The website 13 Daily Doubler, registered March 19th, 2012, lists Philippe Van Pear in Brussels, Belgium, as its registrant. A contact phone number starting with +32.49699967 also points to Belgium. This scheme offers a 13% daily return to investors.
The Brussels connection is not unique. Over the past two months, at least three other Ponzi schemes surfaced with registrants in the city. Profit Doubler, launched around February 23rd, 2012, is already defunct. Daily Cash Doubler appeared around March 7th, 2012. And 12 Daily Income went live near March 20th, 2012. All three promised high returns over short periods and listed Brussels-based domain owners.
13 Daily Doubler has no retail product or service. Members invest funds and receive advertising credits. These credits allow users to display ads on a network hosted on the 13 Daily Doubler website. The scheme promises a 13% return daily over 13 days, totaling 166% on each investment.
Investments begin at $10. A mandatory rule forces 40% of all returns back into the scheme. Investors cannot withdraw this portion. The company also pays recruitment commissions. An 8% commission goes to members who bring in new investors. A second-level commission of 4% is paid on investments from recruits of recruits.
Joining the scheme is free. But members must invest their own money to earn from the daily returns or to cash out recruitment commissions. 13 Daily Doubler generates no revenue beyond new member investments. This structure defines it as a Ponzi scheme. The 60/40 reinvestment rule will delay its collapse. Eventually, returns will outpace new money, and the system will fail.
The pattern of these Belgian-linked schemes suggests a coordinated effort, with similar high-yield offerings appearing one after another.