In late May and early June 2020, the multi-level marketing scene saw the rise of Be, a company that represented the revival of Melius, which had earlier gained a reputation for questionable claims.
Melius, launched towards the end of 2018, promised real trading accounts of $50,000 in return for just $3,000, an offer that raised more than a few eyebrows in the industry. Led by Jeremy Prasetyo, CEO and co-founder, Melius, however, concealed within its ranks other key figures, such as the brothers Monir and Moyn Islam, previously known for scamming millions of dollars through the OneCoin scheme.
Originating from the United Kingdom, they found refuge in Dubai at the onset of OneCoin’s collapse. Following the requests and reports that have reached us, we will delve into the details of this entire ecosystem. Report by WORLD PARLAMENT
Financial pyramid of brothers Moin and Monir Islam that deceived thousands worldwide through Ponzi schemes
Web site
In the renewed digital landscape, Be has established itself as the successor to Melius’ legacy, taking control of the “befactor.com” domain on March 26, 2020, and shortly thereafter launching a vigorous promotional campaign. Despite Melius having significantly reduced its online and social media presence, Be has managed to keep the original spirit alive, driven by the determination of the Islam brothers, Ehsaan B. Islam, and another key family member, who play crucial roles in the company’s leadership.
However, a peculiar aspect emerges when investigating Be’s online visibility: typing “BE Rules” into Google, surprisingly, the company’s site does not appear among the top results. This detail raises questions about the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy adopted by Be, which involves a set of techniques aimed at optimizing a website to improve its positioning on major search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo. The fundamental goal of SEO is to increase organic web traffic, thereby optimizing visibility in search results for free.
This apparent lack of optimization could be interpreted as a deliberate choice, perhaps aimed at maintaining a low profile in the eyes of regulatory or oversight bodies. This hypothesis finds a parallel in the approach adopted by the Hyper ecosystem, which imposed strict restrictions on sharing images related to the platform, threatening immediate profile deletion in case of transgression. This tendency to conceal certain aspects thus seems to reflect a broader strategy, deliberately adopted to navigate the complex digital universe with discretion and caution.
Financial pyramid of brothers Moin and Monir Islam that deceived thousands worldwide through Ponzi schemes
Company
As with any respectable Ponzi scheme, the website does not display the information required by law, and the footer is completely devoid of it. Therefore, it is impossible for us to find official data regarding the hypothetical company or corporation behind it (hypothetical because it might not exist, and it wouldn’t be the first time).
Financial pyramid of brothers Moin and Monir Islam that deceived thousands worldwide through Ponzi schemes
Financial pyramid of brothers Moin and Monir Islam that deceived thousands worldwide through Ponzi schemes
Additionally, on the website, in the section dedicated to forms, it is noted that BE never provides precise references to the existence of a concrete company, but always identifies itself as “Company”. In fact, if one relies on official sources, it is impossible to find verified information. A small addition: the documentation includes a link that should allow for the consultation of the “Code of Ethics,” but unfortunately, it turns out to be empty. All this is an unequivocal sign of a lack of professionalism, consistent with the modus operandi of many other scams and Ponzi schemes analyzed by Decripto in the past:
Financial pyramid of brothers Moin and Monir Islam that deceived thousands worldwide through Ponzi schemes
Core Business
The core of Be’s offering lies in two subscribable services, Live and Learn, with the option to combine them in the Elite package. These services promise access to travel discount portals, communication apps, and payment platforms, in addition to resources for online learning and trading applications.
However, the ambiguity and lack of clarity on some of these services, like the mysterious “Sense,” raise doubts about their actual usefulness and value. Be’s compensation structure rewards the sale of subscriptions to both retail customers and recruited affiliates, with a system that clearly favors those at the higher levels of the organization, creating a dynamic many critics would associate with a pyramid scheme. This is particularly evident in the variation of subscription rates (Bronze, Silver, Gold), which seems not to affect the service provided but significantly impacts the commissions earned.
Financial pyramid of brothers Moin and Monir Islam that deceived thousands worldwide through Ponzi schemes
After several changes, including a new web domain to avoid fraud charges in Canada and some modifications to the way they pay people, there’s still a big question about Be: does it earn more from its regular customers or from the people it recruits? Understanding this difference is important because companies that rely too heavily on recruitment can be illegal, as in the case of Ponzi schemes.
