CryptoShares Pyramid Scheme

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CryptoShares

CryptoShares was a scheme run primarily from Zimbabwe by Martin Mhlanga. Investors were promised significant returns of $2000/mo, in exchange for an upfront payment of $330. No payments were ever received, and the founder disappeared on September 1st. It does not seem like anything will be made right for affected users.

This exchange or platform is based in Zimbabwe, or the incident targeted people primarily in Zimbabwe.

About CryptoShares

"[Cryptoshares] is an online crypto currency trading company that allows one to purchase investments in the form of bitcoins and manages / trades on your behalf to generate profits." "With a minimum in[i]tial investment of $50 worth of bitcoins, you can enjoy passive income (profits)." "Martin Mhlanga, a Zimbabwean based out of South Africa, is the mastermind behind Cryptoshares."

"As one native report explains, Mhlanga had efficiently used a sequence of unrealistic guarantees to lure many unsuspecting folks into investing." "For instance, the report explains that many of the victims had been lured into investing by claims that initial Cryptoshares investors were receiving a monthly membership payment of $2,000. Investors were also promised a payout that is double the amount of the initial investment."

"According to investors, how this scheme worked is that you first had to pay a $30 joining fee, and then a $300 initial installment which was then given to the person who had successfully brought in an investor. Another report also says that the investors were promised a $2000 membership payment every month. Another tactic that CryptoShares used was to prmise their investors a payout of double their initial investment." "Mhlanga kept coming up with new ideas to fleece investors, such as on its aniniversary, where users were asked to make another $1,000 investment and they would be paid $2,000 after one month."

"It is alleged that over 50 Whatsapp groups for Cryptoshares exist, where it is thought the platform carries the activities."

“Initially, I believed him because I saw a lot of testimonies in his WhatsApp groups not knowing that those who were testifying for getting thousands of payouts were his workers meant to deceive us.”

"Believing that they too would be in line to receive the same monthly payment, some of Mhlanga’s victims are thought to have sold their properties just so they could raise the required money. Others are thought to have borrowed the required initial investment from banks."

"Mhlanga has been postponing the payments dates since July 2021, giving different excuses until early September 2021 when he told investors to pay 10% of their money that they had invested for him to be able to unlock his account and make all payments."

"However, once September 1 — the day investors were supposed to receive their payout — rolled around, it dawned on many Cryptoshares investors that they had been scammed. In fact, as one Twitter user, Tendai Tomu points out, the early signs that the company was collapsing were seen towards the end of August when Cryptoshares was having problems paying investors."

"According to a local daily, Thomas Mhlanga, the person who began the scheme, can not be found and claims his account has ‘been locked.’"

“I am a Zimbabwean who is based in South Africa, I was supposed to get my first payout of the amount I invested in July, then I will be getting that same amount every month, but now Mhlanga is nowhere to be found,” one of CryptoShare’s victim said.

"Reports from Zimbabwe suggest that an individual by the name of Martin Mhlanga has disappeared along with over $6 million in investor funds. In addition to Mhlanga’s disappearance, the individuals thought to be managing Cryptoshares’ social media channels have similarly vanished."

"In a twist, more Whatsapp groups are being formed to trace the runaway Mhlanga."

"While the report suggests that some Cryptoshares investors have reported this fraud to law enforcement, many in Zimbabwe’s crypto space insist such a move will not yield much." "Others like lawyer Prosper Mwedzi have suggested reporting the fraud to cryptocurrency exchanges. However, still others insist such scams will recur unless more is done to educate people about the basics of investing."

"Sad indeed! I don’t think the funds will be returned because remember he was paying early investors with deposits from new ones so the equation will never balance. The best people can do is to learn from this."

This exchange or platform is based in Zimbabwe, or the incident targeted people primarily in Zimbabwe.

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.

Key Event Timeline - CryptoShares Pyramid Scheme

Date	Event	Description
September 1st, 2021	Main Event	Expand this into a brief description of what happened and the impact. If multiple lines are necessary, add them here.

Technical Details

This section includes specific detailed technical analysis of any security breaches which happened. What specific software vulnerabilities contributed to the problem and how were they exploited?

Total Amount Lost

The total amount lost has been estimated at $6,000,000 USD.

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?

General Prevention Policies

The promises of CryptoShares were unrealistic. Having a large scale of investments occuring outside of any oversight and no widespread way to validate if a scheme is legitimate means that victims often have few resources to turn to when making decisions. Greater resources and education could greatly diminish the success of such plans.

Individual Prevention Policies

No specific policies for individual prevention have yet been identified in this case.

For the full list of how to protect your funds as an individual, check our Prevention Policies for Individuals guide.

Platform Prevention Policies

Policies for platforms to take to prevent this situation have not yet been selected in this case.

For the full list of how to protect your funds as a financial service, check our Prevention Policies for Platforms guide.

Regulatory Prevention Policies

No specific regulatory policies have yet been identified in this case.

For the full list of regulatory policies that can prevent loss, check our Prevention Policies for Regulators guide.