Trafficked with Mariana Van Zeller (2020) s03e09 Episode Script
Crypto Scams
1
♪
MARIANA: I've done
stories about scammers before.
ANCHOR: Tax related scams.
REPORTER: Warning the
public about a new scam.
MARIANA: Phone scammers.
Binary options scammers.
Romance scammers.
Credit card scammers.
Identity theft scammers.
WOMAN: It's a scam.
MAN: It's a scam.
MARIANA: But I've never
met anyone like these guys.
They're all 20-somethings.
And they all live like kings.
Just hurry in the water ♪
There's a price to pay ♪
MARIANA: Mansions. Parties.
Insane cars.
Jewelry.
Ak-47s that look like jewelry.
It's a lifestyle that's made
possible by their mastery of
cryptocurrency scam called
REPORTER: The rug pull scam.
ANCHOR: The rug pull.
MARIANA: The rug pull.
If you haven't heard of
it, consider yourself lucky,
because victims lost nearly
$3 billion in 2021 alone.
This is a journey.
To the dark side.
Of the crypto craze.
(cheering)
MARIANA: Okay.
Let's do this.
DIRECTOR: Okay.
You ready?
MARIANA: Um-hmm.
Before I started reporting
on crypto currency,
I think I just thought
that it was something that
everybody else was making money
on, but I was too lazy to get
into it because I knew
very little about it.
MAN: Crypto currency.
MAN: Crypto.
WOMAN: Crypto.
MAN: Crypto.
MAN: Crypto is a way of people
taking control of their money.
MAN: It's a safe and easy
way to get into crypto.
DAVID: And I'm never wrong
about this stuff. Never.
DAMON: Fortune
favors the brave.
MARIANA: Whenever there's
something out there that it
seems like you can make so
much money fast, there is a
lot of people out there that
are just willing to exploit
those dreams or those hopes.
XAVIER: Like, where do
I start with crypto?
Crypto.
MARIANA: Actually, let's
start from the beginning.
So it started, so it
started with one person.
One day I got a
message on Instagram
from a fan of the show.
Who was such a fan, he lived in
LA, so I actually met this guy.
And he showed up with a cheese
board that he had made himself
that said "Trafficked
with Mariana Van Zeller"
and he gives me the cheeseboard
and then he says, "Hey."
XAVIER: Hey.
MARIANA: "Hey, what do you
know about crypto scams?"
XAVIER: What do you
know about crypto scams?
MARIANA: Crypto scams. One of
which is called the "rug pull."
XAVIER: Remember what I
told you about crypto?
Crypto, crypto.
Currencies, coins,
tokens, centralized financing,
decentralized financing.
But once you go defi,
it's the Wild West.
MARIANA: You do realize
that half of the things you're
saying I don't
understand right?
Uh, um.
MAN: Shall I say
what crypto is?
MAN 2: It's a very
MAN 3: Um
MAN 2: A ver, a really.
MAN 4: Uh
MAN: It's so hard, 'cause it's
not like a two sentence thing.
It's like a two hour thing.
XAVIER: I don't even
know where to start.
I mean.
MAN 2: And it's, uh, ah (bleep).
HOST: Now, if you don't know
what crypto currencies are,
we're not
entirely sure, either.
It's okay.
Experts say they are a digital
currency that's exchanged
online, that's not
tied to a government.
ANCHOR: Bitcoin is probably
the most common crypto
currency on the market, but
there are many out there.
MARIANA: So you have very little
money in an actual bank account?
XAVIER: Yeah.
MARIANA: All of
it is in crypto?
XAVIER: Exactly.
And I'm sure I'm
not the only one.
MARIANA: When was the first
time you realized you'd been
a victim of a scam?
XAVIER: I think I've been in
maybe seven or eight rug pulls.
MARIANA: That many?
XAVIER: Yes.
The first time it was
just a $500 investment.
Then the next
one, almost $10,000.
MARIANA: And then what
happened to the bit?
Just, you lost it?
XAVIER: You just move on.
There's nothing you can do.
Decentralized financing.
So, there's no rules,
nothing applies.
MARIANA: Right. Okay, so the
first time you lost $500.
XAVIER: Right.
MARIANA: And it was a rug pull?
XAVIER: Yes. Let me explain
how this rug pull works
in the form of a margarita.
MARIANA: Great,
love margaritas.
XAVIER: When we launch the
token, the scam token,
you have this amount of
your actual token.
MARIANA: Okay.
So before scammers start to
promote this new offering,
they've already bought
a big chunk of it at
a very low price.
XAVIER: As people are buying
in and it goes up and up and up,
there's no stopping, just
keeps going up the charts.
MARIANA: So that's the
money I'm putting in.
XAVIER: Exactly. Exactly.
MARIANA: Filling
up the coffers.
XAVIER: Now you have
more investors coming in.
More shillers
pushing the product.
Nonstop, Twitter.
Telegram, pushing it, getting
paid to promote a certain token.
So your average newbie investor
sees that and is thinking,
"Oh, I better get into it
right now, it looks great."
Going, and going, and
going, people are buying in.
MAN: Buy, buy, buy.
XAVIER: Going, and going, and
going, thousands of people.
MAN: Going and going.
MARIANA: They're all
getting super excited.
XAVIER: Correct.
Next thing you know?
The scammer walks out.
MARIANA: He walks out?
XAVIER: Yes.
MARIANA: With all the money?
XAVIER: Exactly.
MARIANA: That's right.
Just when the excitement
around the token reaches a
fever pitch, the scammer pulls
the rug, selling all of his
holdings and sending
the price crashing.
And that's a rug pull?
XAVIER: That's a rug pull.
It's amazing to me that so
many people can do this.
MARIANA: Uh-hmm.
XAVIER: And get away with it.
MARIANA: Uh-hmm.
XAVIER: Personally, I know
some people that have lost
their life savings.
MARIANA: Who are the scammers?
Who are these people that are
making millions of dollars.
XAVIER: Anybody.
MARIANA: From other people.
XAVIER: Anybody.
MARIANA: I can't quite believe
that these scams are as big
and as common as
Xavier is telling me.
XAVIER: Scams
everywhere, crypto?
Scams everywhere.
MARIANA: But it doesn't take
much research to see that
he's absolutely right.
ANCHOR: The FBI is warning
about an increase in
crypto currency scams.
ANCHOR: The rug pull
scam accounted for 37%
of the illicit revenue.
REPORTER: A Denver man thought
he'd be able to retire early,
after investing more
than $1 million.
ANCHOR: $1.6 million in total.
MAN: They disappeared
with about $3 million.
NEWS GUEST: I mean, the bad
guys all want crypto currency
because it's not traceable.
MARIANA: It seems like once
people are burnt, they either
quietly drop out
of crypto entirely.
REPORTER: It's not backed by
any banks, so consumers have
no protections and no way
of getting their money back.
MARIANA: Or, they pin their
hopes on making it back on the
next hyped up token.
NEWS GUEST: It's
really exciting.
Maybe there are
celebrities involved.
So you want to get in early.
MAN: I missed out on Google,
I missed out on Apple, so I
didn't wanna miss out on this.
MAN: Oh, it went to zero.
You've seen it live.
A (bleep) rug pull, baby.
MARIANA: If I'm looking into
scammers, what do you suggest?
XAVIER: Conventions.
The conventions.
MARIANA: The
crypto conventions?
XAVIER: Oh, correct.
MARIANA: Uh-hmm.
XAVIER: Miami, Dubai, you're
bound to meet somebody that's
trying to show off.
MARIANA: When's
the next convention?
XAVIER: Dubai.
MARIANA: Dubai?
XAVIER: Yes, next week.
MARIANA: Really?
Next week already?
XAVIER: Yes.
MARIANA: And you think for sure
there's gonna be scammers there?
XAVIER: If you ask
the right questions,
you'll find somebody.
MARIANA: Uh-hmm.
XAVIER: You'll find somebody.
This is the Wild West,
decentralized financing
is the Wild West.
♪
Yeah ♪
Put your hands up
if you in the building ♪
Put your hands up
high to the ceiling ♪
MARIANA: Much like Dubai
itself, crypto currency
seemingly came out of nowhere
creating obscene towers of
wealth, a lot of
it built on sand.
Party all day
I'mma get right ♪
MARIANA: The good, the bad,
and the ugly of crypto come
to these conferences.
Everyone is vying for attention
for their latest token.
MAN: Crypto education
MARIANA: This is the first
time that I've showed up
somewhere without a lead.
GIRL: With my heart
glasses, our hearts.
MARIANA: And without
knowing what a scammer
might even look like.
So my plan is to get the word
out that I'm looking for them
and hope that our cameras
will pique their interest.
Let's go ♪
MARIANA: Hi, why are you
dressed in a space suit?
MAN: Crypto doesn't have
any more "sky is the limits"
mentality, so it's
going to the moon.
Get it ♪
Out of nowhere
they start modeling ♪
MARIANA: Are you guys
in the crypto business?
MEN: Yes.
MARIANA: What do you do?
MARIANA: You invest in crypto?
MAN: Yeah.
