D9 Clube Was A PONZI-HYIP
Updated August 2020.
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Hi, My name is Paul Mindra and I will be your host and guide on this site and also on other sites that I create on my new journey on the World Wide Web.
Disclaimer: All of my websites are “works in progress” meaning that there will always be content to add.
I have been online since 2016 and I have the Wealthy Affiliate open education platform to thank for that.
In my previous working life, I was a career Hospitality Professional and spent many years as a Chef. Failing health led to being recognized as disabled and unable to perform effectively around 2017.
Everything before that was a really good career, life story and journey.
My new working life is one where I can work from home or anywhere for that matter as long as I have access to the internet. I have been one of the fortunate ones during these very uncertain times of a worldwide meltdown.
Welcome.
May we all live long and prosper.
In this post, I want to talk about:
- The D9 Clube. Why? Because it laid down a template for many other Ponzi’s to follow;
- HYIP’s (High Yield Investment Programs); and
- Briefly touch upon The History of Ponzi Schemes.
Let’s get started.
Table Of Contents
- Do You Remember The D9Clube?
- Was D9Clube a Scam, Dare or Both?
- D9 Clube Packages – Revisited
- Arbitrage Sports Trading – Introduction (ATP Platform)
- What is HYIP/Ponzi
- The History Of Ponzi
- From Rags to Riches
- Charles Ponzi & The True Story of a Financial Legend. Video – Must Watch
- Was D9Clube a Ponzi Scheme?
Additional Resource –
My Home Online – Wealthy Affiliate
WordPress + Siterubix + Training = Wealthy Affiliate
Do you remember the D9Clube?
It was one of the biggest scams perpetrated in early 2016 and exited in mid to late 2017 taking with it many US Dollars and Bitcoin.
Estimates are that this scheme had over 640 Million USD go through its process and over 65 Million USD is still unaccounted for.
That means that the organizers used let’s say $600M to rob Peter to pay Paul and walked away with ‘Cool Millions’ when the river of new people coming in dried up.
The D9 Clube could have been a really good experience if it had been better explained and some execution in the actual sports trading platforms had taken place.
It was a ‘By Invitation Only’ Entrepreneurs Club that anyone above ‘The Age of Majority’ could participate in through referral or sponsorship.
It was to be a community made up of Open-minded people with a broader vision of seeking financial independence and a greater quality of life and freedom from daily routines for themselves and their families.
Sound familiar?
The D9 Clube could have been a really good experience if they had executed what they set out to do. But then, who really likes to work hard when money is being thrown at you?
Let’s get into it.
Was D9Clube a ‘Scam‘, ‘Dare‘ or Both
Click on the image above to read ‘Spot The Scam Signs’ at Scamwatch.gov.au.
The D9Clube was promoted as a global investment club in which members earned weekly on their investments in D9 for 52 weeks.
Their speciality was Arbitrage Sports Trading in the Global sport of Soccer (football).
Their official headquarters was situated in the International Trade Center of Recife, Brazil.
I’m not sure if that was ever confirmed, but as you know, when the Internet is used effectively, the World is in the palm of your hand. You can create ‘fake this’, and ‘fake that’, and have everyone believing that it is real.
The concept of their business was actually quite do-able and sustainable (Arbitrage Sports Trading). But guess what they forgot to do? The Trading.
Theirs was very similar to the man who is charged with the name “Ponzi Scheme” – Carlo (Charles) Ponzi but a little more sophisticated.
Great idea, great concept, but neither of these guys nor Charles Ponzi knew how to execute what they were in fact promoting. They just found that it was easier to rob Peter to pay Paul and keep a handsome amount for themselves.
I found a picture (below) of the owner, or mastermind, his right-hand man and the leader of the fraud in Uganda, Africa.
Africa, as it turned out was a huge market for them to exploit. See Is Africa Ready For Bitcoin?
In the image above from left to right are Smart Protus Magara, Danillo Santana and Luis Durigon.
