The Securities Commission is pleading with Bahamians who invested with Creators Alliance to contact it after declaring the venture has “the hallmarks of a pyramid scheme” - a common type of financial fraud.

Christina Rolle, its executive director, told Tribune Business that the online content investment scheme has been under investigation by the Bahamian regulator for around two weeks and the probe - which is set to continue - will be conducted alongside the Royal Bahamas Police Force.

Acknowledging that “no formal complaint” has been made to the Commission about Creators Alliance, she nevertheless disclosed that the investigation’s findings to-date have given it sufficient evidence to declare that the scheme is likely an “unlawful operation” in The Bahamas.

“We certainly are,” Ms Rolle replied, when asked by this newspaper if the Securities Commission is scrutinising Creators Alliance. “We’ve been investigating them for about two weeks. We’ve seen some activity and are confident in the things we were able to say in the statement. We expect to put put another notification to the public shortly, but I wouldn’t want to say what that notification is.”

It is unknown how many Bahamians were sucked into investing with and/or promoting Creators Alliance, so potential victims and their collective loss cannot be estimated at present. Urging persons with knowledge of the scheme to come forward, Ms Rolle said: “Certainly we would want the public to come forward because the information the public gives can help us in tracing the ultimate principals.

“No one has come forward. My team has been in touch with some people we know to have been involved, but no one has come forward with a formal complaint. To help with the tracing, if we could trace who got whom involved, we can sometimes trace where this thing leads to. 

“Unfortunately, people are really very reluctant to do so. Scammers know that and rely on that, but people shouldn’t be embarrassed to come forward.” Ms Rolle said it appeared as if Creators Alliance “had more of a presence in Freeport” than Nassau, although that does not mean potential investors and victims are confined to The Bahamas’ second city.

Tribune Business attempted to contact what appeared to be a physical office for Creators Alliance in Freeport, but the numbers either rang out or went straight to voice mail. Conceding that it was often difficult to track down, and take action against, the masterminds of such schemes who are typically based outside The Bahamas, Ms Rolle added: “It’s always very hard to put hands on the principals when many of them are offshore.

“Shutting down these types of operations is a bit tricky when they don’t have a physical presence, and is a bit trickier in terms of getting involved with Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to shut down websites. Usually you shut one down and another pops up. We’re also speaking to the police on this as well. As far as possible, we will be jointly investigating this with the police.”

Concerns over Creators Alliance have erupted in recent days with persons claiming that they had been locked or frozen out of the platform, unable to withdraw and funds, while payouts have ceased. The scheme appears to have tentacles throughout the Caribbean region, with complaints being voiced from locations such as St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Puerto Rico.

The Securities Commission, in a statement issued on Friday, warned that Creators Alliance has not been registered or licensed with itself and thus appears to be operating in this nation in violation of Bahamian law. “It has come to the attention of the Commission that Creators Alliance (CA) may be conducting activities, in or from within The Bahamas, that are either registrable/licensable or illegal under one or more of the Acts,” it said.

“The Commission hereby advises the public that Creators Alliance and its agents/representatives are not registered with or licensed by the Commission. Furthermore, its activity may be such that it constitutes a violation of one or more of the Acts.”

The Securities Commission asserted that investigations have revealed Creators Alliance appears to be operating as a multi-level pyramid scheme, with participants charged to bring new persons into the scheme, and monies injected by new investors being used to pay off older ones.

“Creators Alliance appears to be an organisation based in California, US. The Commission’s information suggests that the company’s business is that of marketing via the use of purported promotional videos of varying content,” the Bahamian regulator warned. 

“However, inquiries have determined that the entity is operating a multi-level structured programme whereby persons are recruited into the programme at one of several levels. The recruiters in turn receive a stream of income determined by the size of the recruitment. In order to enter the programme, each person is required to invest a sum of money (the purchase price) for a period of six or seven months.

“During the ‘investment period’ individuals are promised a daily income, which is generated by simply watching videos. Persons recruited are promised that they will receive their initial investment (the purchase price) at the end of the investment period,” the Securities Commission continued.

“This activity by Creators Alliance has the hallmarks of a pyramid scheme, which is a financial scheme defined by the Financial and Corporate Service Providers Act 2020. This renders Creators Alliance an unlawful operation in this jurisdiction.”

Creators Alliance, though, last week sought to reassure participants that the scheme was just working through technical difficulties. Shiro Hing, a manager of Creators Alliance, said: “I want to take a moment to clear up any concerns that have arisen over the past few hours. Creators Alliance has not crashed. Instead, we have made an elaborate shift to a new system that will greatly enhance security, efficiency and overall user experience.

“Earlier today, I had a conversation with our founder, Mark Eddo, regarding these changes. He reassured me that this transition was a necessary step in strengthening the platform and ensuring long-term sustainability for all members. While we understand that this shift may have caused temporary disruptions, please know that this was all part of a carefully planned upgrade.

“We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused. Rest assured that all salaries will be processed and received within the next few hours as final adjustments to the system are completed. We appreciate your patience, trust and commitment to Creators Alliance. If you have any questions or need assistance, our support team is available to help.”