In online investments, the promise of high returns can often be a strong indicator of fraudulent schemes. As usual, if it seems too good to be true, it almost certainly is.
The HyperVerse investment scheme was too good to be true.
It gained a massive number of investors thanks to strong marketing and using hot-button trends like crypto and NFTs (non-fungible tokens). The scam is thought to have stolen some $1.89 billion from investors.
If you have lost money to a crypto scam like the HyperVerse scheme you may be able to recover your money.
What is HyperVerse?
Founded by Sam Lee and Ryan Xu, HyperVerse claimed to be a decentralised platform for trading, gaming and socialising. Lee and Xu have less than shining records when it comes to crypto investment schemes, including the now-defunct Blockchain Global. In recent years, the pair have left a trail of devastation and gained a variety of regulatory warnings from multiple countries.
Before settling on a name for their latest venture, the platform was also known as HyperFund, HyperTech, HyperOne, and HyperNation.
HyperVerse also used a range of different site addresses, including: thehyperfund.online, thehyperfund.com/, www.hypercommunity.link/, daoversal.com/, hyperverse.com/index-2.html, www.thehyperverse.net/, and, notably, h5.thehyperverse.net/. Given this, HyperVerse was known to some as h5.HyperVerse.
Investors, also called Voyagers, were promised a social platform where they could invest, play, socialise, and make money. HyperVerse Token – shortened to HVT – powered the platform and capitalised on the trend of NFTs to attract investors.
In reality, h5.thehyperverse.net was a con designed to extract as much money and crypto out of investors as possible. Like many investment scams, it was only when investors attempted to make a withdrawal from HyperVerse that the scam became apparent.
Was the HyperVerse scam a Ponzi or pyramid scheme?
The short answer? HyperVerse was both a pyramid scheme and a Ponzi scheme.
A pyramid scheme offers a monetary reward for members who recruit more and more members. Theoretically, the more people you refer, the more you earn. In reality, this is rarely the case.
A Ponzi scheme on the other hand relies on new sign-ups to pay for the withdrawals of existing members. In a Ponzi scheme, money is either inflated to appear better than in reality, or no investment is happening at all.
HyperVerse did both of these things. HyperVerse investors were encouraged to buy memberships to earn rewards. Lee and Xu promised to use membership fees for profitable crypto projects, leading to more rewards for supporters. More alarmingly, those who recruited new members were promised a cut of their referral’s profit.
While the platform claimed a daily return of 0.5% to 1%, this could never be maintained. Like many investment scams, at first, investors were able to withdraw their HyperVerse gains. However, once the money stopped coming through fast enough, the company collapsed.
According to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), HyperVerse had “no apparent legitimate source of revenues” and “investor withdrawals were paid with new investor deposits”.
Lee and Xu played on the popularity of crypto to recruit investors through social media. They built an impressive empire before the scam ultimately came crashing down.
Fake celebrity endorsements
HypeVerse was a con from the get-go. Stephen Harrison, CEO of HyperVerse, was a British actor living in Thailand who was paid $4,000 to appear as the head of the company.
The investment scam also used celebrity endorsements to market the scheme. Actor, Chuck Norris, and Apple co-founder, Steve Wozniak were claimed to be notable supporters. Once again, this was a fabricated piece of marketing. HyperVerse used Cameo – an online platform where you can pay celebrities to say essentially anything – to get endorsements.
What happened after HyperVerse collapsed?
Before shutting down, the fraudulent scheme stole an estimated $1.89 billion from investors. Many of those who invested lost their life savings and were left devastated.
Stephen Harrison, the actor pretending to be CEO of HyperVerse, went into hiding when the truth was revealed. He is currently wanted by the authorities for his part in the scheme.
Sam Lee is believed to be in hiding in Dubai. He has been charged with conspiracy to commit fraud in the US for his alleged role in the hyperverse scam.
Brenda Chung, another co-conspirator and promoter of HyperVerse pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities and wire fraud.
Ryan Xu has not been named in any court documents.
Incredibly, just days after being charged, Sam Lee revealed a new investment scheme called VEND. We strongly recommend that investors avoid this scheme too.
CEL Solicitors
Commenting on the scam, Paul Hampson, CEO of CEL Solicitors said: “This scam has all the trademarks of a Netflix documentary with the so-called ‘crown prince of bitcoin’ creating a billion-pound empire built on lies. This criminal enterprise was always destined to come crashing down, but not before robbing innocent people of their hard-earned cash and life savings. We see firsthand the fallout from this type of crime and are committed to helping people get their money back, either through crypto-tracing or financial complaints.”
Getting a refund from HyperVerse
If you have lost money to an investment scam like the HyperVerse scheme, CEL Solicitors may be able to recover your money. We have helped more than 10,000 people recover money lost to fraud and scams across the UK, even when the banks and cryptocurrency platforms refuse to help. We offer free no-obligation advice and offer cases on a no-win, no-fee basis. Call 0808 273 0900 or begin your claim online.
