- Sam Lee, facing US charges over the HyperFund scheme, has recently appeared in videos promoting new investment projects
- In the videos for VEND and Satoshi Maths Club, Lee urges viewers to move past losses and embrace new opportunities
- The US DOJ accused Lee and others of promoting HyperFund, promising high returns from crypto mining
Australian blockchain entrepreneur Sam Lee, who is facing charges in the US for his alleged role in the $1.89 billion Ponzi scheme HyperFund, has sparked controversy by appearing in videos promoting new investment projects. Videos have surfaced of Lee promoting VEND and Satoshi Maths Club shortly after the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) accused him and two others of promoting HyperFund, alleging that they promised investors high returns drawn from crypto mining operations, even though such operations were yet to be launched. In the videos, Lee drew a line under the losses his victims experienced through HyperFund and asked them to “not be in the mindset of loss” as they considered his new propositions.
Lee Urges Viewers to “Continue the Journey” with Him
Lee’s involvement in the HyperFund/HyperVerse crypto scheme, which targeted developing countries and left some investors “suicidal” after its collapse, doesn’t seem to have impacted his desire to push such products on the unsuspecting public. In the promotional videos, Lee urges viewers to “not be in the mindset of loss” and “continue the journey” with him through investment vehicles VEND and Satoshi Maths Club.
In the VEND promotional video, Lee admits that he “I lost a lot too, in 2023 I lost a lot too,” but quickly glosses over this, advising viewers and potential HyperFund victims to “focus on ensuring that we gain” and dismisses concerns over losses with claims that “people lying to regulators and regulators [are] believing their version of the story.”
New Projects are Right Out of the Ponzi Scheme Manual
Lee’s promotion of Satoshi Maths Club hinges on the idea of early involvement, stating, “The maximum you can benefit… is to be part of the origination process of a project,” which of course comes from the Ponzi scheme playbook.
He champions “day zero journeys,” where everyone starts at the beginning, further emphasizing the potential for high returns, which is how the DoJ alleged HyperFund made its money. Notably, he argues that new cryptocurrency tokens don’t need to be backed by “a real business” with revenue, citing Bitcoin as an example.
The DoJ alleged just last week that Lee and two accomplices operated HyperFund under various names for roughly two years until November 2022, promising investors that their investment would initially increase by up to 1% daily as they waited for it to be tripled or even doubled.
