Author

Topic: Is Moolah.io a ponzi-scheme? (Read 8726 times)

full member
Activity: 180
Merit: 100
October 22, 2014, 01:37:53 PM
#36
I posted this in the other thread,



After reading this (http://pastebin.com/VYpQ5CWA) I think I have a pretty good idea what this Ryan guy is trying to do.

From everything that I got he was interested in developing a payment system/atm system similar to paypal for crypto currencies. A few things stuck out to me when I read the conversations.

1) Payment system (moo pay or w/e you wanna call it at this point)

2) ATM Machines

3) Copy of Bitcoin made in another language (red flag)

From my experience in technology and business this is my take on what he has done and is trying to do in the future. What reason would someone need a clone of Bitcoin? Especially if they are running a payment company? This is a huge red flag. It looks like he is trying to setup a fraudulent payment company where people buy fake BTC that exist only in this payment system. Any BTC or $ that is transferred into the system gets deposited directly into his pocket and the victim is given a fake balance that only is reflected in the payment system. Wouldn't people be able to tell? If done right not at all. If a payment is made from one account to another that use the same payment system then its virtually undetectable. If someone makes a payment to a real BTC address then that is paid out legitimately as to go undetected same with withdrawals. Eventually if the company grows big enough more and more of the BTC will be logged in the fake BTC system while all the real BTC has been taken out (stolen).

This is a very complex con, similar to a bank to a degree.

I believe the mintpal transition was a test run if not a complete switch over to a fake BTC system. This would explain why people have balances but can't withdrawal them. The mintpal transition should have realistically only taken a few hours not days which would explain that there were probably bugs in the fake system that had to be addressed.

My warning would be to be very cautious about any new payment systems of any sorts popping up within the next year. It will more than likely be him implementing above plan.
sr. member
Activity: 462
Merit: 253
October 22, 2014, 08:56:26 AM
#35
Yup its ponzi, same goes to mintpal..

Well Mintpal was fine at first, it just went downhill when Moolah took over the management in August.
member
Activity: 100
Merit: 10
October 22, 2014, 08:51:12 AM
#34
Yup its ponzi, same goes to mintpal..
sr. member
Activity: 462
Merit: 253
October 22, 2014, 07:59:47 AM
#33
Last week, I can see through Peercoin's block explorer that the coins moved somewhere, probably to Alex Green's personal wallet...

You mean Ryan Gentle's personal wallet.



And/or Ryan Kennedy.
full member
Activity: 166
Merit: 100
Bitcoin Faucet
October 17, 2014, 05:16:25 PM
#32
Last week, I can see through Peercoin's block explorer that the coins moved somewhere, probably to Alex Green's personal wallet...

You mean Ryan Gentle's personal wallet.

sr. member
Activity: 462
Merit: 253
October 17, 2014, 01:37:25 PM
#31
Moolah had enough money because they are scammers and stealing from their customers - sent about 17k DGB from my desktop wallet to moolah and they have never appeared. Customer service is a disaster as well. Glad I have only sent small amount to try it for the first time - not to costly lesson. Don''t do same mistake... 

I've sent PPC to my wallets on Moolah and they never appeared either, despite about 10 e-mails sent to support which always said "We'll notify the tech team, the problem should be solved in a few days".

Last week, I can see through Peercoin's block explorer that the coins moved somewhere, probably to Alex Green's personal wallet...
full member
Activity: 182
Merit: 100
October 16, 2014, 03:29:51 AM
#29
Hmm, it did strike me as odd that they were making a V2 remake of things.


Promising fee-less until end of the year, along with other incentives, and trying to increasingly say "the platform is done tomorrow! all coins will be integrated by then" to me, although I didnt want to say it, it seemed more like they were trying to get people to deposit on to the site, and when people start having trouble withdrawing their coins, or moving them freely, you know by default something is not right as in running a possible scheme. Having some insight of the costs of running an exchange I know they are not nearly as high as they say, and they need not as many employers as they had/have.

That being said, I believe their earlier business on Mintpal when it was thriving was to buy a lot of coins before they hit the exchange because coins always reached high volumes there and dumping would've gone unnoticed. Now that they could no longer operate as such, they had to take other means to do so


I think Mintpal is up to something, although not sure what, I'm sure they won't be held accountable for it either. They say people have until the last of October to withdraw their coins, but give them no option to do so.


