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01/ Twitter Resistors - the Krassenstein brothers maintain they had no idea why their homes were raided by Homeland Security. This thread will jog their memories.
You will be flabbergasted
You will be flabbergasted
02/ On September 20th, 2016, The Krassensteins, newly-built houses were raided in an operation involving 20+ cars, multiple helicopters and around 30 officers.
03/ Why could the authorities possibly be interested in them, they wondered...?
04/ Nevertheless, they snapped into action...
05/ Meanwhile, they weren& #39;t getting much sleep trying to figure out what they had done...
06/ Perhaps, out of all those websites they ran, there was something about those sites about & #39;investing& #39; sites?"
07/ Their names: Talkgold(dot)com and Moneymakergroup(dot)com...
(take note of the mention of HYIP- it& #39;s crucial)
Now let& #39;s begin to unravel the story...
(take note of the mention of HYIP- it& #39;s crucial)
Now let& #39;s begin to unravel the story...
08/ From 2003, the Krassensteins owned and ran the forums Talkgold(dot)com and Moneymakergroup(dot)com, two seemingly & #39;competing& #39; HYIP forums.
09/ Now, HYIP - stands for High Yield Investment Programs, but essentially, they are ponzi schemes as defined here in wikipedia...
10/ ...and here by the Department of Justice. .
11/ Here is a random sample from Talkgold(dot)com. Look at the interest rates!
12/ The Krassensteins claim to have no idea who they were selling ads to - and got unluckily duped
13/ So, let& #39;s look at the kind of schemes they promoted and pushed on their HYIP sites.
14/ On top of this, E-gold was pushed heavily and used on Krassenstein sites - owner now in prison for money laundering
15/ E-bullion was advertised and on Krassenstein sites, the owner is sitting on death row - for having his wife and potential witness stabbed to death
16/ The forums were inhabited by ruthless shills - hyping the scams
(Marmilev got 5 years)
(Marmilev got 5 years)
17/ Ken Russo, perhaps the best known shill, promoted some of the largest ponzi schemes in history
18/ Zeek rewards, for example - is described as the 6th largest ponzi scheme ever - swindling close to a billion dollars from hundreds of thousands of victims.
19/ The human cost of these evil schemes is often devastating...
20/ The Krassensteins often argue that they shouldn& #39;t be blamed, after all, they only sell google-style ads. A cowardly argument if true, right?
21/ The problem is, nothing seemed further from the truth.
22/ Firstly, they owned and ran dozens of HYIP sites - a network that promoted, & #39;monitored,& #39; and & #39;rated,& #39; each other - giving the impression of a thriving and legitimate community (the below are all, but possibly one, provable Krassenstein sites)
23/ Each one of them, had top and bottom of page links, side links, & #39;google& #39; style ads and banners that circle jerked between each other. I faded out ones I can& #39;t prove easily are theirs here - but you& #39;ll see what I mean...
24/ To perfectly illustrate the point, I& #39;ll focus on Krassensteins& #39; HYIPMailer(dot)com, which sent out a newsletter about HYIP& #39;s and to which I found some extraordinary archives dated 2003-2004.
25/ Brian wrote the newsletters, but often referred to himself deceptively in the third person as "Brian of Talkgold." (John Barron-esque)
26/ The structure of the letters was always the same. They had a top-rated list (all Krassenstein sites)
27/ A Best Bang For Buck Advertising - all Krassenstein sites.
Note - these are targetted at scammers, to quote: "...get your HYIP off the ground in no time"
Note - these are targetted at scammers, to quote: "...get your HYIP off the ground in no time"
28/ Then, there were the direct plugs for their own ventures - like "Private HYIPS"
29/ & #39;Launch notices& #39; for their own ventures, like web-life(dot)org
(another ponzi scheme & #39;rater& #39;)
(another ponzi scheme & #39;rater& #39;)
31/ ...and this one
32/ But where it gets really interesting is in the "Programs we like" section, which often promoted scams the Krassensteins had & #39;potential associations& #39; to.
33/ The news section was also interesting. It always started with some positive news about sites the Krassensteins were connected with - like this one
"...their script is more & #39;cheat proof& #39;" (LOL)
"...their script is more & #39;cheat proof& #39;" (LOL)
34/ The good news item was always followed by a litany of defunct HYIPS scams. And this was repeated in every newsletter.
