staking, and outlines policies like the vesting policy, which requires funds to be vested for 180 days.
The clawback policy states that any commissions or rewards can be reversed if fraud is detected.
Participants can pay platform dues upfront or have them deducted monthly.
The terms and conditions are subject to change, and the platform is unavailable to California residents.
Red Flags
- Vague Descriptions: The platform’s description is vague, using buzzwords like “revolutionary blockchain technology” and “decentralized” without specifics on how the platform operates or uses blockchain.
- Unsubstantiated Claims: The site claims to be the “world’s first” in several areas, but no evidence or detailed explanation is provided to support these claims.
- Focus on Team Building: The emphasis on “start to build your team today” and the “1st PLACEMENT TOOL TO STRATEGICALLY BUILD A TEAM” suggests a multi-level marketing (MLM) or pyramid scheme structure, where recruitment might be a primary focus.
- Lack of Transparency: While the platform promotes financial literacy and other educational content, there’s no clear information about who the professionals providing this content are, their qualifications, or their association with FUNDSZ.
- Absence of Key Information: There’s no clear explanation of how the platform works, how funds are raised, or how they’re distributed to charities or individuals.
- Lack of Licensing: FUNDSZ explicitly states that it is not a licensed broker, dealer, broker-dealer, or adviser in the U.S. or elsewhere. This means it’s not regulated by any financial authority, which can be a risk for users.
- Disclaimer on Accuracy: FUNDSZ does not vouch for the accuracy or completeness of its information, which can be problematic for users relying on the platform for decision-making.
- Lack of Professional Affiliation: FUNDSZ states it is not a company, employee, agent, lawyer, financial analyst, or accountant, that raises concerns about the platform’s legitimacy and expertise.
- Prohibited Activities: The mention of prohibited activities like stacking, re-staking, and other fraudulent actions suggests that the platform has had issues with these activities in the past.
- Strictly Educational: While FUNDSZ claims to be for educational purposes, the platform’s operations, such as staking and commissions, seem to go beyond just education.
- Clawback Policy: The policy suggests that there might be instances where participants could lose their earned commissions or rewards due to fraudulent activities, potentially even if they weren’t directly involved.
- Automatic Deductions: The platform can automatically deduct dues from participants’ accounts, which might concern some users.
- Earnings Disclaimer: The platform emphasizes that there’s no guarantee of earnings, and the potential for earnings depends entirely on the individual. This could be seen as a way to absolve themselves of any responsibility for participants not earning money.
Fundsz Reviews
The Fundsz review of BehindMLM raises several concerns about its legitimacy.
The website does not provide any information about its owners or operators. The domain was registered in 2020 and updated in 2022.
The official Fundsz Facebook Group lists two moderators, Kim Diaz, and Rene Larralde. Diaz’s profile is represented by a stock photo, suggesting it’s fake, while Larralde, based in Florida, previously ran Maxous, a membership-based pyramid scheme. Another key figure, JP Valcarce, is identified as the Chairman of the Board for Fundsz.
In retrospect, Rene Larralde and JP Valcarce were real people.
The platform doesn’t offer any retailable products or services. Instead, affiliates market the membership itself. Affiliates pay a monthly fee, promising a perpetual passive weekly ROI.
The review suggests that Fundsz’s business model is reminiscent of a Ponzi scheme, with the primary source of revenue being affiliate investment.
The platform’s operations in the US, where a significant portion of its website traffic originates, are not registered with the SEC, making its activities potentially illegal.
The review also highlights that Fundsz seems to have started as a gifting scheme with a charitable facade but has since shifted to a cryptocurrency-focused model.
Several comments on the review label Fundsz as a scam, while others defend it. However, the overarching sentiment is skeptical, with many pointing out that the platform’s operations bear the hallmarks of a Ponzi scheme. The review concludes that, like all Ponzi schemes, Fundsz will likely collapse once new investments dry up, leading to significant losses for most participants.
Trustpilot
The Trustpilot reviews for fundsz.com paint a mixed picture, with an average rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars from 17 reviews. However, several reviewers have expressed skepticism and disappointment with the platform.
One user, Marapong, mentioned that they were not surprised that Fundsz turned out to be a “rug project” and lamented being unable to make a single withdrawal.
Another reviewer, Ibechukwu Holland, regretted trusting Fundsz after realizing its dubious nature.
J V Ze shared a more detailed experience, highlighting the company’s lack of transparency and reluctance to answer basic questions. They mentioned being removed from a Zoom meeting and blocked from a Telegram group simply for asking questions. This reviewer also pointed out that when they tried to get more information about the company’s origins and leadership, they were either ignored or turned away. According to J V Ze, such behavior is a significant red flag, leading them to label Fundsz as a scam.
The overall sentiment from these reviews suggests that potential investors should approach Fundsz with caution and skepticism.
Complaints We Received
On September 11, 2023, we received the following complaint:
Fundsz scammed me for over $5,000 USD
On October 16, 2023, we received the following complaint:
Hello, I am Canadian. I was introduced to FUNDSZ by a friend of my boyfriend. I have invested US$390. I have been trying to access the FUNDSZ website but can’t. I tried contacting the friend, but he is not responding.
On November 17, 2023, we received the following complaint:
I had three separate accounts totaling $30,000. I purchased the cryptocurrency but did not receive any returns.
On January 25, 2024, we received the following complaint:
I am a Pastor, and I want to report collective losses from investments made by my family and friends. We all had individual accounts with varying amounts staked and paid in fees. Overall, we experienced significant financial losses from these investments. The total amount scammed from all our accounts combined is $3,812.37.
On February 1, 2024, we received the following complaint:
I lost several thousand dollars with Fundsz and NovaTech.
Conclusion
In conclusion, our review of Fundsz reveals a landscape fraught with red flags. The serious legal action initiated by the CFTC, which has led to the freezing of the defendants’ assets, signals significant regulatory scrutiny and casts a dark shadow over Fundsz’s operations. The platform’s marketing strategy, characterized by grand promises and a sense of urgency, is reminiscent of tactics employed by fraudulent schemes to attract unsuspecting investors. While appealing on the surface, the purported charitable aspect of Fundsz raises ethical questions when juxtaposed with allegations of fraud.
Additionally, Fundsz’s glaring lack of transparency, especially in a domain as complex and risky as cryptocurrency investments, is alarming. Clarity and open dialogue with investors are standard in a legitimate business, yet Fundsz appears to evade such transparency. As reflected in online reviews, public sentiment echoes this skepticism and dissatisfaction.
Furthermore, the platform’s extensive legal disclaimers and absence of professional affiliations and licenses are stark warnings to potential investors. These disclaimers seem strategically designed to protect the platform from future legal consequences, emphasizing the risks for those considering an investment.
As it stands, with ongoing litigation and myriad red flags, the future of Fundsz is uncertain. Until its legal matters are resolved, and transparency is substantially improved, potential investors are advised to exercise extreme caution. In the current scenario, engaging with Fundsz appears to be a risky endeavor that warrants meticulous scrutiny.
If you have fallen victim to online scams, please comment below. If you have suffered a substantial financial loss, do not despair. We are here to assist you in recovering your funds!
When you comment, your name, comment, and the timestamp will be public. We also store this data, which may be used for research or content creation in accordance with our Privacy Policy. By commenting, you consent to these terms.