MAN: Yeah.
MARIANA: So does your
company have a token
or how, what do you do?
MAN: No, my company is all
about fashion, crypto fashion.
CLIFF: Right now crypto's
not accepted for payment
everywhere, as that adopts
more, you're gonna see a whole
flood of more people come in
and these scammers are gonna
be sitting out there waiting.
MARIANA: There is a lot of
scamming in crypto, too.
Is that something
that worries you?
MAN: Yeah, but that's
where you got to do your own
research kind of thing.
People don't like to read,
people don't like to search,
they follow influencers.
MARIANA: I'm assuming there
are scammers in here too, right?
CLIFF: I would
absolutely bet that, yes.
MARIANA: Do you know
anyone who's doing rug pulls?
Any scammers?
(laughing)
Good luck.
I leave the conference
with nothing to show for it.
♪
(phone ringing)
But later, my luck changes.
Hey, can you hear me?
MAN (over phone): Yes.
MARIANA: When I finally hear
from an elusive source
I've been waiting on.
Is there any way I can get his
phone number and meet him and
talk to him directly?
He confirms that there is a
notorious scam crew in town,
headed up by someone he insists
on referring to as "Mr. X."
Okay, but he's
definitely in Dubai right?
It's rare for them to be in
the same place at the same
time, so I can't
miss meeting them.
Okay. Any idea on
where he's staying?
I mean if we have an address,
if you're willing to share
that address with me?
Awesome, okay.
Thank you.
Talk to you in a bit, bye-bye.
Hello?
MARIANA: Mr. X?
MARIANA: Hi, Mariana
here, how are you doing?
MARIANA: I am so happy we can
finally talk to you directly.
MARIANA: Yes, ma'am. Okay.
So we're on our way, I think
we should be there in the next
15, 20 minutes.
MARIANA: Great, okay.
I'll see you soon.
MARIANA: So, apparently
he's staying in this big villa
right on the water, sort of,
one of the most expensive
areas in Dubai and, uh, heard
that he's driving around in
all sorts of luxury cars
and I guess we're gonna see.
Okay.
This is it guys,
this is the house.
We have a G, Mercedes G Wagon
and a Rolls Royce
parked out front.
♪
♪
MARIANA: So we came all the
way to Dubai, we got here and
we started a
hunt for a scammer.
We went to parties, we went
to this crypto conference,
telling everybody that I was
looking for a scammer
which isn't the best
way to go about this,
but eventually we got a call.
The scammer, he's here right now
and he's willing to talk to us.
The scammers are fairly
paranoid about us identifying
where they're staying,
so it's cameras down
until we're inside.
♪
(mumbling)
MR. X: (bleep).
You're not from here, bro.
MARIANA: How many rug
pulls have you done?
MARIANA: But more than 10?
MARIANA: More than 100?
MARIANA: No. Have you been
a victim of a rug pull?
MARIANA: Oh, is that
one of the reasons you
got interested in it?
MARIANA: Do you know a lot
of other people rug pulling?
MARIANA: So, setting the
stage, where are we and
why are you guys here?
MARIANA: So you come here
and they're going to tell you
everything at these conferences
about what they're doing,
in terms of security, and you
can always be a step ahead?
MARIANA: You wanna be
called Mr. X, right?
MARIANA: What is
it that you do?
MARIANA: And you're the boss?
MARIANA: All right. Can you tell
me what each of you guys do?
MARIANA: You're sort
of the PR side of it?
MARIANA: Is it easy?
MARIANA: And what
about you, what do you do?
MARIANA: What's the most
amount of money you've ever
made on a rug pull?
MARIANA: How much?
MARIANA: Six zero?
MARIANA: $60 million?
MARIANA: You know I've
interviewed many, many, many,
many people that work in black
markets, but I've never heard
of anyone making this amount
of money with one operation.
MARIANA: So you guys, you
guys are in your 20s, right?
MARIANA: So then what
do you do with the cash?
I mean, if you're having, if
you have millions of dollars
in cash how do you,
what do you do with it?
MARIANA: How much does
that chain cost do you think?
The one you have.
MARIANA: 75,000.
And on a regular basis how
much money worth of jewelry
do you carry on you?
P: Um
MARIANA: $250,000?
♪
MARIANA: I'm along for the
ride with them today, to see
where those millions end up
once the rug has been pulled.
This car alone cost,
like, half a million dollars?
MARIANA: How much do you think
these houses are worth here?
MARIANA: And you
guys have six?
MARIANA: They tell us they've
rented six different villas,
on Palm Jumeirah, a
luxury development built
on man-made islands.
All of these are on
the water then right?
MARIANA: How many people
did you guys travel with?
MARIANA: Is this your
first time in Dubai?
MARIANA: And by
utility you mean cash?
MARIANA: Oh, so the people
that you know are in
high places here,
so they're not.
MARIANA: Get away with a lot?
♪
Gonna take myself
out on a date ♪
Limousine of
diamonds on the plate ♪
'Cause you had ♪
MARIANA: Woo-hoo.
Don't need no
damn sugar daddy ♪
MARIANA: Do your friends
and family know you're
in this business?
MARIANA: They know
that you're doing.
MARIANA: That you're stealing?
MR. X: How do you, how do you
MARIANA: I mean, all these
people are buying tokens
thinking it's
something and it's not right?
MARIANA: So, you're selling
them something that's
actually not real.
MARIANA: Yeah, but it's worth
nothing. That's the point.
MARIANA: But the people that are
investing and buying the tokens
MARIANA: Don't know that
their money is going to
disappear right?
They're going to lose money.
MARIANA: So, but if it is
not illegal, why are you guys
wearing masks, why not
just be openly doing it?
MARIANA: Right, it would.
MARIANA: Basically put a
stop to your lifestyle.
MARIANA: Do you ever feel
bad about the people that are
losing all this money?
You know we hear stories about
people who've invested,
you know, all their retirement,
or sold their dream house or
whatever, how do
you feel about that?
MARIANA: You don't care?
MARIANA: It's pretty chilling
how quickly these guys can
flip between being almost
likable and almost completely
void of empathy.
MARIANA: We heard that
there was somebody who killed
themselves after a rug pull,
after being a victim of a
rug pull, have you
guys heard of that?
MARIANA: But, I think there's
a certain, it's also because
you never meet
your victims, right?
I think that if you were to
sit down in front of somebody
who's lost a lot of money and
is crying in front of you, and
is telling you that they can't
send their kid to college,
or whatever it is.
MARIANA: They can couch
it however they want, but
essentially, they're scamming
people out of their hard
earned money and they have
absolutely no qualms about it.
Baby, I'mma get you to stay ♪
MARIANA: I'm treading a fine
line between challenging them
and maintaining
access to this world.
It feels like they trust me
now, but I still need the
invite to the main event.
This is really beautiful though,
this is really beautiful.
MARIANA: So, when you
do your next operation,
could we be with you?
MARIANA: Did you ever
think you'd be living
a life like this?
MARIANA: What is it that you
most like about this life?
MARIANA: You can do whatever?
MARIANA: And you don't
think this is going to end?
ROBERT: A couple of years ago
I had cancer and it kind of
slowed me down a little bit,
and so I spent more time with
investments, and
things of that nature.
And my son came
over and he said,
"Hey dad, have you
looked at crypto?"
And I said, "Crypto?
You mean that Bitcoin stuff?"
ANCHOR: Cryptocurrencies.
ANCHOR: Cryptocurrencies.
ANCHOR: Cryptocurrencies.
NEWS GUEST: This is
pretty confusing stuff.
REPORTER: So no
Bitcoin investments for you?
LL COOL J: I don't know
nothing about that stuff.
ROBERT: So I
started looking, right?
And so I got on the
SHIB and did very well,
and then you're ruined, right?
You're kind of wrecked.
'Cause I went from
saying things, like,
"Hey, I made $29 today
trading blue chip stocks."
And it went to, "Hey, I made
$6,000 today with crypto."
And I thought, even then, man,
this could be dangerous for
people because of
that FOMO, that lure.
You know?
HOST: Everyone's
trying to get in this game.
REPORTER: Investing in crypto
currency is the buzz right now.
ROBERT: The day
started normally.
It was a launch day.
Altex was the name of the
token and I had been involved
with this project.
It had been
delayed a couple times.
The devs were young.
Not fully doxxed.
I knew who they were and about
where they live, but they
still kept their last names
kind of, you know, secretive.
MARIANA: Despite the risk,
Robert pressed his luck
investing thousands in
what he thought
was a promising new token.
ROBERT: At launch, the devs
sold their entire bag, which
looked like this
huge rug pull.
And that left all of the
investors, including myself,
you know, holding the bag.
When all the smoke
cleared, I had $86 left.
I just, I was
wrecked, wrecked.
It's hard to describe.
Emotionally, it's devastating.
Knowing how that felt
and that others were
going through that,
that's the point that I decided
that something had to be done.
Something had to be done.
And it was gonna
start with me.
♪
ROBERT: These are just new
tokens that have launched.
MARIANA: Just when?
Oh, just today?