The D9Clube was basically a Ponzi High Yield Investment Program (HYIP) beautifully gift-wrapped in a very clever Multi-Level-Marketing scheme.
The only reason I am re-hashing something that is now history is that there is something to learn from it and more importantly, their fraud laid down the template for many other frauds being perpetrated right up to this day.
Their representatives at the top known as “leaders” in the field.
Luis Durigon and another fellow I know only as “Ruffugio’ came to Toronto, Canada around Christmas time 2016. They had launched their operations from Brazil in January of that year and Africa and selected European hubs had already been targeted and established by September 2016. North America was next.
A group of a dozen people considered being leaders in their respective fields in the wonderful world of network and multi-level marketing were gathered together and wined and dined in one of the most expensive areas of Toronto, Canada. The Yorkville District.
The ‘bill’ that night was probably close to 10K CAD for just 14 -15 people.
Ten Thousand dollars seems like a lot for dinner, but as the old saying goes “you have to spend money to make money.” And boy did they ever make money with that money spent.
When all was said and done, authorities estimated D9 Clube was a $642 million dollar Ponzi scheme.
So was D9Clube a ‘Scam,’ ‘Dare,” or both?
Looking back, it was all of the above. The leaders ‘dared’ their downlines to get involved with the ‘fear of losing out,’ and the guys at the top took care of the rest by scamming the daylights out of anyone that dared to come on board.
Related Archives:
D9 Clube raided by police in Brazil – Agust 4, 2017
D9 Clube owner arrested in Dubai, to be extradited to Brazil – April 19, 2018.
3 Banks hand over Shs7.5b from d9clube to URSB – May 26, 2019
Read the “BEHIND MLM” Review of D9 Club Here.
The D9Clube Packages – Revisited
D9Clube had various packages to accommodate all levels of participation. For simplistic reasons, let’s just focus on the most elite and popular package offered to D9Clube investors.
Based on the assumption that most affiliates were purchasing a Gold Plus package, this is how the D9 Sports Traders were going to do it:
D9 knows that they have to pay out a $170.00 commission to the person that sells this package. This was the direct referral commission paid to the person who brought the next victim to the table. Then they have to pay out the Binary portion to the ‘Team’ builders and then they have to pay out the Indirect Referral as part of a Unilevel. See illustration below.
After all the payouts on this one package are paid out, D9 is still left with $1360.00.
They also know that they have to pay the holder in due course of this package $170.00 per week for 52 weeks.
The Traders have $1360.00 to generate $170.00 per week or $24.28 per day (Sports Trading is a seven day a week event) to keep this package from becoming ‘delinquent.’
They have to generate a minimum daily profit of 1.8% daily to keep this package performing.” That requires dedicated work.
In the hands of a competent Arbitrage Sports Betting Trader, 1.8% daily is not out of the question where averages in this particular industry can range up to 5%.
Simply put, not 1 trade took place.
Learn More Here about Arbitrage Sports Betting.
The premise behind the D9 Club of Entrepreneurs was based on ‘Sports Trading.” More specifically “Arbitrage Sports Trading.” Watch the Video Tutorial on Arbitrage Sports Trading Here.
Investors were told that The Traders at D9 specialized only on Football (Soccer) and Danillo Santana being an ex Soccer Professional knew all the “in’s and out’s.”
With Traditional betting houses you cannot move or modify your bets meaning that based on the original bet, you are either going to win or lose.
Advanced Sports Betting and Sports Trading use a much more complete system available through Betfair and other Sports Trading Platforms (Read more Here).
Sports Arbitrage Trading Introduction – ATP Platform
Arbitrage allows for small consistent gains all the time.
Arbitrage Trading is the process where Professional Sports Traders take advantage of the variation in odds offered by different bookmakers in order to make a profit regardless of the outcome of an event.