35/ Except that is, when they were schemes the Krassensteins had potential & #39;involvement& #39; in. So, let me tell you the incredible story of the & #39;Weekly Gold& #39; ponzi scheme
36/ & #39;Weeklygold& #39; was & #39;the positive news story& #39; coming out of the ponzi scheme mayhem. And "Mario" (Mario Degryse from Belgium) the & #39;sites administrator& #39; (remember that) was a & #39;trusted man& #39; in the ponzi scheme arena.
37/ Each newsletter contained a positive story of payouts, licenses, security, trust and long term investment
38/ Until, of course, the complaints were mounting and the stories started to backtrack a little - but not to worry - exciting changes were afoot.
(note how & #39;Weeklygold not-paying& #39; is treated differently from the rest in these newsletters)
(note how & #39;Weeklygold not-paying& #39; is treated differently from the rest in these newsletters)
039/ Meanwhile, a new idea was being promoted: "Guaranteed Lotto" (I kid you not)
And it contained the first direct admission that Brian and the mysterious Mario, were "joint owners" of the network (including Weekly Gold) and now they were launching an absurd scam together.
And it contained the first direct admission that Brian and the mysterious Mario, were "joint owners" of the network (including Weekly Gold) and now they were launching an absurd scam together.
040/ Yeap, you heard right, a lottery game where your funds were guaranteed. Motto: "Win or break even"
(note the list of Krassenstein sites to the left)
(note the list of Krassenstein sites to the left)
041/ Subsequent newsletters would continue the hype.
Anyway, back to the main story...
Anyway, back to the main story...
042/ Weekly Gold and Guaranteed Lotto were showing signs of their imminent collapse (according to Mario)
043/ Furthermore, Mario and Brian seemed to have misunderstandings...
044/ At the same time, this notice appeared at Weeklygold(dot)com. It appears that Brian had the keys to the website - just waiting for Mario to get in touch.
But, I thought Mario was the & #39;administrator?& #39;
But, I thought Mario was the & #39;administrator?& #39;
045/ Brian Krassenstein, would later claim in an interview (which was most likely entirely conceived by Brain Krassenstein), that he was "advertising manager" of the ponzi scheme (which sold no adverts)
046/ However, what happened after the Mario Degryse network collapse was telling indeed.
047/ Brian (and Edward) seemed unperturbed by the collapse of their favorite and most trusted partner & #39;Mario& #39; and his dirty scams.& #39;
048/ And, out of the ashes of the collapse of Mario& #39;s scam, in the very next newsletter, emerged a promising new scheme, "Gold trivia." Pay to answer questions
049/ Now, browsing the web archives I found something extraordinary about this site. The hidden tooltips contained a secret message. Brian and Mario were still in business and somebody wasn& #39;t happy about Mario. Wut?
050/ And to finish up this section, straight after the collapse of one Ponzi scheme he may have had involvement in, Brian looked into his crystal ball and saw two new HYIP/Ponzis, one of which that would be run by his web host guy - and backed up by hosting fees? LOL
051/ And who is this host? Well, it turns out to be 18 year old (at the time) script kiddy and serial huckster Jonathan B from Australia. His site EzyHYIP below
052/ Via Jonathan, I found an interview with him and & #39;Mario& #39; which not only seemed to confirm & #39;Krassenstein& #39;s role in Weekly Gold, it led us to more Ponzi& #39;s they may have setup. The interview is weird, but lots of the details check out - let me show you.
053/ It all started on GAMESOFGOLD(dot)com forum. Jonathan and Mario became moderators and started chatting together...
054/ The Gamesofgold(dot)com connection checks out
055/ For the uninitiated (like me): & #39;Gold Games& #39; are kind of & #39;in your face& #39; ponzi schemes
056/ Soon after they started chatting, the idea of a mutual fund cropped up (like it would). Brian had experience with web hosting with his smileyhosting(dot)com company (so what could go wrong?)
057/ Smileyhosting checks out - and it wasn& #39;t his only cheap web hosting site
058/ This one was his too...
(is the highlighted notice hint of a scam in action?)
(is the highlighted notice hint of a scam in action?)
059/ Then there was Gold-hosting(dot)com
060/ Yeap, you you guessed it...owned by Brian...
061/ And here& #39;s Jonathan talking of turning one existing membership forum: PrivateHYIPs(dot)com into a potential ponzi scheme
063/ Other ponzis linked in this interview - were "stableprofits" (I know)
064/ And HYIP-Invest. How many more? Anybody& #39;s guess...