However, Be seems to be in a complicated situation that could lead it to be considered a scam. In fact, several governments, like that of the Philippines, have already declared Be a scam, explicitly banning frauds such as Ponzi schemes, where earnings primarily come from recruiting other people:
Financial pyramid of brothers Moin and Monir Islam that deceived thousands worldwide through Ponzi schemes
Moreover, Norway follows the Philippines as mentioned in the article from E24 (Norway’s leading newspaper for economic and business news). It reads: “The network company ‘Be’ tempts young people with a life of luxury, currency speculation, and huge bonuses. Norwegian authorities believe the company resembles an illegal pyramid scheme”:
Financial pyramid of brothers Moin and Monir Islam that deceived thousands worldwide through Ponzi schemes
But it doesn’t end here, the Colombian SFC (the equivalent of the Italian CONSOB) declared BE Rules illegal at the end of 2021 because it lacked the necessary licenses to operate in Colombia:
Financial pyramid of brothers Moin and Monir Islam that deceived thousands worldwide through Ponzi schemes
An interesting point mentioned in the statement is that the SFC itself notes that there is no legal headquarters of the company in the country.
The narrative continues with warnings from the Canadian “CONSOB.” The title reads BE Factor because it was the name before BE Rules. It was precisely in this period that it changed its name following this warning:
Financial pyramid of brothers Moin and Monir Islam that deceived thousands worldwide through Ponzi schemes
Clearly, it doesn’t end here. The newspaper “20 minuti TIO,” known for being the most followed in Switzerland, published an article about this scam, featuring rather scorching statements from those who, at the time, had very important connections:
Financial pyramid of brothers Moin and Monir Islam that deceived thousands worldwide through Ponzi schemes
And last but not least, not in terms of importance, Scam Adviser tells us that the site is unreliable, with a score close to 0 and with a detailed explanation (see attached images below):
Financial pyramid of brothers Moin and Monir Islam that deceived thousands worldwide through Ponzi schemes
Team
The Islam brothers, known not only for BE but for their involvement in OneCoin, distinguished themselves by promoting this fraudulent scheme among the Muslim community in the United Kingdom, positioning themselves right after Muhammad Zafar, who was recently arrested in Pakistan for these illicit activities. When OneCoin collapsed, they quickly cut ties with the organization and fled from any potential legal repercussions in the UK, taking refuge in Dubai. There, they began promoting new Ponzi schemes, eventually founding MELiUS.
Financial pyramid of brothers Moin and Monir Islam that deceived thousands worldwide through Ponzi schemes
With MELiUS, they attempted to replicate their previous “success,” attracting investments from many of the same individuals involved in OneCoin. However, their venture began to lose momentum towards the end of 2019, leading to its inevitable collapse. In the meantime, they attracted media attention with their luxurious lifestyle, portraying themselves as victims of the OneCoin scam despite continuing to promote similar schemes.
Jean Pierre Franguin, an influencer who promoted a luxurious lifestyle on social media, emerged as a key figure in promoting MELiUS. However, he proved to be a controversial figure, whose exaggerated behavior and legally questionable actions drew negative attention, accelerating MELiUS’s decline and forcing the company to rebrand itself as BE Factor in 2020.
Despite the Islam brothers’ attempts to clean up their image through media campaigns and paid publications, their activities remained under scrutiny. With the advent of BE, they continued to follow the same business model based on recruitment, without offering products or services of real value. This approach led to further negative media exposure and criticism from journalists for their ongoing involvement in fraudulent schemes.
Promoter
There are countless promoters of this colossal Ponzi scheme, and it would be impossible to mention them all. Instead, the focus will be on the most prominent Italian promoters and, most importantly, the activity of falsifying reviews on various dedicated platforms, such as Trustpilot.
Giorgio Trabaldo:
Financial pyramid of brothers Moin and Monir Islam that deceived thousands worldwide through Ponzi schemes
Andrea Traina:
Financial pyramid of brothers Moin and Monir Islam that deceived thousands worldwide through Ponzi schemes
Matteo Bianco:
Financial pyramid of brothers Moin and Monir Islam that deceived thousands worldwide through Ponzi schemes
All of them are integral parts of BE Rules, along with many others not visible in the list provided below:
Financial pyramid of brothers Moin and Monir Islam that deceived thousands worldwide through Ponzi schemes
Other promoters include Brandon Zanchi, Matteo Bianchi, Dylan Dagani, Manuel Mazzola, Mannino Andrea, and a certain Sara who appears in numerous posts and tags of Mannino, Mazzola, and many others. Essentially, it seems that the names just mentioned are part of the same large network of promotion and distribution, as in the Instagram posts they are all closely interconnected, constantly citing and tagging each other.
