It is estimated that investors lost a total of 1.2 billion euros in the fraud. Getty Images
“Steven Reece Lewis” had an impressive resume that may have attracted investors to a crypto fund.
However, there is no record that Lewis ever existed, The Guardian reported.
Investors put an estimated $1.3 billion (around €1.2 billion) into the now-collapsed Hyperverse.
This is a machine translation of an article from our US colleagues at Business Insider. It was automatically translated and checked by an editor.
The man who was introduced as the CEO of a now-collapsed crypto fund appears to be dead, according to research by “The Guardian“To be a complete invention.
Hyperverse was an Australian metaverse investment plan in which thousands of investors invested up to $1.3 billion (approximately €1.2 billion) in 2022. This is according to estimates by blockchain analyst Chainalysis, which “The Guardian” reported on.
Read too
6 simple but important investment tips that will really help you get ahead, according to a CIO – and that you should definitely know for 2024
A Hyperverse membership cost at least $300 (around 270 euros) and should be converted into Hyperunits after investment. But after the investment plan failed, investors were no longer able to access their funds.
Hyperverse was identified as a potential threat by regulators in New Zealand and the UK in 2021 Fraud classified, which the founders denied.
Hyperverse’s alleged CEO is unknown to either the universities listed on his CV or the UK Business Register. YouTube
It appears to be another scam by the owners of Blockchain Global
In 2021, Hyperverse presented potential investors with a man named Steven Reece Lewis as CEO, The Guardian reported.
The long list of references included a degree from the University of Leeds and a master’s degree from the University of Cambridge, followed by a decade of experience in the IT and fintech industry.
However, when the newspaper contacted universities and searched the UK business register, no record of Lewis was found with any of the organizations mentioned by Hyperverse.
Additionally, Lewis doesn’t seem to exist online at all.
He appears to be just another part of the crypto scam created by Australian businessman Sam Lee and his partner Ryan Xu. They are listed as chairmen and founders of Hypertech Group, the parent company of Hyperverse.
Lee and Xu are also owners of collapsed Bitcoin company Blockchain Global, which still owes creditors $58 million after being placed into receivership in 2021.
Read too
A 27-year-old built a portfolio worth $2 million: That’s why he bought a fund that rose 324 percent
The pair were referred to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission over alleged breaches of the Corporations Act. But so far the regulator has said it does not intend to take any action.
Lee did not respond to email queries from The Guardian about his role at Hyper Entities or questions about Reece Lewis.
Lee and Xu did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.
Celebrities supported Hyperverse through video messages
Furthermore, Lewis and Hyperverse apparently managed to secure the support of Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, actor Chuck Norris and singer Lance Bass, reports The Guardian.
“I’m here to support Steven and Hyperverse,” Wozniak said in a video. “I can’t wait for the Hyperverse.”
“Under CEO Steven’s leadership, Hyperverse will be the leader in the Metaverse,” Norris said in a similar message shared with investors.
Read too
I asked two financial experts for their best money tips for 2024
According to The Guardian, the messages may have come from the Video request platform Cameo and there is no evidence of any wrongdoing on their part.
Cryptocurrencies are less regulated than other assets, making it easier for scammers to influence prices and defraud unsuspecting investors.
Crypto scams in Australia increased by 162 percent from 2021 to 2022, resulting in a loss of $148 million (approximately €135 million).
External content not available
Your privacy settings prevent the loading and display of all external content (e.g. graphics or tables) and social networks (e.g. Youtube, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram etc.). To display this, please activate the settings for social networks and external content in the privacy settings .
Change privacy settings