I thought this was a very insightful post that many frustrated GEG members and researchers would find interesting and useful.  Since MMG is only one internet portal surrounding the HYIP industry and AlphaBest’s post was slowly sinking back into a forum thread consisting of over 100-something pages, I figured it would be beneficial to post it here as an individual article.

Once again, the following post is from Bea (AlphaBest):

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We ALL fell for the dream, sadly to say… including me. I, and so many others, fell for and believed in the rosy and exciting reports that were offered by those who could actually travel to the DR and from numerous verbal reports via phone and skype from people personally known who could give more details verbally than in the written and pre-approved reports in the private forum. It was only AFTER I started seeing changes that were never explained and were not given with advance notice, that I started to ask questions that many refused to answer claiming me to be negative and a non believer. I can’t tell you how many times I was told to simply leave if I didn’t like GEG. The problem was, I didn’t want to leave, I still wanted to believe, but I also still wanted answers to sensible business questions. Digging for any level of transparency up front as many of us have tried to do, simply gets us answers that ‘if we don’t like what’s offered, don’t participate’. I do searches up front now and know what to look for.

I kept asking my contact in Atlanta, and the one in Jacksonville, and the one in Dallas and my other one in Utah to explain discrepancies and oddities that did not add up. I gave them lists of questions to ask, spelled out in very simple language, and not one single one got me answers. Not one. Either they could not get those answers or they simply refused knowing there was trouble looming in ‘paradise’. It was only after a series of circumstances finally brought some brave people out from hiding that we all started to compare notes – from travels to the DR, phone conversations with Traves, conversations with people ‘in the know’ – that a sordid picture started to emerge. Guardian never was legit. Not a bit of it was real. From day one. All our data, information, questions and contacts have been submitted to various authorities. What those authorities do with that information is now out of anyone’s hands.

There never was a Guardian Equity Fund, or Guardian Equity Group, of investors dating back 5 or more years. Many people who have now been interviewed corroborate a much different picture of Traves Virgil Brownlee’s life in the DR, as well as that of his legal wife Violeta Hernandez and their 2 children. Traves is well known in the area where he now lives and there are many who have willingly talked about his life over the past many years there. It is a very sad and shocking story.

Many seem to think that I purposely go about my life to simply ‘bring down’ or ‘destroy’ programs. Well, I am/was in them just like everyone else… to make money. Why bring down a program that was paying my bills? Doesn’t compute. As for my promoting programs… I have only promoted 2 that I am aware of…. PTV which I also thought was real as the business model was known to me since the late 70s and AFX which I have since found out is not real. I apologize to all of you for leading anyone to either of those and will not promote anything else online again. In every posting that I have made anywhere online, I have always tried to remain fair and friendly. I take pride in my honesty and integrity, regardless what any of you say. I can look at myself in the mirror each morning and be proud of who and what I am.

There are many managed forex accounts out in the REAL world, and if you do a legitimate Google search, you will find them. They all offer Limited Power of Attorney Accounts, they ALL offer daily and summary monthly emailed trade statements, and they ALL are affiliated with very large and well known brokerage firms. They ALL offer auditing of their books. In no instance did GEG / Traves ever offer that to us. There was the sham of agreements we were all to sign and return of which of course we never received executed copies. Yet another ruse to make us all think we were dealing with an honest and legit entity. Where is the accountant and/or bookkeeper who managed all the GEG income and outgo of member/partner funds? With Traves so busy ‘trading’ (read drinking, smoking and carousing), there is no way he could manage the millions upon millions of dollars he claims to have in trade.

I have yet to see one single legitimate online venture, program, club, or so called investment. I still remain hopeful that at some point there may be one true gem amongst all the sewage out there, but realize that I am simply hopeful of a pipe dream. Nothing more. GEG was a dream that I truly believed in for a very long time and was more than disappointed when I learned the truth. I am so very sorry to all those who truly think there is anything out there that is real, there isn’t. I am also so very sorry for those who have lost so much in this particular one. I personally know some who put their entire life savings, retirements plans, and mortgage payments into this, truly believing they would be able to retire on GEG earnings. One couple I know desperately needed GEG funds to pay for a needed heart surgery to save a life. Needless to say, that money never came, did it? Lives have been ruined, lives lost, families and friendships ruined, homes lost, all at the feet of Traves Virgil Brownlee. I am fortunate that I have not lost everything like some have. I still have my home, still have my many possessions, and still pay my bills, and have finally found legitimate places in which to invest. (do not ask)

I hope and pray the Iraqi dinars revalue soon as that may… MAY…. offer many of you some much needed payouts from GEG. That is of course hoping that Traves had enough sense to buy any and of course hoping that he will share in that bounty when it comes in….

So, I leave you all to ponder the above. I am sure I will be bashed yet again and again, but quite honestly I’ve gotten so used to it by now that my skin has toughened up quite considerably. I know where I stand and to whom I am accountable, and that’s all that truly matters.