Also known as ‘matched betting,’ or ‘sure wins,’ arbitrage trading involves simultaneously betting on every outcome of an event, whilst making a calculation that the combined bets will lead to a guaranteed profit.
‘Arbitrage Trading’ has been dubbed “the only way to make a consistent profit” in Sports Betting, and it has certainly proved profitable for a lot of followers of the method. With that being said, the process requires large stakes and a great deal of patience, given that the typical return on investment (ROI) is between two and five per cent, depending on the event and a number of other factors.
Watch the Guides below.
Sports Arbitrage Guide 01 – Meet Tim Trader
You might have heard it be called sure betting, scalping, risk-free betting, arbs, or maybe even something else entirely. But they are all the same thing and now you will have a little more clear idea of what sports arbitrage is and how profits can be made from it.
Sports Arbitrage Guide 02 – The Myths & Cons
Professional sports arbitrage trading can be a great way to make money but it’s not always as easy or as fun as some people will have you believe. You need to know exactly what you are getting yourself into before you jump in blindly.
D9Clube members were told that their team of highly specialized D9 Club Traders will be doing the trading for them…Not!
Sports Arbitrage Guide 03 – The Money
In part three of the sports arbitrage betting tips series, Trader Tim talks about the MONEY. He discusses how much money you will need, how much money you could make, tax information, and more. Basically, you get all the answers to your questions about the “money side” of sports arbitrage, which is obviously a very important topic.
Sports Arbitrage Guide 04 – The Calculations
In this video you will learn about the calculations and formulas used by sports arbitrage traders and how to apply them:
- Calculate the implied probabilities of all possible market outcomes
- Calculate the sum of the probabilities of all market outcomes
- Divide the implied probability of each individual outcome by the sum of all probabilities
Note: Probabilities must be less than 100.
Sports Arbitrage Guide 05 – The Bookmakers
“love em or hate em…you gotta use em.” Yes, the Bookmakers. You’ll need at least 30, maybe even 100. Pinnacle Sports has emerged as one of the most popular online bookmakers providing savvy Arbitrageurs what they need.
Sports Arbitrage Guide 06 – The Bonuses
Online Bookmakers offer Free Bets and Bonuses for your business in the hopes that you will lose. In this video learn how to find an ‘even trade’ and walk away with their ‘Free Bets,’ ‘Bonuses’ and ‘Lost Leaders.
Sports Arbitrage Guide 07 – Newbie Errors
The Seven Biggest Mistakes novice traders make and how to avoid them.
A question that many D9Clube investors had was “How can this D9 program maintain such payouts and still be around a few years from now?”
Their answer was in “Arbitrage Betting,” or more precisely, “Arbitrage Trading.”
But guess what? It was all ‘smoke and mirrors.
Which brings us to the next topic.
What is HYIP/PONZI?
Click on the image above for “Bing” front page “What is HYIP-PONZI
Nearly all HYIP’s work as a Ponzi scheme, meaning they are all pyramids in the set-up. More often, an HYIP is closed when the payment amount reaches 85% of the entire amount. What do I mean by this?
Simple.
When the amounts that need to be paid to the members reach 85% of the maximum income of the HYIP Company…It is time to shut down.
It is no longer sustainable.
The primary reason for this is that these HYIP start-ups are not performing the way they promise to perform. They are not Trading (for example with D9) to generate profits.
The more interest rate (return to novice investors) that is offered, the shorter the term of the HYIP run. Please understand this.
The average “lifetime” term of long-term HYIP is about 1 year.
D9 made it past the year mark (approximately 16 months) and they did most of their damage in the last 2 months of their existence orchestrating their exit plan.
The short-term HYIP’s “lifetime” cannot be defined in my opinion but can be verified by my 85% assertion. Every HYIP has its own lifetime. It’s hard to predict the end. That is why short-term HYIP’s are considered to have a higher risk degree than long-term ones and offer a higher rate of return.
HYIP’s
Click on image to go to ‘Coinstaker.’