ROBERT: Just, well, it shows
today, over here at the last.
MARIANA: Just today, yeah.
ROBERT: Yeah.
Here's a good indication
that this is probably a scam.
You see 3% down
in the last hour?
MARIANA: Yeah.
ROBERT: But 85% in
the last 24 hours.
MARIANA: Which means
that they're dumping?
ROBERT: Something's going on.
MARIANA: But then you see
these actually, you know,
up by 6%, up by 16%.
ROBERT: But that's what
they do, they hope that,
just like you just did,
you say, "Hey, some of
these are up really big."
They hope that you'll
see that and go buy it.
MARIANA: Robert Browning is a
scam victim turned vigilante.
After being taken in a by a
rug pull, he now spends his
time hunting down
and exposing scammers.
So explain what this is.
What are these AM?
ROBERT: This is an AMA.
Now, AMA means
"Ask Me Anything."
MARIANA: And these guys use
these AMA platforms, what for?
ROBERT: To bump their token.
MARIANA: To sell it?
ROBERT: All the hype, all the
garbage. All the..
CREATOR: We're here, we're
here in chat, if people have
any questions or anything.
MARIANA: And so you go into
these chat rooms, into these
AMAs, what for?
ROBERT: Because
they're very suspicious.
MARIANA: Yeah. Why do you
think they're suspicious?
ROBERT: Because Carl sent me
a copy of a wallet that was
involved in a scam.
MARIANA: One of your guys?
ROBERT: Yeah.
And it holds this token.
MARIANA: So they've been
involved in another scam?
ROBERT: Somebody has been
a bad actor on the team.
MARIANA: When he finds a
suspicious token launch,
he questions the developers in
public forums in front of
possible
investors and victims.
ROBERT: Hey, what's up guys?
CREATOR (over phone):
What's up, man?
ROBERT: Ah, nothing, man.
Just checking it out.
CREATOR (over phone): You're
just new to the group?
ROBERT: Yeah,
yeah, yeah, yeah.
Are y'all, is this, I
mean, am I reading this right?
I mean, visually, right, it
looks an awful lot like aNrug.
You know?
I mean, you can see that.
I mean, the way, you know,
the chart crashing out
and then the liquidity.
CREATOR (over phone): You know,
that's not nice to say, because
everything is in
the pinned messages.
Anyone who does, they can
just read the pinned messages.
ROBERT: Listen, I'm not.
I'm just saying,
I'm telling you.
CREATOR (over phone): Visually.
ROBERT: Visually.
CREATOR (over phone): I
understand, but please
don't mention those
things in the VC, because
it's absolutely not true.
ROBERT: Well, I understand
that, but I mean if you could
put yourself in an investor's
position for a second, I mean,
you would want, you would want
somebody to ask that on your
behalf, wouldn't you?
I don't understand why
you're getting so defensive.
CREATOR (over phone):
Rob, I apologize.
ROBERT: You should lasso,
you should pull your boy
in there, man.
If you're legitimate, he's
making you look very, very bad.
CREATOR (over phone): Who is
looking, who is making.
ROBERT: You! You are.
You are, sir! You are.
An investor sent me here who's
got money in your project and
asked me right
because that's what we do.
MARIANA: What happened?
ROBERT: Now I'm banned.
MARIANA: Oh, he banned you?
ROBERT: Yeah.
MARIANA: They kicked
you out and banned you?
ROBERT: Yup.
That's it, I'm out.
MARIANA: So what do you think?
What do you think?
ROBERT: Scam, total scam.
MARIANA: 100% scam?
ROBERT: 100% scam.
MARIANA: How do you know?
ROBERT: I mean, who, why
would, if I came to you, right?
And you had a legitimate
thing going, and I said,
"Hey, my guy's got some money in
your project, can you explain to
me why it's not
working out this way?"
I would do anything
and everything, right?
To make sure that you understood
that your money's safe.
You know $14 billion last year,
that's a lot of money, you know.
MARIANA: Is that the
amount that was lost?
ROBERT: 14 billion, yeah.
MARIANA: $14 billion?
ROBERT: $14 billion.
MARIANA: To scammers, to
rug pulls, and honey pots.
ROBERT: To scam. Yeah.
MARIANA: Whoa.
To be clear, the
$14 billion in crypto that
scammers stole in 2021
includes a variety of schemes.
REPORTER: The biggest
Bitcoin bust in US history, in
connection with a 2016 hack of
a virtual currency exchange.
REPORTER: Delhi Police has
busted a cyber fraud module
transferring cryptocurrency.
MARIANA: It's estimated that
rug pulls account for nearly
3 billion of that total.
ROBERT: And we calculate that
we probably saved thousands of
people, millions of dollars.
Just us.
MARIANA: But busting
scammers isn't easy.
The flow of crypto
can be hard to track.
MAN: It's virtually impossible
to detect where they are and
how to track them down.
MARIANA: There's a lack of
specific laws around rug pulls
and a decent likelihood that
scammers are operating overseas.
REPORTER: One common complaint
is that police aren't doing
enough to track
down these scammers.
MARIANA: That's a big reason
why vigilante groups,
like Robert's, have taken off.
ROBERT: We pay for
bounties, and so we can.
MARIANA: And bounties, you're
basically paying people to
tell you if they see
some suspicious activity?
ROBERT: It could be a dev,
it could be an influencer.
MARIANA: Uh-hmm.
How much do you
pay for these tips?
ROBERT: Well, in the last 30
days of its existence,
we paid about $17,500.
MARIANA: Wow.
That's a lot of money.
ROBERT: It's a
lot of money, yeah.
MARIANA: Where does
that money come from?
ROBERT: Well, we have a token.
SEEK Token and it's really
there to fund our mission.
MARIANA: Yup.
Even the vigilantes who have
been burned by crypto have
their own crypto token.
ROBERT: We have had
death threats, and
all the good things.
MARIANA: You've
gotten death threats?
ROBERT: Oh absolutely.
Yeah, constant.
MARIANA: And they know
who you are and they
know where you live?
ROBERT: Oh, absolutely.
Yeah, my coordinates were
in a previous article,
my GPS coordinates.
MARIANA: So, how do
you feel about that?
ROBERT: I mean, I keep
my team safe, you know?
I've taken security
precautions at my home.
MARIANA: You have?
ROBERT: Yeah, oh yeah.
MARIANA: Such as?
ROBERT: Such as
private stuff, yeah.
I'm American, we
have firearms.
You know, so.
MARIANA: Does your wife
worry about the security
aspect of this?
ROBERT: You know, it concerns
her, but at the same time, too,
I don't, I don't tell my
wife every time that somebody
named the Buttcorn
Bandit threatens to kill me.
MARIANA: Is that the
name that they use?
ROBERT: That was one of my
first death threats ever, was
the Buttcorn Bandit.
Yeah.
If you want me to be afraid
I'm okay with that, but you
gotta be something a
little stronger than
the Buttcorn Bandit.
MARIANA: So, what would you
say to the rug pullers and the
scammers out there who
claim that what they're
doing is not illegal
and, to some extent, they say
it's not even morally wrong,
because people are investing
ROBERT: You know you can't
take something that doesn't
belong to you and call that
a bad investment,
that's stealing.
They put people
in jail for that.
In some places they cut your
hands off, but in crypto, they
think they get a free pass.
AGENT: The FBI have seen a
number of crypto currency scams.
We certainly do hear a lot of
tales of how crypto currency
has a lot of gray areas and
undefined areas that this
isn't money, so money
rules shouldn't apply.
When individuals are under the
understanding, or assumption
of a particular promise, and
then that's not delivered,
that is fraud.
Fraud is fraud.
MARIANA: Aren't you afraid
that you might get caught?
MARIANA: There's not a lot of
laws out there right now to
sort of regulate
what you guys do.
MARIANA: Are you afraid
that the law will catch up?
AGENT: What we often find
is that new technology is
first adopted by predatory
individuals and in the last
year we've seen an
exponential growth of
crypto currency related fraud.
I be playing with the
money like, whoa ♪
Still got a lot more to go ♪
AGENT: Fraudsters who are
engaged in rug pulls have to
have an internal justification
for the type of actions that
they're taking.
It can be that the victims
should know better and
not be victimized.
It should be that, "Well this
technology works this way,
it's their problem.
Their problem, that they
weren't aware of that."
The same argument would say
that, "Well, because I can get
into your house,
I can rob you."
They are a criminal
enterprise, trying to remove
folks from their
hard earned money.
Man with the
money like a toddler ♪
AGENT: We'll make sure
that those actors will
be held to justice.
Yeah
Pull up on the scene ♪
MARIANA: Despite the best
efforts of vigilantes and the
FBI, Mr. X and his crew are
still free to launch scams
with very little
effort or risk.
ROBERT: We get about 1,500
tips in a 30-day period.
MARIANA: Wow.
That's a lot.
ROBERT: Yeah, it's a lot.
MARIANA: But there is one thing
that can stop these scammers.
The markets themselves.
COLBERT: It's been a bit
of a bumpy ride recently
for crypto currency.