Bea

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In the previous article weighing the likelihood of Guardian Equity being a scam, we discussed some of the major red flags:

#1. GEG offered its investors between 5.1% to 5.9% per week for nearly 50 weeks straight.  Some risky investments can occasionally return 20% to their investors, but such outrageous monthly performance without variance is absurd and essentially impossible in any financial market – and by “essentially impossible,” I mean a confidence level of 0.00000000001% – i.e. basically zero.

#2. Not one single form of proof has ever been displayed or referred to GEG researchers, and the only ridiculous response that followed the questioning of this absence of proof was along the lines of: “Oh…. well if you want to fly out to meet the people running the company, I know a guy who knows a guy whose best friend’s father has seen some proof regarding GEG. You could do the same.“  As if I should be required to fly out a couple thousand miles just to receive proof of legal and ethical investments, as any professional or respectable company would provide to its members via simple and convenient 24/7-available electronic resources?

#3. Discussion on GEG topics outside the officially approved “Guardian Equity forum” was forbidden. Many Guardian Equity members discussing the program outside their forum were threatened by other paranoid and/or self-righteous members and told they would be reported to GEG administration and have their accounts “banned.”  Guardian Equity refused to offer even the bare minimum proof of legitimate assets to their members, and yet these members couldn’t so much as let one peep of “GEG” outside the GEG forums without risking the safety of their account?

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As of January 28, many Guardian Equity members are now familiar with the e-mail and follow-up sent by Mr. David Cullen and Robert of GEG, respectively.  David Cullen’s side of the story indicates that Robert was not only unqualified to handle thousands of trusting individuals’ investments, but also that he does not necessarily plan on fulfilling promised payouts to GEG members.  Note that if Mr. Cullen’s testimony is true – i.e. Robert’s operation of the company was completely dysfunctional and unprofessional, no records of trades or balance sheets existed, and the program’s investments (what’s left of them anyway) are “missing” – then Robert was most likely running nothing more than a crafty ponzi scheme model the entire time.

Considering the “creativity” that’s been witnessed throughout the history of major, long-term ponzi schemes in the HYIP industry, there is some legitimate debate about the possibility of this “Robert vs Mr. Cullen” fiasco being nothing more than a clever drama designed to buy the scam artists behind GEG some more time before they run off with the remnants of GEG members’ money.  However, whether David Cullen is telling the truth or not, it appears Guardian Equity and the UPBAN (United Pacific Bancorp Limited) project is drawing its last breaths.

Activities on the official Guardian Equity forum were recently brought to a halt, leaving many GEG members complaining about being unable to access any information for days.  Several testimonies by angry members have now been brought into light, many of which sound similar to the following:  “I have been patiently waiting for Guardian Equity to complete my withdrawal request for months! They reassured us on the forums that cashouts would soon resume, but now the forum is closed!!”

I don’t think Guardian Equity’s recent actions of closing its forum after releasing troublesome news to its “investors” is a coincidence of any sort.  I think the dark secrets behind the true operations of Guardian Equity are about to come into the light; the ponzi scheme pool has dried up, and efforts are already being made to silence the uproar that will soon develop.  Unfortunately, I fear the GEG operators are currently sitting on their island in the Carribean, smuggly counting the remains of loyal GEG investors’ money, and attempting to plan their next steps to “close shop” for good.

Many Guardian Equity “investors” currently believe their funds are safely tucked away in CDs (certificates of deposit) issued by GEG / UPBAN.  CDs are generally issued by banks to balance their assets, the most common of which are mortgage-backed securities for commerical and residential real estate.  However, I fear this was just another gimmick devised by GEG owners based on these simple reasons:

#1. United Pacific Bancorp is NOT a legally registered bank
#2. GEG / UPBAN does NOT even possess basic financial statements that prove the “CDs” it is offering are properly backed by real assets, as required by real organizations.

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I have already explained this line of reasoning to many current GEG members, and most of them only ask me the following question:  “Should I withdraw my money?”

Hopefully, those who recognize these intense red flags will still have the opportunity to reclaim at least a percentage of their investments; however, at this stage, don’t be surprised to hear many angry GEG members telling stories about delayed payments and little to no communication on GEG’s part.  If you are presented with an opportunity to withdraw some of your funds from GEG – even if you face a penalty – I recommend you do so immediately.

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- Mr. Ryz

www.MrRyzFinancial.com

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Note: Comments will be enabled for those who wish to express their concerns or problems with Guardian Equity / UPBAN.  This is NOT the place, however, to rattle off cheerleader praise or “I was paid” rants.  These and all other off-topic comments will be deleted immediately.

During the past year, I’ve had many friends call me up and several random people e-mail me about my thoughts concerning the Guardian Equity Group. The reports of their successful “trading” and payouts have reached the ears of many people who have been sick and tired of the dark HYIP / Autosurf Industry.