I feel bad for everybody with coins there, I am not sure how it will turn out for them but hope for the best.
newbie
Activity: 42
Merit: 0
full member
Activity: 234
Merit: 100
October 15, 2014, 07:26:18 AM
#27
The Quark Community has had a fair bit of contact and honestly these accusations seem pretty far fetched. The fact that there is a 1.5 week delay in delivering ATMs is irrelevant considering the speed with which these guys have been growing and adding services and the fact that they are moving to Ireland. There are more than enough legitimate reasons to account for minor delays, and their actions have spoken volumes about their integrity.

Vic

Trust your gut...
legendary
Activity: 1884
Merit: 1005
October 15, 2014, 03:19:21 AM
#26
Its obvious that its a ponzi-scheme, sad that it works out for him Sad
full member
Activity: 147
Merit: 100
October 15, 2014, 03:12:48 AM
#25
Moolah had enough money to by Mintpal. That must have been an expensive deal.

http://blog.moolah.io/2014/07/28/were-taking-over-mintpal-heres-what-you-need-to-know/

Oh, so people still think that Mintpal & Moolah weren't always operated by the same group from the get go? Interesting.

Are people getting their money back?
full member
Activity: 163
Merit: 100
October 15, 2014, 02:58:31 AM
#24
Moolah had enough money to by Mintpal. That must have been an expensive deal.

http://blog.moolah.io/2014/07/28/were-taking-over-mintpal-heres-what-you-need-to-know/

Oh, so people still think that Mintpal & Moolah weren't always operated by the same group from the get go? Interesting.
sr. member
Activity: 394
Merit: 250
October 15, 2014, 01:53:07 AM
#23
Moolah had enough money to by Mintpal. That must have been an expensive deal.

http://blog.moolah.io/2014/07/28/were-taking-over-mintpal-heres-what-you-need-to-know/

And now they are filling for bankruptcy.
full member
Activity: 150
Merit: 100
October 14, 2014, 09:56:55 PM
#22
looks like you were right. Good call OP
newbie
Activity: 2
Merit: 0
September 23, 2014, 11:44:17 AM
#21
Moolah had enough money because they are scammers and stealing from their customers - sent about 17k DGB from my desktop wallet to moolah and they have never appeared. Customer service is a disaster as well. Glad I have only sent small amount to try it for the first time - not to costly lesson. Don''t do same mistake... 
member
Activity: 62
Merit: 10
September 09, 2014, 09:51:54 AM
#20
Moolah had enough money to by Mintpal. That must have been an expensive deal.

http://blog.moolah.io/2014/07/28/were-taking-over-mintpal-heres-what-you-need-to-know/
member
Activity: 74
Merit: 10
September 09, 2014, 09:40:41 AM
#19
let see ...
750 BTC from ATM scheme in Spring 2014
but that BTC could possibly have been used to say fund a buyout of an actual exchange
and also kickstart the SYS 1500 BTC fund raiser.

Whats the theme on all 3? (no products thus delivered)





750 BTC? Where the hell are you pulling that figure from?

14 units at $550 a piece is $7700. Right now that is 16.32 BTC - not enough to kickstart anything.
newbie
Activity: 22
Merit: 0
September 05, 2014, 09:26:10 AM
#18
If Alex Green isn't his real name, why people have to trust him with their coins? For example, Paul Vernon of Cryptsy is a public person.
hero member
Activity: 602
Merit: 500
September 05, 2014, 09:13:03 AM
#17
As a Dogecoin fan and a member of the community, I hate to admit this, but the majority of the members of /r/Dogecoin are naive and too trustworthy.

You'd be surprised at some of the fictitious sad stories that appear on /r/dogecoin seeking financial assistance and like clockwork, the naive dump coins onto the poster, because they believe them. It's nice to be nice, but sometimes I wonder how dumb some of these folks are.

it wouldn't be dogecoin otherwise  Roll Eyes
hero member
Activity: 595
Merit: 500
September 05, 2014, 08:07:13 AM
#16
any doge atms to speak of??? hahaha
It would be wise to follow the news if you want to avoid coming across as a nitwit.
Alex has refunded everyone who asked for the ATM deposit back.
newbie
Activity: 51
Merit: 0
September 05, 2014, 03:44:31 AM
#15
Yes

He is now doing IPO scams as well. (syscoin)
legendary
Activity: 1470
Merit: 1010
Join The Blockchain Revolution In Logistics
September 04, 2014, 05:01:11 PM
#14
let see ...
750 BTC from ATM scheme in Spring 2014
but that BTC could possibly have been used to say fund a buyout of an actual exchange
and also kickstart the SYS 1500 BTC fund raiser.