REPORTER: Major crypto
currencies have seen some
steep losses.
MARIANA: It was
called the crypto winter.
By mid-2022, cryptocurrencies
had lost more than $2 trillion
from their highs
the year before.
REPORTER: The crypto selloff
has left investors scrambling.
MAN: People lost
their shirts in this crash.
MARIANA: Predictably,
investors were spooked, which
meant that rug pulls were
much harder to pull off.
WOMAN: I lost over 450,000 USD,
I cannot pay the bank.
I will lose my home soon.
MARIANA: Seemingly overnight,
our access to Mr. X and his
team had vanished.
And I wasn't sure when or
if we'd ever get it back.
♪
♪
MARIANA: Mr. X and his crew
ghosted us for a while after
we met them in Dubai,
but now they've resurfaced
in Houston, Texas.
We're here to meet Mr. X.
He sort of disappeared
on us for a while,
but he finally came through.
We started
talking to him again.
You took my day,
you stole my life ♪
Two million, two million,
two million, two million, uh ♪
MARIANA: It's definitely an
interesting time to be with him,
because crypto has
crashed dramatically since
the last time we were
with him in Dubai.
The way they
think is minimal ♪
We got hot when
the wind is cold ♪
I'm just down for
the inner soul ♪
Dream more water, mineral ♪
MARIANA: My first stop with
Mr. X though, has nothing to
do with how he's making money,
and everything to do with
how he's spending it.
This is him, last
seen in a bull mask.
Good morning.
Now leading me into his
favorite jewelry store.
Bitcoin on top of a rocket.
That's what you were
hoping would be happening
right now, right?
It's curious to me that even
though the crypto market has
crashed, these guys all
still seem to be living large.
What is this one?
ASSISTANT: Um, that's a
crypto coin we're kind
of cultivating into.
So, that should be out
pretty soon, as well.
MARIANA: Even Mr. X's
jeweler has a token
that he's promoting.
JOHNNY: You don't want to
miss this, (bleep) on me,
available October 14
on (bleep) dot com
(bleep)!
What's up?
How you doing, man?
MARIANA: Johnny Dang is
apparently the go to guy for
those who want to turn
crypto, or cash, into
gold and diamonds.
JOHNNY: Got the diamond
around that with engraving.
Perfect gold.
MARIANA: Or if you want to
bedazzle a fully functional
AK-47.
Oh, wow, it's a little heavier
than the common AK, right?
Can I ask you how
much that cost?
MARIANA: It cost some money?
JOHNNY: All right.
MARIANA: I don't think
Johnny Dang knows how
Mr. X makes his money.
Never say no to champagne.
Or that he might be using his
store to launder his profits.
Aye, aye ♪
You jumped in the hooptie,
I hopped in a Benz ♪
MARIANA: But I've been itching
since Dubai to see how these
guys actually
set up a rug pull.
What you gonna do to red,
what you gonna do red, ♪
what you gonna do to red, look
I hopped in the back as you ♪
driving this steer ♪
Here go I dropped to the ops ♪
MARIANA: Another member of
X's scam crew has surfaced.
MARIANA: S, The
Shiller, is in town.
So when you do your stuff,
when you do your shilling.
MARIANA: You use
Twitter, what else do you use?
MARIANA: With my phone?
MARIANA: Okay.
MARIANA: New tokens.
Okay. Let's try that.
MARIANA: How many of
these things are there? Lists.
MARIANA: Crypto moonshots,
crypto moonshots, a lot of
hype around this one.
Bullish!
S: There's a (bleep) one.
MARIANA: Kermit Inu is the
next generation, Republic Inu
is an upcoming influencer
backed, take the world by storm.
MARIANA: Yeah, there's a
bunch of rugs every day.
Not even these scammers know
which of these tokens are real
and which are fake.
And that's exactly the point.
How does it work?
MARIANA: And people, people
actually believe, believe
these lines?
MARIANA: So make
it seem like it's.
MARIANA: Much
bigger than it is?
MARIANA: All right.
MARIANA: People
that work for you?
MARIANA: So you want
them to promote stuff.
STRAHAN: Kim Kardashian, she
has agreed to pay nearly
$1.3 million for promoting
crypto currency on social media,
without providing
necessary disclosures.
REPORTER: In addition to
paying the fine, Kardashian
also agreed to cooperate with
the SECs ongoing investigation.
MARIANA: The list of
celebrities facing criticism
for pushing crypto is growing.
In most cases, no
legal lines were crossed.
But these influencers are
often getting paid big money
to hock crypto projects they
know very little about,
which is why their fans and
followers who have gotten
burned are so upset.
MAN: To the moon.
MUSK: To the moon.
REPORTER: I think Musk is
manipulating the market, and
I think you're doing
exactly the same thing.
PORTNOY: The
answer is SafeMoon.
It could be a scam,
I don't think it is.
Invest with your own money.
MARIANA: So why do
people still trust them?
MARIANA: So when is
your next rug pull?
MARIANA: So it
could happen tomorrow?
MARIANA: Hmm. Oh, so
you can do it in a day?
MARIANA: Hmm.
In 15 minutes you can get this
all done and you can launch it
right from here, right now.
MARIANA: Right now?
MARIANA: I've been waiting
for this moment since we
first met in Dubai.
Finally. Thank you.
Mr. X has agreed to
demonstrate how easy these
rug pulls are to set up.
MARIANA: He takes me to a
tattoo shop with good Wi-Fi.
MARIANA: Sit right here?
MARIANA: Okay. So how is it
done, what do we, what do you?
MARIANA: He just finds a crypto
project that's doing well,
snatches the computer code that
makes it special and renames it.
MARIANA: It's a
simple copy and paste job.
Like stealing the text of
someone else's novel and then
telling everyone to come
and buy your new book.
So, you can be at a coffee
shop, at a tattoo parlor,
wherever it is, in 15 minutes
you can get this all done and
you could launch it
right from here, right now?
MARIANA: Right now?
MARIANA: So why are
you not doing it?
MARIANA: Would it be smart for
you to launch a token right now,
with the markets
down, like they are?
MARIANA: But, if I wanted,
if I was a newbie starting at
this, I could
just go on there.
MARIANA: Find this
and do it myself?
MARIANA: So, that's not illegal?
That's totally.
MARIANA: Right.
MARIANA: But now it's the
first time that you're
saying that it's not,
it's the first time you're
saying it's not right, because.
MARIANA: Did you change
your mind? Did something?
MARIANA: Okay, but now you're.
MARIANA: You didn't
go that far last time.
MARIANA: I think you
changed your mind.
(chatter)
MARIANA: When trying to
understand scammers of any kind,
you never quite
know which way is up.
On our last day in Houston,
I hoped to meet up with Mr. X
one last time,
but he bails on me.
I mean, it's been
really just difficult to
work with these guys.
Particularly X.
He's been promising all this
access and telling us he's
gonna show us this and that,
and then, last minute,
either doesn't show up, or
nothing of what he promises
actually happens.
The night before, off camera,
Mr. X admitted to our producer
that despite earlier denials,
they've continued scamming.
But, of course, he
didn't give us any details.
They've come clean to us, and
they said that they have been
rug pulling this whole time.
Yeah.
They've just been,
basically, lying to us.
These days, you just can't
take professional scammers
at their word.
Do your friends and family
know you're in this business?
MARIANA: Do your
parents know you do this?
MARIANA: What do
they think you do?
MARIANA: Are you?
MARIANA: Does your
family know what you do?
MARIANA: Do you think
they're proud of you?
MARIANA: (bleep) no.
AGENT: Have to be
careful what we say.
I would say, for those
interested in crypto currency
scams, there are very few
individuals who have run a
fraudulent empire and are
living comfortably on the
beach in retirement,
with a large bulk of funds.
MARIANA: Hi, P.
Where are you right now?
MARIANA: Oh, you're in Ibiza.
MARIANA: You know, the
market has been crashing,
it's really, crypto is
really low right now.
Has that affected you at all?
MARIANA: Millions of dollars?
Really?
But do you still have enough
to be partying in Ibiza?
MARIANA: We can't confirm any
of this, but clearly this is
how he justifies
his decisions.
It was over before
it even began ♪
AGENT: It's often been
said that the FBI always gets
their man, whether
it's today or tomorrow.
AGENT: Those looking to
victimize U.S. citizens
should always keep an
eye looking over their back.
Eye to eye ♪
MARIANA: I think one thing is
very clear, is that they will
keep doing this.
Are there people still buying
tokens and still investing in
crypto right now?
MARIANA: They will
keep stealing your money.
They'll keep scamming.
XAVIER: People are buying
and buy, buy, buy, buy.
MARIANA: They'll keep spending
your money at Johnny Dang's,
and buying gold and diamonds.
MR. X: Yes, sir.
What should we do? ♪
MARIANA: That is guaranteed.
I'm gonna find all
the words to tell you ♪
XAVIER: You need to do your
research, heavily, before you
get into anything.
You in my life,
I had favored you ♪
To keep you ♪
To keep you ♪
Oh, yes ♪
You're the only one
who knows why I'm gone ♪
Captioned by
Cotter Media Group.