For the past 1.5 years, the Guardian Equity Group has generated an average of 5.6% per week for members. If a member decided to cash out his or her earnings each month, a 25% fee would be charged. However, those conditions were recently changed and a new policy was adopted: A 12.5% fee is now charged each month, whether the member withdraws money from his account or not. Weekly compounding has also been downgraded to monthly compounding.

What does this indicate? Well, if you’re searching for ponzi scheme red flags in Guardian Equity Group, technically any new policies that decrease earnings or add to the manager / administrator’s pocket do increase the likelihood that the program is attempting to slow the exponential drain on the ponzi money pot. However, this policy change alone is not enough to convict the group of operating a scam, in my opinion.

What does confuse me is the reasoning behind these changes according to GEG. The group states that these measures were taken to ensure that member’s money would never “run into risk,” based on “market uncertainties” during these days and months to come. I have spoken with experienced traders this past month, and none of them have mentioned any rising levels of “market uncertainties.” I would think Guardian Equity would have been wise to elaborate on this point, though in any case, I suppose a professional forex trader could always argue he “acknowledges trends that others don’t.”

What is my stance on the Guardian Equity Group?

I believe I was officially introduced to the GEG concept last November. I decided to watch on and stay updated within my own inner circle of private forex HYIP researchers. Eventually, I decided to decline any participation Guardian Equity Group, because I just wasn’t convinced their evidence for legitimate, long-term trading was strong enough.

These are the primary reasons I did not become involved with Guardian Equity Group:

#1. GEG traders have supposedly been earning over 5% each week. On average after compounding, that’s 20 – 25% per month. Now, I am most certainly willing to recognize and state that producing consistent profits in the 20 – 30% ROI range for short term intervals is very possible. I know some stock day-traders that have earned closer to 50% per month in the short term and kept their role or “lucky streak” (as one called it) going for more than 1 full quarter.

However, notice the key words here: SHORT TERM. All expert forex traders that I’ve discussed monthly trading performance with agree that turning a 20% profit or higher each and every month is essentially impossible. It doesn’t matter how advanced or particular your forex bot is – you can NOT have a perfect record and earn profits of those heights each and every month. As stated in previous articles, some of the richest forex traders in the world make over $1 Billion a year and don’t make any more than 5% per month. That’s something to think very seriously about.

#2. I haven’t met a single individual within the Guardian Equity Group that has seen even a shred of evidence regarding the existence of GEG’s trading activity. I acknowledge the standard argument: Trading reports are privileged information and cannot be publicly distributed. Sure, that’s quite understandable, but I’m surprised even some of the more loyal members haven’t been presented with any proof of legitimate profits. Even if someone were able to honestly claim they had seen the trading records, I suppose I would be at least somewhat relieved. From what I gather, no real evidence is available.

#3. Discussion of all Guardian Equity Group related topics is completely forbidden on all other forums. In fact, on one popular HYIP related forum, Money Maker Group (MMG), a member even threatened to report all other GEG members to the program’s administration if they were found posting about GEG related topics. Why is such strict censorship needed? I can understand if GEG wanted to restrict the full, private details about their investment activities and trading secrets to a specific level of membership. However, the acts of silencing all discussion about GEG on public forums does raise that inevitable question: “What exactly are they trying to hide?” To even obtain the information I have presented thus far, I had to bang on the backdoor of private contacts.

The Verdict on Guardian Equity Group: Scam Land or Road to Riches?

I know some current GEG members will reach this point and be compelled to rant along the lines of “How DARE you put the words ‘Guardian Equity Group scam and ponzi scheme’ together!!” Yet others who have heard of GEG and are dying to know the truth will be asking- “So, should I invest or not?”

Unfortunately, I don’t have enough evidence to make a strong prediction one way or the other at this given time. I have trained myself to carefully inspect any and all red flags that suggest ponzi scheme elements, and I will say that the Guardian Equity Group does have several characteristics that make me extremely skeptical. Most of these have already been summarized above, though I will provide updates if any shocking news should come my way.

What is my recommendation to current GEG investors? Well, I always had a golden rule back in the day: If a program ever started showing any signs of potential ponzi scheme elements, I made sure to immediately cash my money out and wait 6 – 12 months before re-entering. If the program is legitimate and can exist without new member’s investments, it will survive for another year. When most long term HYIP ponzi schemes start showing major red flags, they don’t even survive for another solid 2-3 months. Therefore, if you recognize the signs, make your move and make it fast!

In fact, here’s another golden investing rule worth mention: If you haven’t put yourself in a safe position, I recommend you immediately start taking money out so you are merely playing with profits. That way, if the worst should fall upon GEG, at least you didn’t lose any of your hard earned money. Good luck!

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- Mr. Ryz

www.PonziSchemeAlert.com