Whats the theme on all 3? (no products thus delivered)



legendary
Activity: 2086
Merit: 1001
September 03, 2014, 05:59:42 PM
#13
any doge atms to speak of??? hahaha
sr. member
Activity: 462
Merit: 253
July 15, 2014, 10:54:10 AM
#12
it's 15th July now... so did the moolah deliver on their promises ?

Regards

The ATM still are not released, but it would be wrong to accuse Moolah_ of being a scam.

I've used some of his other services; the merchant platform, the Prelude exchange, and his escrow service without any problem. And he's a positive member of the Dogecoin community. His attack on the patent for the term "doge" is a very good initiative.
sr. member
Activity: 313
Merit: 250
July 15, 2014, 08:48:58 AM
#11
it's 15th July now... so did the moolah deliver on their promises ?

Regards
newbie
Activity: 39
Merit: 0
April 09, 2014, 09:20:24 AM
#10
Given all the nonsense that has happened within the cryptocurrency scene over these last few months, it wouldn't surprise me one bit to find out Moolah is a scam (despite their massive community involvement).

With that said, I highly doubt they are a scam but I certainly welcome a healthy dose of skepticism into any discussion
sr. member
Activity: 359
Merit: 250
April 09, 2014, 08:58:58 AM
#9
The Quark Community has had a fair bit of contact and honestly these accusations seem pretty far fetched. The fact that there is a 1.5 week delay in delivering ATMs is irrelevant considering the speed with which these guys have been growing and adding services and the fact that they are moving to Ireland. There are more than enough legitimate reasons to account for minor delays, and their actions have spoken volumes about their integrity.

Vic
sr. member
Activity: 406
Merit: 250
April 07, 2014, 08:33:44 AM
#8
Someone else said something similar about his name. That it's so generic and reflects the color of moolah, USD.
full member
Activity: 196
Merit: 100
April 07, 2014, 12:57:57 AM
#7
With a trustworthy name like moolah I don't see how it could be a scam. Only thing I want to know now is where to send my money.
sr. member
Activity: 406
Merit: 250
April 06, 2014, 11:42:27 PM
#6
It is so easy to build a trustless wallet now of days, it is sad that people have to trust anyone with coins that they just want them to hold.

I'm not too savvy with this stuff, but members have recommended that moolah.io implement M of N, hope I'm saying that correctly, into his online wallet products, but he refuses and claims that those recommending such an implementation don't understand how things work and that his platform won't support it.  He claims that members trust him and his products and that's all that matters.
legendary
Activity: 1498
Merit: 1000
April 06, 2014, 11:38:02 PM
#5
It is so easy to build a trustless wallet now of days, it is sad that people have to trust anyone with coins that they just want them to hold.
sr. member
Activity: 406
Merit: 250
April 06, 2014, 11:36:35 PM
#4
Here's the thread from /r/Vertcoin

An open letter to Dogecoin funders and moderators of dogecoin subreddit

submitted 3 days ago by HoodsApprentice

I posted the following Open Letter on dogecoin subreddit, but it was deleted within 5 minutes. My apologies for cross-posting it here but I believe it is very important for the health of all crypto currencies.

I can only hope that the vertcoin community allows free speech in its subreddit and lets its members form their own educated opinions
Thank you.

Below is the letter
In the light of Moolah.io starting the 4th round of investment (ATMs, PIE1, PIE2, and now PIE3) and asking once again for another 250 bitcoins ( that is 241,677,240.05 dogecoin at todays rate - 240 million dogecoins) from the members of this community:

I officially appeal to the founders of dogecoin:

* http://www.reddit.com/user/ummjackson[1]
* http://www.reddit.com/user/BillyM2k[2]
and to the moderators of this subreddit:
http://www.reddit.com/user/42points[3]
http://www.reddit.com/user/Laika1954[4]
http://www.reddit.com/user/ottothepup[5]
http://www.reddit.com/user/voidref[6]
http://www.reddit.com/user/NeutralityMentality[7]
http://www.reddit.com/user/mumzie[8]
http://www.reddit.com/user/langer_hans[9]

To take an official stance on Moolah.io and post it as a sticky post on this subreddit.