♪
MARIANA: I've done
stories about scammers before.
ANCHOR: Tax related scams.
REPORTER: Warning the
public about a new scam.
MARIANA: Phone scammers.
Binary options scammers.
Romance scammers.
Credit card scammers.
Identity theft scammers.
WOMAN: It's a scam.
MAN: It's a scam.
MARIANA: But I've never
met anyone like these guys.
They're all 20-somethings.
And they all live like kings.
Just hurry in the water ♪
There's a price to pay ♪
MARIANA: Mansions. Parties.
Insane cars.
Jewelry.
Ak-47s that look like jewelry.
It's a lifestyle that's made
possible by their mastery of
cryptocurrency scam called
REPORTER: The rug pull scam.
ANCHOR: The rug pull.
MARIANA: The rug pull.
If you haven't heard of
it, consider yourself lucky,
because victims lost nearly
$3 billion in 2021 alone.
This is a journey.
To the dark side.
Of the crypto craze.
(cheering)
MARIANA: Okay.
Let's do this.
DIRECTOR: Okay.
You ready?
MARIANA: Um-hmm.
Before I started reporting
on crypto currency,
I think I just thought
that it was something that
everybody else was making money
on, but I was too lazy to get
into it because I knew
very little about it.
MAN: Crypto currency.
MAN: Crypto.
WOMAN: Crypto.
MAN: Crypto.
MAN: Crypto is a way of people
taking control of their money.
MAN: It's a safe and easy
way to get into crypto.
DAVID: And I'm never wrong
about this stuff. Never.
DAMON: Fortune
favors the brave.
MARIANA: Whenever there's
something out there that it
seems like you can make so
much money fast, there is a
lot of people out there that
are just willing to exploit
those dreams or those hopes.
XAVIER: Like, where do
I start with crypto?
Crypto.
MARIANA: Actually, let's
start from the beginning.
So it started, so it
started with one person.
One day I got a
message on Instagram
from a fan of the show.
Who was such a fan, he lived in
LA, so I actually met this guy.
And he showed up with a cheese
board that he had made himself
that said "Trafficked
with Mariana Van Zeller"
and he gives me the cheeseboard
and then he says, "Hey."
XAVIER: Hey.
MARIANA: "Hey, what do you
know about crypto scams?"
XAVIER: What do you
know about crypto scams?
MARIANA: Crypto scams. One of
which is called the "rug pull."
XAVIER: Remember what I
told you about crypto?
Crypto, crypto.
Currencies, coins,
tokens, centralized financing,
decentralized financing.
But once you go defi,
it's the Wild West.
MARIANA: You do realize
that half of the things you're
saying I don't
understand right?
Uh, um.
MAN: Shall I say
what crypto is?
MAN 2: It's a very
MAN 3: Um
MAN 2: A ver, a really.
MAN 4: Uh
MAN: It's so hard, 'cause it's
not like a two sentence thing.
It's like a two hour thing.
XAVIER: I don't even
know where to start.
I mean.
MAN 2: And it's, uh, ah (bleep).
HOST: Now, if you don't know
what crypto currencies are,
we're not
entirely sure, either.
It's okay.
Experts say they are a digital
currency that's exchanged
online, that's not
tied to a government.
ANCHOR: Bitcoin is probably
the most common crypto
currency on the market, but
there are many out there.
MARIANA: So you have very little
money in an actual bank account?
XAVIER: Yeah.
MARIANA: All of
it is in crypto?
XAVIER: Exactly.
And I'm sure I'm
not the only one.
MARIANA: When was the first
time you realized you'd been
a victim of a scam?
XAVIER: I think I've been in
maybe seven or eight rug pulls.
MARIANA: That many?
XAVIER: Yes.
The first time it was
just a $500 investment.
Then the next
one, almost $10,000.
MARIANA: And then what
happened to the bit?
Just, you lost it?
XAVIER: You just move on.
There's nothing you can do.
Decentralized financing.
So, there's no rules,
nothing applies.
MARIANA: Right. Okay, so the
first time you lost $500.
XAVIER: Right.
MARIANA: And it was a rug pull?
XAVIER: Yes. Let me explain
how this rug pull works
in the form of a margarita.
MARIANA: Great,
love margaritas.
XAVIER: When we launch the
token, the scam token,
you have this amount of
your actual token.
MARIANA: Okay.
So before scammers start to
promote this new offering,
they've already bought
a big chunk of it at
a very low price.
XAVIER: As people are buying
in and it goes up and up and up,
there's no stopping, just
keeps going up the charts.
MARIANA: So that's the
money I'm putting in.
XAVIER: Exactly. Exactly.
MARIANA: Filling
up the coffers.
XAVIER: Now you have
more investors coming in.
More shillers
pushing the product.
Nonstop, Twitter.
Telegram, pushing it, getting
paid to promote a certain token.
So your average newbie investor
sees that and is thinking,
"Oh, I better get into it
right now, it looks great."
Going, and going, and
going, people are buying in.
MAN: Buy, buy, buy.
XAVIER: Going, and going, and
going, thousands of people.
MAN: Going and going.
MARIANA: They're all
getting super excited.
XAVIER: Correct.
Next thing you know?
The scammer walks out.
MARIANA: He walks out?
XAVIER: Yes.
MARIANA: With all the money?
XAVIER: Exactly.
MARIANA: That's right.
Just when the excitement
around the token reaches a
fever pitch, the scammer pulls
the rug, selling all of his
holdings and sending
the price crashing.
And that's a rug pull?
XAVIER: That's a rug pull.
It's amazing to me that so
many people can do this.
MARIANA: Uh-hmm.
XAVIER: And get away with it.
MARIANA: Uh-hmm.
XAVIER: Personally, I know
some people that have lost
their life savings.
MARIANA: Who are the scammers?
Who are these people that are
making millions of dollars.
XAVIER: Anybody.
MARIANA: From other people.
XAVIER: Anybody.
MARIANA: I can't quite believe
that these scams are as big
and as common as
Xavier is telling me.
XAVIER: Scams
everywhere, crypto?
Scams everywhere.
MARIANA: But it doesn't take
much research to see that
he's absolutely right.
ANCHOR: The FBI is warning
about an increase in
crypto currency scams.
ANCHOR: The rug pull
scam accounted for 37%
of the illicit revenue.
REPORTER: A Denver man thought
he'd be able to retire early,
after investing more
than $1 million.
ANCHOR: $1.6 million in total.
MAN: They disappeared
with about $3 million.
NEWS GUEST: I mean, the bad
guys all want crypto currency
because it's not traceable.
MARIANA: It seems like once
people are burnt, they either
quietly drop out
of crypto entirely.
REPORTER: It's not backed by
any banks, so consumers have
no protections and no way
of getting their money back.
MARIANA: Or, they pin their
hopes on making it back on the
next hyped up token.
NEWS GUEST: It's
really exciting.
Maybe there are
celebrities involved.
So you want to get in early.
MAN: I missed out on Google,
I missed out on Apple, so I
didn't wanna miss out on this.
MAN: Oh, it went to zero.
You've seen it live.
A (bleep) rug pull, baby.
MARIANA: If I'm looking into
scammers, what do you suggest?
XAVIER: Conventions.
The conventions.
MARIANA: The
crypto conventions?
XAVIER: Oh, correct.
MARIANA: Uh-hmm.
XAVIER: Miami, Dubai, you're
bound to meet somebody that's
trying to show off.
MARIANA: When's
the next convention?
XAVIER: Dubai.
MARIANA: Dubai?
XAVIER: Yes, next week.
MARIANA: Really?
Next week already?
XAVIER: Yes.
MARIANA: And you think for sure
there's gonna be scammers there?
XAVIER: If you ask
the right questions,
you'll find somebody.
MARIANA: Uh-hmm.
XAVIER: You'll find somebody.
This is the Wild West,
decentralized financing
is the Wild West.
♪
Yeah ♪
Put your hands up
if you in the building ♪
Put your hands up
high to the ceiling ♪
MARIANA: Much like Dubai
itself, crypto currency
seemingly came out of nowhere
creating obscene towers of
wealth, a lot of
it built on sand.
Party all day
I'mma get right ♪
MARIANA: The good, the bad,
and the ugly of crypto come
to these conferences.
Everyone is vying for attention
for their latest token.
MAN: Crypto education
MARIANA: This is the first
time that I've showed up
somewhere without a lead.
GIRL: With my heart
glasses, our hearts.
MARIANA: And without
knowing what a scammer
might even look like.
So my plan is to get the word
out that I'm looking for them
and hope that our cameras
will pique their interest.
Let's go ♪
MARIANA: Hi, why are you
dressed in a space suit?
MAN: Crypto doesn't have
any more "sky is the limits"
mentality, so it's
going to the moon.
Get it ♪
Out of nowhere
they start modeling ♪
MARIANA: Are you guys
in the crypto business?
MEN: Yes.
MARIANA: What do you do?
MARIANA: You invest in crypto?
MAN: Yeah.
MAN: Yeah.