065/ Ok, how we doing so far? Feeling protected?
066/ Or suitably disgusted?
067/ Wouldn& #39;t you say that this reply to Judd Legumis is now looking like a very risky public gambit by Eddie?
068/ As for & #39;questionable marketing schemes& #39; (or pyramids), let me say the following 3 words...
069/ "Welcome to TeamEarners"
(& #39;Unlimited Money& #39; - & #39;Risk Free& #39; and & #39;Guaranteed.& #39;)
(& #39;Unlimited Money& #39; - & #39;Risk Free& #39; and & #39;Guaranteed.& #39;)
070/ 100%...
072/ And independently vouched for by, ahem, the Krassensteins
073/ Here is how it worked - a pyramid scheme. You pay for access to a worthless forum and few worthless ebooks, then, in-turn, you scam others down the line
074/ It& #39;s summed up here - by a victim - in a discussion thread about Teamearners
075/ And in case you needed any more reassurance as to who was behind it, here it is
076/ Then there was Becomehated(dot)com, where the stakes were raised...
$67 USD for a worthless ebook - and the promise of a get rich quick scheme selling down the levels.
$67 USD for a worthless ebook - and the promise of a get rich quick scheme selling down the levels.
077/ Now, take a breath and onto the next question...
078/ When do you think Brian and Eddie got a taste for this kind of thing - and turned bad? All of the schemes in this thread, so far, are 2003-2008.
The twin& #39;s age at the time: 22-27
The twin& #39;s age at the time: 22-27
079/ So, let me answer that. Brian on the & #39;Wikidot& #39; entry he wrote himself, talks up his entreprenurial credentials by mentioning his first startup at the tender age of 15. A card business called EBKcards (EddieBrianKrassenstein cards)
080/ Lord above! Even that one was described as a pyramid scheme!
Way back when & #39;geocities& #39; was a thing!
Way back when & #39;geocities& #39; was a thing!
081/ Then this one - in 2000, which doesn& #39;t inspire a whole lot of confidence either
082/ I could literally go on and on with these Krassenstein sites, and their alleged & #39;scams,& #39; but I won& #39;t...
083/ I& #39;ll let this forum user, back in 2008, sum them up in his opinion:
084/ Now, If you can handle it, I have one last revolting tale to tell...
085/ In 2007, an internet vigilante threatened to report TalkGold to the FBI, and Krassenstein, quickly announced the sale of the property.
086/ It was announced on articlesbase(dot)com, written by & #39;Peter Gant.& #39; The web property was said to have been sold to "Akmed Malakar and Associates."
087/ Peter Gant, (*ahem, cough cough, Brian) only ever wrote one article
088/ And information on "Akmed Malakar and Associates" is non-existent.
Just 2 links - and both of them to the & #39;Gant& #39; article
Just 2 links - and both of them to the & #39;Gant& #39; article
089/ Brian Krassenstein confirmed that he sold the property in his weird & #39;selfie& #39; interview
090/ But, when pushed, Ed Krassenstein - told a different story, perceptively interpreted by the forum member he was chatting with
091/ Ops, look what I found! Could this be Ed Krassenstein, using the fake name "Akmed Malakar" to avoid a Google ban on all things Krassestein?
(3dprint(dot)com was a Krassenstein venture)
(3dprint(dot)com was a Krassenstein venture)
092/ And Boom! Here is the direct link of Akmed to Eddie& #39;s email, showing up in a people search of EKrass! Retweet! (LOL)
093/ In case you were in doubt, Peter Gant (the author) was probably Brian, and Akmed was probably Eddie. Brian, in particular has a habit of inventing people to defend the Krassensteins (as in the below case)
094/ So, in sum - don& #39;t ever believe a word the Krassenstein twins say.
TalkGold(dot)com was their site until they were raided in 2017 - then it was swiftly taken offline along with MoneyMakerGroup and sold for just over 2 thousand dollars in 2018
TalkGold(dot)com was their site until they were raided in 2017 - then it was swiftly taken offline along with MoneyMakerGroup and sold for just over 2 thousand dollars in 2018
095/ They are hypocrites that damage every argument they crib and retweet
096/ And finally do NOT send them any money!
So, to end - in classic Krassenstein style,
Please RETWEET this! Boom!
So, to end - in classic Krassenstein style,
Please RETWEET this! Boom!
