FomoEX Ponzi Scheme
Notice: This page is a freshly imported case study from the original repository. The original content was in a different format, and may not have relevant information for all sections. Please help restructure the content by moving information from the 'About' section to other sections, and add any missing information or sources you can find. If you are new here, please read General Tutorial on Wikis or Anatomy of a Case Study for help getting started.
FomoEx was a service with no products or services, which allowed investors to purchase mining plans. It is not believed that any actual mining was happening behind the scenes. On November 10th, 2021 the individuals behind the scheme.
This is a global/international case not involving a specific country.
About FomoEX
"THE MINING AND NETWORK MARKETING REVOLUTION FOMOEX. FOMOEX is offering an innovative mining system of the cryptocurrency Filecoin, with a winning referral marketing plan."
"FOMOEX is offering an innovative mining system of the cryptocurrency Filecoin, with a winning referral marketing plan. The project was born from the idea of its Founder"
"Usually you’d have to buy computer mining rigs to do the mining. This is generally quite expensive, due to the hardware, the electricity to power them, the actual space to house them, etc.. but in this case Fomoex are taking care of this for their users. The interesting thing is that Fomoex aren’t taking any of the passive income from these rigs, nor are they making the rigs cost more than they actually are."
"In order to make that happen, they need to get as many customers as possible, completely forgetting about any revenue and profits up front. By doing this they can feed this current revenue back to the users so they can create a massive community for the upcoming IPO."
"To participate individuals will need to create an account and then pick a package that best suits them. The payments for these packs are made in USDT crypto-currency and the rate of the rewards are based on the size of package purchased."
"FomoEX has no retailable products or services."
"Affiliates are only able to market FomoEX affiliate membership itself."
"At time of publication Alexa ranks top sources of traffic to FomoEX’s website as the US (29%), India (17%) and Russia (12%)."
"The accused, Raghavendra, Nagaraju and Shivamurthy, floated FOMOEX, a company offering investment in cryptocurrency with huge returns on every investment made. The accused also held conferences in hotels to explain the business models and claimed to have branches in the U.S., Singapore, and China. They offered huge returns to those who could get more investors on chain link business modules. Hundreds of people had invested in the scheme. The accused had earlier floated a firm, ESPN Global Company, and duped many, a police officer said."
This is a global/international case not involving a specific country.
The background of the exchange platform, service, or individuals involved, as it would have been seen or understood at the time of the events.
Include:
- Known history of when and how the service was started.
- What problems does the company or service claim to solve?
- What marketing materials were used by the firm or business?
- Audits performed, and excerpts that may have been included.
- Business registration documents shown (fake or legitimate).
- How were people recruited to participate?
- Public warnings and announcements prior to the event.
Don't Include:
- Any wording which directly states or implies that the business is/was illegitimate, or that a vulnerability existed.
- Anything that wasn't reasonably knowable at the time of the event.
There could be more than one section here. If the same platform is involved with multiple incidents, then it can be linked to a main article page.
The Reality
This sections is included if a case involved deception or information that was unknown at the time. Examples include:
- When the service was actually started (if different than the "official story").
- Who actually ran a service and their own personal history.
- How the service was structured behind the scenes. (For example, there was no "trading bot".)
- Details of what audits reported and how vulnerabilities were missed during auditing.
What Happened
The specific events of the loss and how it came about. What actually happened to cause the loss and some of the events leading up to it.
| Date | Event | Description |
|---|---|---|
| November 10th, 2021 12:00:00 AM | Main Event | Expand this into a brief description of what happened and the impact. If multiple lines are necessary, add them here. |
Total Amount Lost
The total amount lost is unknown.
How much was lost and how was it calculated? If there are conflicting reports, which are accurate and where does the discrepancy lie?
Immediate Reactions
How did the various parties involved (firm, platform, management, and/or affected individual(s)) deal with the events? Were services shut down? Were announcements made? Were groups formed?
Ultimate Outcome
What was the end result? Was any investigation done? Were any individuals prosecuted? Was there a lawsuit? Was any tracing done?
Total Amount Recovered
There do not appear to have been any funds recovered in this case.
What funds were recovered? What funds were reimbursed for those affected users?
Ongoing Developments
What parts of this case are still remaining to be concluded?
Prevention Policies
Experienced cryptocurrency users can typically tell what's fraudulent, however this takes practice, so it's always best for new participants to err on the side of caution, and avoid investing in most services.
To prevent such ponzi schemes, our framework provides that 2 industry reviews should be conducted of each proposed new service, by knowledgeable organizations. Regular reviews should also be conducted to ensure that all customer assets are fully backed, which prevents ponzi schemes since the key component is that funds are no longer backed.
References
FomoEX Ponzi admins arrested in India (eOracle too) (Feb 27)
https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/cryptocurrency-scam-3-held/article37374709.ece (Feb 27)
FOMOEX | The Mining and Network Marketing Revolution (Mar 3)
Fomoex Review: Legit Crypto Filecoin Mining MLM Or Scam? - YouTube (Mar 3)
FomoEX Review: 300% ROI eOracle HyperFund mega Ponzi (Mar 3)