The Watford Corp Ponzi scheme has collapsed.
As a part of their exit-scam, Watford Corp’s nameless admins have put up what seems to be a pretend SEC web site closure discover.
Someday over the previous few days Watford Corp’s web site was pulled offline.
As a replacement the next message has been put up:
I’ve been masking the MLM trade for over ten years now. I’ve reported on quite a few SEC civil actions in opposition to MLM Ponzi schemes.
Not as soon as have I seen the regulator seize management of an MLM firm’s web site area.
The place legal seizures have taken place (non-MLM), there may be sometimes info offered referring to the seizure.
If something, the seemingly pretend discover Watford Corp has put up reeks of being cobbled collectively by a non-native English speaker.
Let’s begin with the message textual content;
To the Securities and Alternate Fee evidently the general public curiosity and Investor safety requires the suspension of buying and selling in securities. Inc. (“Watford LLC”) out of issues concerning the adequacy and accuracy of publicly obtainable details about Watford LLC, together with its monetary situation and operations, if any, in gentle of the dearth of inventory itemizing on the NASDAQ communications service issuer whose share value has risen through the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The Fee believes that the general public curiosity and investor safety demand the suspension of buying and selling within the securities of the above firm.
THEREFORE, ORDERED in accordance with Part 12 (okay) of the Inventory Alternate. Legislation of 1934, in accordance with which buying and selling within the securities of the above firm is suspended.
The language itself is awkward. To a local speaker, it reads like a messy cobbling collectively of in any other case coherent sentences.
After which there’s the claims themselves.
- Watford Corp has by no means been registered with the SEC.
- Watford Corp has by no means had a inventory itemizing on NASDAQ.
- There isn’t a “Inventory Alternate Legislation (1934)”.
I consider the regulation Watford Corp’s admins have tried to reference is the Securities and Alternate Act. Which doesn’t apply as a result of, as said, Watford Corp has by no means been publicly traded.
The usage of a number of regulatory logos, two of which characterize the SEC, can be a purple flag.
The web site discover was accompanied by a September twenty eighth video, uploaded to the official Watford Corp YouTube channel:
Within the video the actor enjoying Richard Watford, Watford Corp’s fictional founder, reads a ready assertion written in damaged English.
[0:31] It’s price mentioning that the corporate registration process within the SEC is negatively have an effect on our holding operation as a complete, and decelerate its development and improvement.
No person who natively speaks English put that script collectively.
The Watford actor goes on to assert that Watford Corp “work with securities”, however “can’t meet the SEC necessities”.
If he’s speaking about securities regulation, stated necessities would require Watford Corp to reveal audited monetary experiences, proving the usage of exterior funds to pay returns.
While concurrently claiming Watford Corp has “acted strictly inside the legal guidelines”, Watford states securities regulation is “unfair and illegal”.
The actor goes on to state Watford Corp intends to file a counterclaim in opposition to the SEC (no proof of an SEC lawsuit exists).
To keep away from being referred to as out on their bullshit, viewer feedback on Watford Corp’s video have been disabled. For reference, Watford Corp has been committing securities fraud because it launched final 12 months.
On a technical degree, Watford Corp’s web site area nonetheless makes use of CloudFlare name-servers. The area registration itself hasn’t modified since July 2019.
Had US regulators truly seized the area, each of those particulars would have been up to date to replicate that.
Placing all of this collectively, the conclusion is straightforward; Watford Corp collapsed and its admins have finished a runner.
In Watford Corp’s advertising and marketing materials, such because the video linked to above, Richard Watford is performed by an actor with a British accent.
Exterior of staged advertising and marketing movies, Richard Watford as represented doesn’t exist.
All of that stated, Alexa presently estimates that 43% of Watford Corp’s web site visitors originates out of the US.
Given Watford Corp’s comparatively excessive total visitors rank (within the 15,000s), it’s not out of the query for it to be on the US regulatory radar.
Primarily based on the message offered on Watford Corp’s web site nonetheless, I’m not shopping for it.
I’ve run a search on Pacer to test if there’s any federal lawsuits involving Watford Corp or Richard Watford. None exist.
Pending any additional info surfacing, keep tuned… else chalk Watford Corp up as yet one more MLM Ponzi “sorry in your loss” bust.