Clearly, on their profiles, they heavily promote their financial activities, despite not being registered with the OCF Register (recalling the similar story of Coppola). The images shown below will illustrate the connections between the various promoters mentioned, and it is noteworthy that the room in Mazzola’s post, where a slide with the clearly visible BE logo is projected, is also the same room seen in Mannino’s post, where Sara at the same time reacts positively. Sara is also found commenting on Dagani’s posts and in another post, we see her resharing a story from Mazzola, demonstrating their close bond:
Financial pyramid of brothers Moin and Monir Islam that deceived thousands worldwide through Ponzi schemes
Financial pyramid of brothers Moin and Monir Islam that deceived thousands worldwide through Ponzi schemes
Financial pyramid of brothers Moin and Monir Islam that deceived thousands worldwide through Ponzi schemes
Financial pyramid of brothers Moin and Monir Islam that deceived thousands worldwide through Ponzi schemes
Below, the close relationship of Sara with the other promoters is shown, and by checking her current highlighted stories on IG, we see her sharing an image where a phrase “papi’s umbrella” is depicted, meaning “daddy’s umbrella”:
Financial pyramid of brothers Moin and Monir Islam that deceived thousands worldwide through Ponzi schemes
But who is this Papi? It’s very simple; it’s that Matteo Bianchi mentioned earlier, who appears together with Trabaldo:
Financial pyramid of brothers Moin and Monir Islam that deceived thousands worldwide through Ponzi schemes
Financial pyramid of brothers Moin and Monir Islam that deceived thousands worldwide through Ponzi schemes
In conclusion, the promotion and distribution network of BE is indeed dense, and here we’ve only scratched the surface. A small clarification: many of the names just mentioned are also involved in other “businesses” that are more or less scams, such as “Leverage Group”. An image is also shown where Matteo Bianchi can be seen on the stage of Leverage:
Financial pyramid of brothers Moin and Monir Islam that deceived thousands worldwide through Ponzi schemes
Financial pyramid of brothers Moin and Monir Islam that deceived thousands worldwide through Ponzi schemes
Financial pyramid of brothers Moin and Monir Islam that deceived thousands worldwide through Ponzi schemes
Regarding the activity of soliciting fake reviews on Trustpilot, here is the material that has been found. All concern the requests from the leaders of various networks to go and write positive reviews because the average star rating was significantly low:
Financial pyramid of brothers Moin and Monir Islam that deceived thousands worldwide through Ponzi schemes
Financial pyramid of brothers Moin and Monir Islam that deceived thousands worldwide through Ponzi schemes
Financial pyramid of brothers Moin and Monir Islam that deceived thousands worldwide through Ponzi schemes
Financial pyramid of brothers Moin and Monir Islam that deceived thousands worldwide through Ponzi schemes
Financial pyramid of brothers Moin and Monir Islam that deceived thousands worldwide through Ponzi schemes
Financial pyramid of brothers Moin and Monir Islam that deceived thousands worldwide through Ponzi schemes
Conclusion
In conclusion, the saga of Be and its connection to the controversial past of Melius highlight a series of deeply rooted issues in the multi-level marketing and high-risk investment scheme sector. The transition from Melius to Be has only perpetuated an inherently fragile business model, propped up by unrealistic promises and elusive strategies. The persistence of ambiguous figures like the Islam brothers and the lack of transparency and legal compliance reinforce the suspicion that behind these facades lie unethical, if not outright fraudulent operations.
The lack of clarity in the services offered, combined with the reliance on a pyramidal structure for recruitment and compensation, raises questions about the sustainability and ethics of Be. The numerous reports and investigations by regulatory authorities in different countries underline the severity and extent of the concerns associated with this entity. It’s crucial for individuals to exercise adequate diligence and skepticism towards these organizations, especially when they promise exorbitant rewards with minimal investment.
The importance of adhering to regulations and transparency towards consumers cannot be overstated. Stories like that of Be should serve as a warning to anyone looking for investment opportunities, reminding us that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. Awareness and financial education are crucial tools for navigating an increasingly complex and sometimes deceptive market.
Autor: Maria Sharapova