Many new members this community just by visiting the main site of this subreddit can form a conclusion that moolah is an official face of dogecoin, fully trusted and vouched by the community. (just look at this comment in welcome new shibes post http://www.reddit.com/r/dogecoin/comments/21gxga/hi_and_welcome_to_rdogecoin_do_you_have_questions/cgeokva[10] )

Here are some facts about moolah
* Moolah.io is a business,
* Moolah.io IS NOT a community initiative, charity, foundation,
* Moolah.io (then moolah.ch) officially raised over 27,000 USD in BTC to build prototypes of ATM, the official deadline for those prototypes was 28 March 2014. Not a single ATM machine was ever delivered, no video of working prototypes posted, no video of work in progress posted. The only update on ATM are some mock-up screens of the interface and pictures of not assembled hardware. http://www.reddit.com/r/dogecoin/comments/21phe0/new_pics_of_moolahs_atm_interface_and_physical/[11]

That despite the fact that on many occasions this community was assured that the machines are already built and ready for shipment.

From http://blog.moolah.ch/2014/03/17/prelude-and-the-future-of-moolah-please-read-somewhat-important-to-me/[12]
On the physical product side of things, the first of our ATM units are ready to ship. There’s a couple boxed up and they’ll be going out to a few lucky people. We’ll be continuing to ship these on a regular basis


Alex Green the founder of director of Moolah.io is not personally known to any publicly recognized person on this subeddit.

During round 1 of PIE Moolah officially raised 250 BTC
During round 2 of PIE Moolah officially raised another 250 BTC
Moolah.io is looking for another 250 BTC
750 BTC according to current rate equals to 725,513,905.68 DOGE that is 725 millions of dogecoin
if one donates 100 million dogecoins from that sum he has only 625 MILLION DOGE left for Moolah.io

My personal opinion I would not trust Moolah.io and would not recommend to a friend, quite the opposite. I have a strong suspicion that a business run under Moolah.io can be a simple ponzi scheme, and I would warn the community to look closer into this.

*I can now officially state that I expressed my concerns publicly in an open letter. Those are my personal observations and opinions. I am looking forward for an official statement from the founders of dogecoin and the moderators of this subreddit *

EDIT

link to the original deleted letter: http://www.reddit.com/r/dogecoin/comments/2257ni/an_open_letter_to_dogecoin_funders_and_moderators/[13]
link to letter in bitcoin sub (also deleted but some comments may be worth reading)

http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/225a2d/an_open_letter_to_dogecoin_funders_and_moderators/[14] When I refer to "this subreddit" it means dogecoin as the letter was meant to be posted on dogecoin sub, but was deleted within 5 minutes
sr. member
Activity: 406
Merit: 250
April 06, 2014, 11:29:32 PM
#3
As a Dogecoin fan and a member of the community, I hate to admit this, but the majority of the members of /r/Dogecoin are naive and too trustworthy.

You'd be surprised at some of the fictitious sad stories that appear on /r/dogecoin seeking financial assistance and like clockwork, the naive dump coins onto the poster, because they believe them. It's nice to be nice, but sometimes I wonder how dumb some of these folks are.
hero member
Activity: 535
Merit: 502
April 06, 2014, 11:25:34 PM
#2
why on earth would anybody give this guy money in the first place?
sr. member
Activity: 406
Merit: 250
April 06, 2014, 11:12:55 PM
#1
The CEO of Moolah.io is an unknown person.  After weeks of refusing to provide his name, he finally came out and said that his name is Alex Green from the UK. A search reveals that there's no information on the net about such a person.

When several members of the Dogecoin community asked for him to post a youtube video of himself explaining his products, he refused.  He continues to state that his records are public and that's all that there needs to be and he finds no reason to show a picture or video of himself.  

His company's addresses are all virtual offices. What most naive members of the Dogecoin community aren't aware of is that you can easily rent these types of offices with a pre-paid credit/debit card and a pre-paid phone.  His incorporation in the States, Wyoming to be specific, can easily be done the same way. His domain can also be purchased in the same manner. So having these public records proves nothing in terms of his real identity.

When his company first started he took $550, a pre-order price, from a lot of Dogecoin members for a Dogecoin ATM machine that he promised would be delivered on March 28, 2014.  It's April 8, 2014 now and of course, there's a delay with the ATM machine.  Dogecoin members have asked for him to post a video of the ATM prototype to show that it is at least real, but he refuses.

He's been taking investments from members over and over. The suspicion is that he's paying the old investors with the new investors funds.

A few on /r/Dogecoin have tried to post warnings about him, but those posts are quickly down-voted or removed by MOD's that's pretty much in his pocket. MODs like lleti.

Give this post a read for further information on Moolah.io and how it is most likely a ponzi-scheme.
http://www.reddit.com/r/vertcoin/comments/225hop/an_open_letter_to_dogecoin_funders_and_moderators/
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