High yield investment programs, also short for HYIPs, will pay high returns for a small amount you invest in them. These programs are supposed to get the profits by trading forex, stocks and bonds, sports betting and others.
Most do not and are set up as Ponzi Schemes.
The perpetrators of these schemes are actually nice people that you would meet across the street and trust unconditionally. That is because they know how to build your trust in them.
HYIPs pay hourly, daily, weekly or monthly. The daily income rates depend on the HYIP itself and range from 0.5% to 6%. Some even go as far as to claim 10%. We are talking daily here.
D9Clube was offering a daily return of 1.8% on the purchase of each $2046.00 package based on Sports Arbitrage Trading.
Those of my readers that know me, know that I have always said from the beginning, that if D9 does successful ‘Arbitrage Sports Trading‘ then there will never be a problem.
But If they are not doing the trading…well, guess what? You better have an exit plan of your own.
It works something like this (The Graph below explained):
First Learn, then remove the ‘L’
The lifespan of an HYIP can be divided into three stages.
Phase 1: The Launch after The Pre-Launch
Pre-launch is where people can join for free to position themselves within the organization. Or they can become founders by making some sort of commitment i.e. they can invest a minimum to a maximum amount and have for example, ‘founder’ or ‘Premier’ status.
In the D9Clube example, Investors invest Bitcoin purchased through USD cash and D9Clube Admin pays the promised percentages. All good.
D9 Clube Admin is essentially paying out from their own pocket and the pockets of the founders and early investors at this time and are incurring losses or just breaking even.
This is when ‘Leaders’ with large followings are enticed.
Phase 2: The Upswing.
Enough Momentum has been acquired through the planning stages and it is time to pull the trigger.
The SCHEME is now booming and many people are signing in and investing. Many with up to One Hundred Thousand USD plus.
The potential profit of the admin now grows faster than the amount they need to pay daily to the investors. They have reached the Pinnacle.
They finally have the money to do for the people what they promised. To turn the investment into regular profit.
But these profits were not realized through trading. These profits are from new money coming in.
And then that’s when these ponzies fail.
They have made it this far with their shenanigans but now the game is real.
They have sold investors on the idea that they are professional traders. But they are not.
Sooner or later, the payouts coming from new people will slow down or stop completely.
Now an Exit Strategy has to be planned.
During this phase, an additional ‘small amount’ will be required under the guise of for example KYC “Know Your Customer”, or as I call it “Kentucky Fried Chicken.”
They plan their exit strategy. Can take anywhere from 10 to 40 days plus. D9 was about 40 if not a few more.
During all this time they keep you handcuffed and at ransom while at the same time encouraging to continue to invest and reinvest.
Phase 3: The Fall.
Over time, fewer and fewer people continue investing in the platform. This means, that the potential earning is getting less, due to the fact that the admin needs to pay out a profit daily plus the MLM Bonuses. Admin decides, that now is the point of maximum earnings for them.
First, admin stops all the payments out of the website but allows continued investment into the program through the leaders that are still able to convert their back offices from numbers into actual bitcoin and US dollars.
Remember at D9…Nobody got paid for almost two months but they encouraged people to continue to purchase packages under the guise that they were making the platform even better.
Then when they had ‘milked’ the program to the maximum they ran away and closed the website.
So they had a run from January 2016 to approximately September 2017.
Note: Most Hyip’s hiding behind an MLM or Network Marketing structure will last much longer than an HYIP on its own.
This is why the next question is very important:
How To Minimize The Risk if you still want to play?
As seen in the upper graphic, the periods you are going to earn are phase 1 and 2. This means you need to join as early as possible, equivalently, you need not join too late. To find out if the HYIP is at the beginning of phase 2 or at the end is not easy.
Therefore, there are some common rules of thumb on joining HYIPs:
- Do your homework. Especially if they are promoting the program through the issuance of a new Alt Coin or new Blockchain Technology. With these, you want to see ‘The White Paper.’