MARIANA: So does your
company have a token
or how, what do you do?
MAN: No, my company is all
about fashion, crypto fashion.
CLIFF: Right now crypto's
not accepted for payment
everywhere, as that adopts
more, you're gonna see a whole
flood of more people come in
and these scammers are gonna
be sitting out there waiting.
MARIANA: There is a lot of
scamming in crypto, too.
Is that something
that worries you?
MAN: Yeah, but that's
where you got to do your own
research kind of thing.
People don't like to read,
people don't like to search,
they follow influencers.
MARIANA: I'm assuming there
are scammers in here too, right?
CLIFF: I would
absolutely bet that, yes.
MARIANA: Do you know
anyone who's doing rug pulls?
Any scammers?
(laughing)
Good luck.
I leave the conference
with nothing to show for it.
♪
(phone ringing)
But later, my luck changes.
Hey, can you hear me?
MAN (over phone): Yes.
MARIANA: When I finally hear
from an elusive source
I've been waiting on.
Is there any way I can get his
phone number and meet him and
talk to him directly?
He confirms that there is a
notorious scam crew in town,
headed up by someone he insists
on referring to as "Mr. X."
Okay, but he's
definitely in Dubai right?
It's rare for them to be in
the same place at the same
time, so I can't
miss meeting them.
Okay. Any idea on
where he's staying?
I mean if we have an address,
if you're willing to share
that address with me?
Awesome, okay.
Thank you.
Talk to you in a bit, bye-bye.
Hello?
MARIANA: Mr. X?
MARIANA: Hi, Mariana
here, how are you doing?
MARIANA: I am so happy we can
finally talk to you directly.
MARIANA: Yes, ma'am. Okay.
So we're on our way, I think
we should be there in the next
15, 20 minutes.
MARIANA: Great, okay.
I'll see you soon.
MARIANA: So, apparently
he's staying in this big villa
right on the water, sort of,
one of the most expensive
areas in Dubai and, uh, heard
that he's driving around in
all sorts of luxury cars
and I guess we're gonna see.
Okay.
This is it guys,
this is the house.
We have a G, Mercedes G Wagon
and a Rolls Royce
parked out front.
♪
♪
MARIANA: So we came all the
way to Dubai, we got here and
we started a
hunt for a scammer.
We went to parties, we went
to this crypto conference,
telling everybody that I was
looking for a scammer
which isn't the best
way to go about this,
but eventually we got a call.
The scammer, he's here right now
and he's willing to talk to us.
The scammers are fairly
paranoid about us identifying
where they're staying,
so it's cameras down
until we're inside.
♪
(mumbling)
MR. X: (bleep).
You're not from here, bro.
MARIANA: How many rug
pulls have you done?
MARIANA: But more than 10?
MARIANA: More than 100?
MARIANA: No. Have you been
a victim of a rug pull?
MARIANA: Oh, is that
one of the reasons you
got interested in it?
MARIANA: Do you know a lot
of other people rug pulling?
MARIANA: So, setting the
stage, where are we and
why are you guys here?
MARIANA: So you come here
and they're going to tell you
everything at these conferences
about what they're doing,
in terms of security, and you
can always be a step ahead?
MARIANA: You wanna be
called Mr. X, right?
MARIANA: What is
it that you do?
MARIANA: And you're the boss?
MARIANA: All right. Can you tell
me what each of you guys do?
MARIANA: You're sort
of the PR side of it?
MARIANA: Is it easy?
MARIANA: And what
about you, what do you do?
MARIANA: What's the most
amount of money you've ever
made on a rug pull?
MARIANA: How much?
MARIANA: Six zero?
MARIANA: $60 million?
MARIANA: You know I've
interviewed many, many, many,
many people that work in black
markets, but I've never heard
of anyone making this amount
of money with one operation.
MARIANA: So you guys, you
guys are in your 20s, right?
MARIANA: So then what
do you do with the cash?
I mean, if you're having, if
you have millions of dollars
in cash how do you,
what do you do with it?
MARIANA: How much does
that chain cost do you think?
The one you have.
MARIANA: 75,000.
And on a regular basis how
much money worth of jewelry
do you carry on you?
P: Um
MARIANA: $250,000?
♪
MARIANA: I'm along for the
ride with them today, to see
where those millions end up
once the rug has been pulled.
This car alone cost,
like, half a million dollars?
MARIANA: How much do you think
these houses are worth here?
MARIANA: And you
guys have six?
MARIANA: They tell us they've
rented six different villas,
on Palm Jumeirah, a
luxury development built
on man-made islands.
All of these are on
the water then right?
MARIANA: How many people
did you guys travel with?
MARIANA: Is this your
first time in Dubai?
MARIANA: And by
utility you mean cash?
MARIANA: Oh, so the people
that you know are in
high places here,
so they're not.
MARIANA: Get away with a lot?
♪
Gonna take myself
out on a date ♪
Limousine of
diamonds on the plate ♪
'Cause you had ♪
MARIANA: Woo-hoo.
Don't need no
damn sugar daddy ♪
MARIANA: Do your friends
and family know you're
in this business?
MARIANA: They know
that you're doing.
MARIANA: That you're stealing?
MR. X: How do you, how do you
MARIANA: I mean, all these
people are buying tokens
thinking it's
something and it's not right?
MARIANA: So, you're selling
them something that's
actually not real.
MARIANA: Yeah, but it's worth
nothing. That's the point.
MARIANA: But the people that are
investing and buying the tokens
MARIANA: Don't know that
their money is going to
disappear right?
They're going to lose money.
MARIANA: So, but if it is
not illegal, why are you guys
wearing masks, why not
just be openly doing it?
MARIANA: Right, it would.
MARIANA: Basically put a
stop to your lifestyle.
MARIANA: Do you ever feel
bad about the people that are
losing all this money?
You know we hear stories about
people who've invested,
you know, all their retirement,
or sold their dream house or
whatever, how do
you feel about that?
MARIANA: You don't care?
MARIANA: It's pretty chilling
how quickly these guys can
flip between being almost
likable and almost completely
void of empathy.
MARIANA: We heard that
there was somebody who killed
themselves after a rug pull,
after being a victim of a
rug pull, have you
guys heard of that?
MARIANA: But, I think there's
a certain, it's also because
you never meet
your victims, right?
I think that if you were to
sit down in front of somebody
who's lost a lot of money and
is crying in front of you, and
is telling you that they can't
send their kid to college,
or whatever it is.
MARIANA: They can couch
it however they want, but
essentially, they're scamming
people out of their hard
earned money and they have
absolutely no qualms about it.
Baby, I'mma get you to stay ♪
MARIANA: I'm treading a fine
line between challenging them
and maintaining
access to this world.
It feels like they trust me
now, but I still need the
invite to the main event.
This is really beautiful though,
this is really beautiful.
MARIANA: So, when you
do your next operation,
could we be with you?
MARIANA: Did you ever
think you'd be living
a life like this?
MARIANA: What is it that you
most like about this life?
MARIANA: You can do whatever?
MARIANA: And you don't
think this is going to end?
ROBERT: A couple of years ago
I had cancer and it kind of
slowed me down a little bit,
and so I spent more time with
investments, and
things of that nature.
And my son came
over and he said,
"Hey dad, have you
looked at crypto?"
And I said, "Crypto?
You mean that Bitcoin stuff?"
ANCHOR: Cryptocurrencies.
ANCHOR: Cryptocurrencies.
ANCHOR: Cryptocurrencies.
NEWS GUEST: This is
pretty confusing stuff.
REPORTER: So no
Bitcoin investments for you?
LL COOL J: I don't know
nothing about that stuff.
ROBERT: So I
started looking, right?
And so I got on the
SHIB and did very well,
and then you're ruined, right?
You're kind of wrecked.
'Cause I went from
saying things, like,
"Hey, I made $29 today
trading blue chip stocks."
And it went to, "Hey, I made
$6,000 today with crypto."
And I thought, even then, man,
this could be dangerous for
people because of
that FOMO, that lure.
You know?
HOST: Everyone's
trying to get in this game.
REPORTER: Investing in crypto
currency is the buzz right now.
ROBERT: The day
started normally.
It was a launch day.
Altex was the name of the
token and I had been involved
with this project.
It had been
delayed a couple times.
The devs were young.
Not fully doxxed.
I knew who they were and about
where they live, but they
still kept their last names
kind of, you know, secretive.
MARIANA: Despite the risk,
Robert pressed his luck
investing thousands in
what he thought
was a promising new token.
ROBERT: At launch, the devs
sold their entire bag, which
looked like this
huge rug pull.
And that left all of the
investors, including myself,
you know, holding the bag.
When all the smoke
cleared, I had $86 left.
I just, I was
wrecked, wrecked.
It's hard to describe.
Emotionally, it's devastating.
Knowing how that felt
and that others were
going through that,
that's the point that I decided
that something had to be done.
Something had to be done.
And it was gonna
start with me.
♪
ROBERT: These are just new
tokens that have launched.
MARIANA: Just when?
Oh, just today?
ROBERT: Just, well, it shows
today, over here at the last.