- Be wary (Like D9) of Company Communication done in only one language other than English.
- Have anyone that is recruiting you to show the validity of the program.
- Establish if the program is an HYIP or an HYIP disguised as an MLM. Remember, the ones hiding behind an MLM structure will last much longer.
- If the Hyip is just an HYIP paying more than 5% daily, then don’t join it after it has been there for more than three weeks.
- If the HYIP is paying between 2.5% and 5.0%, then don’t join it after it has been there for more than five weeks.
- If the HYIP is paying less than 1.5%, then the choice is even harder. The website might pay for a very long time like HashOcean (more than a year), or stop like Business Angels (less than three months).
- Don’t Get Greedy. Most HYIP’s want you to continue to roll over your gains back into the program. Would a better approach not be to extract your initial money and then play their game with their money? and finally,
- Don’t forget to request your withdrawals as soon as they become available.
Note: Do not be afraid to ask for a white paper from the company’s dealing with Cryptocurrency, Mining and Blockchain programs.
Good Luck.
The History of Ponzi
Click on the image above to read “In Ponzi We Trust.”
Born Carlo Pietro Giovanni Guglielmo Tebaldo Ponzi; March 3, 1882 – January 18, 1949) was an Italian swindler and con artist in the U.S. and Canada.
The ‘King of getting Rich Quick,’ Charles Ponzi became a millionaire in just six months back in the early 1920s.
Charles Ponzi was best known for the financial crimes he committed when he conned investors into giving him millions and paid them returns with other investors’ money.
Although he did not invent the scheme that later came to bear his name, Charles Ponzi’s scam was so extensive and initially lucrative that it brought national attention to the fraudulent operation for the first time.
Ponzi arrived from Italy in Boston, USA aboard the S.S. Vancouver in November 1903. He later told the New York Times that he had gambled most of his money on the voyage to America. “I landed in this country with $2.50 cash and $1 million in hopes, and those hopes never left me.”
This young immigrant had charm, charisma and confidence. The details of his early life are difficult to verify but it is believed that he was fairly well educated having attended the University Of Rome La Sapienza.
From Rags to Riches
Click on the image above to go to “Getty Images.”
Ponzi eventually found his way to get rich quick using a ‘loophole’ within the postal system. It was completely legitimate and involved the concepts of ‘Arbitrage.’
At the time, it was common for letters going abroad to include an international reply coupon ‘Voucher.’ This voucher could be exchanged for minimum postage back to the country from which the letter was sent.
Thus, for example, if I sent my friend in England a letter, I could include a coupon so that he or she could respond back.
Sort of like an enclosed stamp.
Exchange and postal rates fluctuated worldwide and Ponzi saw that there was an opportunity to make a profit.
He only had to purchase a postal reply coupon cheaply in some foreign country, send it back to the U.S. in Boston where he was to swap it out for an American stamp of a higher value.
Then he could sell these stamps.
This arrangement was perfectly legal.
Ponzi started buying and selling postal reply coupons using agents in his native Italy, and he was making a good living doing it.
Read the rest of this intriguing story here.
And read another version of the same story here.
The Difference between “Ponzi” & “Pyramid”
Charles Ponzi & the True Story of a Financial Legend
Video Run Time: 54.43 – Make the time – Must Watch
The video above is a segway into a really well-written book:
Ponzi’s Scheme: The True Story of a Financial Legend – by
About the book: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/081…
“…It was a time when anything seemed possible–instant wealth, glittering fame, fabulous luxury–and for a run of magical weeks in the spring and summer of 1920, Charles Ponzi made it all come true.”
“…Promising to double investors’ money in three months, the dapper, charming Ponzi raised the “rob Peter to pay Paul” scam to an art form.”
“…At the peak of his success, Ponzi was raking in more than $2 million a week at his office in downtown Boston. Then his house of cards came crashing down–thanks in large part to the relentless investigative reporting of Richard Grozier’s Boston Post.”
A classic American tale of immigrant life and the dream of success, Ponzi’s Scheme is the amazing story of the magnetic scoundrel who launched the most successful scheme of financial alchemy in modern history.
Leave a comment in the comments section at the end of this post.
Was D9Clube a Ponzi Scheme?
Not only was D9 an HYIP Ponzi Scheme, but it was also a Pyramid scheme cleverly disguised as an MLM.
To attract members without having to do it online, they used the troops on the ground by gift-wrapping it in an MLM Pyramid scheme.
“HYIP” stands for a ‘high yield investment program.’ Here are the Mechanics.
Making it simpler, HYIP’s in the eyes of the novice investor represents a way to make huge amounts of money in a very short period of time without having to do anything but invest some hard-earned money.
In a Nutshell, D9 lured their victims into the program under the guise that the D9 club Executive Team was a team of highly trained and respected “Arbitrage Sports Trading’ professionals that could provide an average daily return of 1.8%.
They also included a very comprehensive MLM plan to lure more victims more quickly.
They used Teams: “A,” “B,” and “C.”
Team “A” were the guys at the top (the originators).
Team “B” were the “leaders” that had access to Teams “C.”
Team “C” were the minions that aspired to be like Team “A.”
Then the final ingredient was the use of Bitcoin because Team “A” know that Bitcoin transactions are very difficult to reverse without an escrow service.
The Internet says that Long-term HYIP’s are the projects calculating 0.01% to 5.00% daily.
D9 was claiming 1.8% daily and was completely doable if they actually traded in Arbitrage. (Unfortunately, there is no evidence that this company actually traded at all).
Any project giving 5.00% or more can be considered short-term. So what is the attraction? I’ll tell you in a nutshell…’ Get Rich Quick.’ Most novice movers will lose. Those with a certain level of expertise will gain. This is a very dangerous game to play.
Let’s look into some background…because too many people get involved without knowing what they are getting into.
Additional Resource “Scamworld”
‘Get Rich Quick’ Schemes have mutated into an Online Monster. A ‘Network of Pitchmen’ and self-proclaimed “Guru’s” have used and are still using The Internet and the ‘Fear of Failing economies’ to play the ultimate ‘Long Con’ on innocent and unsuspecting people all around the World.
Internet Marketers that are trying to earn a living honestly are very small fish in a very large pond. We are basically just the small guys that work under a much larger business group called “The Syndicate.”
Yes, there is actually such a thing.
Scamworld – Must Watch
“The Syndicate” is a business group that uses digital marketing to sell get rich quick, work from home and self-help products.
Running time is approximately 15 minutes (it’s worth it).
Warning Signs That Your High-Yield Investment May Be a Scam
Read 10 Facts HYIP Administrators hide from you here
My Home Online – Wealthy Affiliate
My advice to anyone trying to get rich quick is that it very rarely happens.
The only way to get rich quick is to do it slowly.
Work from home is going to be the new norm.
The Internet is not going to go anywhere soon and will just get more and more sophisticated. It moves at lightning speed.
To participate and succeed, you will need to first “Learn” and then you can remove the ‘L’ when you feel you are ready.
You have to have a website whether you are selling your own product or service or you are selling the products and services of others.
That’s my home online (see below).
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Jay Neill is a successful Online Entrepreneur and Businessman who Joined Wealthy Affiliate way back in March 2007. He owns and operates a Digital Marketing Agency in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
Magistudios was established in 2004.
He and his team offer a variety of SEO and Online Marketing Services and together they work with clients to create marketing development plans specific to their business, individual styles, and budget.
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Wealthy Affiliate operates as:
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Stay in touch.
Stay safe and remain awesome.
Were you a victim of D9? Were you a victim of any other Ponzi?
Would you like me to review any programs that you might be considering to see if they are a Scam or Dare?
Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
Kindest regards,
Paul.