MARIANA: Just today, yeah.
ROBERT: Yeah.
Here's a good indication
that this is probably a scam.
You see 3% down
in the last hour?
MARIANA: Yeah.
ROBERT: But 85% in
the last 24 hours.
MARIANA: Which means
that they're dumping?
ROBERT: Something's going on.
MARIANA: But then you see
these actually, you know,
up by 6%, up by 16%.
ROBERT: But that's what
they do, they hope that,
just like you just did,
you say, "Hey, some of
these are up really big."
They hope that you'll
see that and go buy it.
MARIANA: Robert Browning is a
scam victim turned vigilante.
After being taken in a by a
rug pull, he now spends his
time hunting down
and exposing scammers.
So explain what this is.
What are these AM?
ROBERT: This is an AMA.
Now, AMA means
"Ask Me Anything."
MARIANA: And these guys use
these AMA platforms, what for?
ROBERT: To bump their token.
MARIANA: To sell it?
ROBERT: All the hype, all the
garbage. All the..
CREATOR: We're here, we're
here in chat, if people have
any questions or anything.
MARIANA: And so you go into
these chat rooms, into these
AMAs, what for?
ROBERT: Because
they're very suspicious.
MARIANA: Yeah. Why do you
think they're suspicious?
ROBERT: Because Carl sent me
a copy of a wallet that was
involved in a scam.
MARIANA: One of your guys?
ROBERT: Yeah.
And it holds this token.
MARIANA: So they've been
involved in another scam?
ROBERT: Somebody has been
a bad actor on the team.
MARIANA: When he finds a
suspicious token launch,
he questions the developers in
public forums in front of
possible
investors and victims.
ROBERT: Hey, what's up guys?
CREATOR (over phone):
What's up, man?
ROBERT: Ah, nothing, man.
Just checking it out.
CREATOR (over phone): You're
just new to the group?
ROBERT: Yeah,
yeah, yeah, yeah.
Are y'all, is this, I
mean, am I reading this right?
I mean, visually, right, it
looks an awful lot like aNrug.
You know?
I mean, you can see that.
I mean, the way, you know,
the chart crashing out
and then the liquidity.
CREATOR (over phone): You know,
that's not nice to say, because
everything is in
the pinned messages.
Anyone who does, they can
just read the pinned messages.
ROBERT: Listen, I'm not.
I'm just saying,
I'm telling you.
CREATOR (over phone): Visually.
ROBERT: Visually.
CREATOR (over phone): I
understand, but please
don't mention those
things in the VC, because
it's absolutely not true.
ROBERT: Well, I understand
that, but I mean if you could
put yourself in an investor's
position for a second, I mean,
you would want, you would want
somebody to ask that on your
behalf, wouldn't you?
I don't understand why
you're getting so defensive.
CREATOR (over phone):
Rob, I apologize.
ROBERT: You should lasso,
you should pull your boy
in there, man.
If you're legitimate, he's
making you look very, very bad.
CREATOR (over phone): Who is
looking, who is making.
ROBERT: You! You are.
You are, sir! You are.
An investor sent me here who's
got money in your project and
asked me right
because that's what we do.
MARIANA: What happened?
ROBERT: Now I'm banned.
MARIANA: Oh, he banned you?
ROBERT: Yeah.
MARIANA: They kicked
you out and banned you?
ROBERT: Yup.
That's it, I'm out.
MARIANA: So what do you think?
What do you think?
ROBERT: Scam, total scam.
MARIANA: 100% scam?
ROBERT: 100% scam.
MARIANA: How do you know?
ROBERT: I mean, who, why
would, if I came to you, right?
And you had a legitimate
thing going, and I said,
"Hey, my guy's got some money in
your project, can you explain to
me why it's not
working out this way?"
I would do anything
and everything, right?
To make sure that you understood
that your money's safe.
You know $14 billion last year,
that's a lot of money, you know.
MARIANA: Is that the
amount that was lost?
ROBERT: 14 billion, yeah.
MARIANA: $14 billion?
ROBERT: $14 billion.
MARIANA: To scammers, to
rug pulls, and honey pots.
ROBERT: To scam. Yeah.
MARIANA: Whoa.
To be clear, the
$14 billion in crypto that
scammers stole in 2021
includes a variety of schemes.
REPORTER: The biggest
Bitcoin bust in US history, in
connection with a 2016 hack of
a virtual currency exchange.
REPORTER: Delhi Police has
busted a cyber fraud module
transferring cryptocurrency.
MARIANA: It's estimated that
rug pulls account for nearly
3 billion of that total.
ROBERT: And we calculate that
we probably saved thousands of
people, millions of dollars.
Just us.
MARIANA: But busting
scammers isn't easy.
The flow of crypto
can be hard to track.
MAN: It's virtually impossible
to detect where they are and
how to track them down.
MARIANA: There's a lack of
specific laws around rug pulls
and a decent likelihood that
scammers are operating overseas.
REPORTER: One common complaint
is that police aren't doing
enough to track
down these scammers.
MARIANA: That's a big reason
why vigilante groups,
like Robert's, have taken off.
ROBERT: We pay for
bounties, and so we can.
MARIANA: And bounties, you're
basically paying people to
tell you if they see
some suspicious activity?
ROBERT: It could be a dev,
it could be an influencer.
MARIANA: Uh-hmm.
How much do you
pay for these tips?
ROBERT: Well, in the last 30
days of its existence,
we paid about $17,500.
MARIANA: Wow.
That's a lot of money.
ROBERT: It's a
lot of money, yeah.
MARIANA: Where does
that money come from?
ROBERT: Well, we have a token.
SEEK Token and it's really
there to fund our mission.
MARIANA: Yup.
Even the vigilantes who have
been burned by crypto have
their own crypto token.
ROBERT: We have had
death threats, and
all the good things.
MARIANA: You've
gotten death threats?
ROBERT: Oh absolutely.
Yeah, constant.
MARIANA: And they know
who you are and they
know where you live?
ROBERT: Oh, absolutely.
Yeah, my coordinates were
in a previous article,
my GPS coordinates.
MARIANA: So, how do
you feel about that?
ROBERT: I mean, I keep
my team safe, you know?
I've taken security
precautions at my home.
MARIANA: You have?
ROBERT: Yeah, oh yeah.
MARIANA: Such as?
ROBERT: Such as
private stuff, yeah.
I'm American, we
have firearms.
You know, so.
MARIANA: Does your wife
worry about the security
aspect of this?
ROBERT: You know, it concerns
her, but at the same time, too,
I don't, I don't tell my
wife every time that somebody
named the Buttcorn
Bandit threatens to kill me.
MARIANA: Is that the
name that they use?
ROBERT: That was one of my
first death threats ever, was
the Buttcorn Bandit.
Yeah.
If you want me to be afraid
I'm okay with that, but you
gotta be something a
little stronger than
the Buttcorn Bandit.
MARIANA: So, what would you
say to the rug pullers and the
scammers out there who
claim that what they're
doing is not illegal
and, to some extent, they say
it's not even morally wrong,
because people are investing
ROBERT: You know you can't
take something that doesn't
belong to you and call that
a bad investment,
that's stealing.
They put people
in jail for that.
In some places they cut your
hands off, but in crypto, they
think they get a free pass.
AGENT: The FBI have seen a
number of crypto currency scams.
We certainly do hear a lot of
tales of how crypto currency
has a lot of gray areas and
undefined areas that this
isn't money, so money
rules shouldn't apply.
When individuals are under the
understanding, or assumption
of a particular promise, and
then that's not delivered,
that is fraud.
Fraud is fraud.
MARIANA: Aren't you afraid
that you might get caught?
MARIANA: There's not a lot of
laws out there right now to
sort of regulate
what you guys do.
MARIANA: Are you afraid
that the law will catch up?
AGENT: What we often find
is that new technology is
first adopted by predatory
individuals and in the last
year we've seen an
exponential growth of
crypto currency related fraud.
I be playing with the
money like, whoa ♪
Still got a lot more to go ♪
AGENT: Fraudsters who are
engaged in rug pulls have to
have an internal justification
for the type of actions that
they're taking.
It can be that the victims
should know better and
not be victimized.
It should be that, "Well this
technology works this way,
it's their problem.
Their problem, that they
weren't aware of that."
The same argument would say
that, "Well, because I can get
into your house,
I can rob you."
They are a criminal
enterprise, trying to remove
folks from their
hard earned money.
Man with the
money like a toddler ♪
AGENT: We'll make sure
that those actors will
be held to justice.
Yeah
Pull up on the scene ♪
MARIANA: Despite the best
efforts of vigilantes and the
FBI, Mr. X and his crew are
still free to launch scams
with very little
effort or risk.
ROBERT: We get about 1,500
tips in a 30-day period.
MARIANA: Wow.
That's a lot.
ROBERT: Yeah, it's a lot.
MARIANA: But there is one thing
that can stop these scammers.
The markets themselves.
COLBERT: It's been a bit
of a bumpy ride recently
for crypto currency.
REPORTER: Major crypto
currencies have seen some
steep losses.
MARIANA: It was
called the crypto winter.
By mid-2022, cryptocurrencies
had lost more than $2 trillion
from their highs
the year before.
REPORTER: The crypto selloff
has left investors scrambling.
MAN: People lost
their shirts in this crash.
MARIANA: Predictably,
investors were spooked, which
meant that rug pulls were
much harder to pull off.
WOMAN: I lost over 450,000 USD,
I cannot pay the bank.
I will lose my home soon.
MARIANA: Seemingly overnight,
our access to Mr. X and his
team had vanished.
And I wasn't sure when or
if we'd ever get it back.
♪
♪
MARIANA: Mr. X and his crew
ghosted us for a while after
we met them in Dubai,
but now they've resurfaced
in Houston, Texas.
We're here to meet Mr. X.
He sort of disappeared
on us for a while,
but he finally came through.
We started
talking to him again.
You took my day,
you stole my life ♪
Two million, two million,
two million, two million, uh ♪
MARIANA: It's definitely an
interesting time to be with him,
because crypto has
crashed dramatically since
the last time we were
with him in Dubai.
The way they
think is minimal ♪
We got hot when
the wind is cold ♪
I'm just down for
the inner soul ♪
Dream more water, mineral ♪
MARIANA: My first stop with
Mr. X though, has nothing to
do with how he's making money,
and everything to do with
how he's spending it.
This is him, last
seen in a bull mask.
Good morning.
Now leading me into his
favorite jewelry store.
Bitcoin on top of a rocket.
That's what you were
hoping would be happening
right now, right?
It's curious to me that even
though the crypto market has
crashed, these guys all
still seem to be living large.
What is this one?
ASSISTANT: Um, that's a
crypto coin we're kind
of cultivating into.
So, that should be out
pretty soon, as well.
MARIANA: Even Mr. X's
jeweler has a token
that he's promoting.
JOHNNY: You don't want to
miss this, (bleep) on me,
available October 14
on (bleep) dot com
(bleep)!
What's up?
How you doing, man?
MARIANA: Johnny Dang is
apparently the go to guy for
those who want to turn
crypto, or cash, into
gold and diamonds.
JOHNNY: Got the diamond
around that with engraving.
Perfect gold.
MARIANA: Or if you want to
bedazzle a fully functional
AK-47.
Oh, wow, it's a little heavier
than the common AK, right?
Can I ask you how
much that cost?
MARIANA: It cost some money?
JOHNNY: All right.
MARIANA: I don't think
Johnny Dang knows how
Mr. X makes his money.
Never say no to champagne.
Or that he might be using his
store to launder his profits.
Aye, aye ♪
You jumped in the hooptie,
I hopped in a Benz ♪
MARIANA: But I've been itching
since Dubai to see how these
guys actually
set up a rug pull.
What you gonna do to red,
what you gonna do red, ♪
what you gonna do to red, look
I hopped in the back as you ♪
driving this steer ♪
Here go I dropped to the ops ♪
MARIANA: Another member of
X's scam crew has surfaced.
MARIANA: S, The
Shiller, is in town.
So when you do your stuff,
when you do your shilling.
MARIANA: You use
Twitter, what else do you use?
MARIANA: With my phone?
MARIANA: Okay.
MARIANA: New tokens.
Okay. Let's try that.
MARIANA: How many of
these things are there? Lists.
MARIANA: Crypto moonshots,
crypto moonshots, a lot of
hype around this one.
Bullish!
S: There's a (bleep) one.
MARIANA: Kermit Inu is the
next generation, Republic Inu
is an upcoming influencer
backed, take the world by storm.
MARIANA: Yeah, there's a
bunch of rugs every day.
Not even these scammers know
which of these tokens are real
and which are fake.
And that's exactly the point.
How does it work?
MARIANA: And people, people
actually believe, believe
these lines?
MARIANA: So make
it seem like it's.
MARIANA: Much
bigger than it is?
MARIANA: All right.
MARIANA: People
that work for you?
MARIANA: So you want
them to promote stuff.
STRAHAN: Kim Kardashian, she
has agreed to pay nearly
$1.3 million for promoting
crypto currency on social media,
without providing
necessary disclosures.
REPORTER: In addition to
paying the fine, Kardashian
also agreed to cooperate with
the SECs ongoing investigation.
MARIANA: The list of
celebrities facing criticism
for pushing crypto is growing.
In most cases, no
legal lines were crossed.
But these influencers are
often getting paid big money
to hock crypto projects they
know very little about,
which is why their fans and
followers who have gotten
burned are so upset.
MAN: To the moon.
MUSK: To the moon.
REPORTER: I think Musk is
manipulating the market, and
I think you're doing
exactly the same thing.
PORTNOY: The
answer is SafeMoon.
It could be a scam,
I don't think it is.
Invest with your own money.
MARIANA: So why do
people still trust them?
MARIANA: So when is
your next rug pull?
MARIANA: So it
could happen tomorrow?
MARIANA: Hmm. Oh, so
you can do it in a day?
MARIANA: Hmm.
In 15 minutes you can get this
all done and you can launch it
right from here, right now.
MARIANA: Right now?
MARIANA: I've been waiting
for this moment since we
first met in Dubai.
Finally. Thank you.
Mr. X has agreed to
demonstrate how easy these
rug pulls are to set up.
MARIANA: He takes me to a
tattoo shop with good Wi-Fi.
MARIANA: Sit right here?
MARIANA: Okay. So how is it
done, what do we, what do you?
MARIANA: He just finds a crypto
project that's doing well,
snatches the computer code that
makes it special and renames it.
MARIANA: It's a
simple copy and paste job.
Like stealing the text of
someone else's novel and then
telling everyone to come
and buy your new book.
So, you can be at a coffee
shop, at a tattoo parlor,
wherever it is, in 15 minutes
you can get this all done and
you could launch it
right from here, right now?
MARIANA: Right now?
MARIANA: So why are
you not doing it?
MARIANA: Would it be smart for
you to launch a token right now,
with the markets
down, like they are?
MARIANA: But, if I wanted,
if I was a newbie starting at
this, I could
just go on there.
MARIANA: Find this
and do it myself?
MARIANA: So, that's not illegal?
That's totally.
MARIANA: Right.
MARIANA: But now it's the
first time that you're
saying that it's not,
it's the first time you're
saying it's not right, because.
MARIANA: Did you change
your mind? Did something?
MARIANA: Okay, but now you're.
MARIANA: You didn't
go that far last time.
MARIANA: I think you
changed your mind.
(chatter)
MARIANA: When trying to
understand scammers of any kind,
you never quite
know which way is up.
On our last day in Houston,
I hoped to meet up with Mr. X
one last time,
but he bails on me.
I mean, it's been
really just difficult to
work with these guys.
Particularly X.
He's been promising all this
access and telling us he's
gonna show us this and that,
and then, last minute,
either doesn't show up, or
nothing of what he promises
actually happens.
The night before, off camera,
Mr. X admitted to our producer
that despite earlier denials,
they've continued scamming.
But, of course, he
didn't give us any details.
They've come clean to us, and
they said that they have been
rug pulling this whole time.
Yeah.
They've just been,
basically, lying to us.
These days, you just can't
take professional scammers
at their word.
Do your friends and family
know you're in this business?
MARIANA: Do your
parents know you do this?
MARIANA: What do
they think you do?
MARIANA: Are you?
MARIANA: Does your
family know what you do?
MARIANA: Do you think
they're proud of you?
MARIANA: (bleep) no.
AGENT: Have to be
careful what we say.
I would say, for those
interested in crypto currency
scams, there are very few
individuals who have run a
fraudulent empire and are
living comfortably on the
beach in retirement,
with a large bulk of funds.
MARIANA: Hi, P.
Where are you right now?
MARIANA: Oh, you're in Ibiza.
MARIANA: You know, the
market has been crashing,
it's really, crypto is
really low right now.
Has that affected you at all?
MARIANA: Millions of dollars?
Really?
But do you still have enough
to be partying in Ibiza?
MARIANA: We can't confirm any
of this, but clearly this is
how he justifies
his decisions.
It was over before
it even began ♪
AGENT: It's often been
said that the FBI always gets
their man, whether
it's today or tomorrow.
AGENT: Those looking to
victimize U.S. citizens
should always keep an
eye looking over their back.
Eye to eye ♪
MARIANA: I think one thing is
very clear, is that they will
keep doing this.
Are there people still buying
tokens and still investing in
crypto right now?
MARIANA: They will
keep stealing your money.
They'll keep scamming.
XAVIER: People are buying
and buy, buy, buy, buy.
MARIANA: They'll keep spending
your money at Johnny Dang's,
and buying gold and diamonds.
MR. X: Yes, sir.
What should we do? ♪
MARIANA: That is guaranteed.
I'm gonna find all
the words to tell you ♪
XAVIER: You need to do your
research, heavily, before you
get into anything.
You in my life,
I had favored you ♪
To keep you ♪
To keep you ♪
Oh, yes ♪
You're the only one
who knows why I'm gone ♪
Captioned by
Cotter Media Group.