T. LeMont Silver, a figure notorious for promoting fraudulent schemes, has returned with "3 To 5 Years," a new forex trading opportunity. A final judgment of $3.1 million in clawbacks was levied against Silver and his wife Karen in 2016, following his prominent role in the $850 million Zeek Rewards Ponzi scheme. Silver fled to South America after Zeek's collapse and continued to defend the operation.
His history of involvement in financial scams extends beyond Zeek Rewards. Silver had a brief association with the GoFunRewards Ponzi, which quickly fizzled. He then moved to JubiRev, a program mirroring Zeek's Ponzi points model. In a May 2013 webinar, Silver publicly stated JubiRev was not a Ponzi, only for it to collapse six weeks later. Along this path, Silver also reportedly defrauded his own legal representatives of thousands of dollars.
By 2014, Silver surfaced as an early leader within the BitClub Network Ponzi. Just a month after his connection to BitClub Network became known, he began promoting Gold Crowdfunding, a cash gifting scheme. As various ventures failed, Silver adopted the moniker "Doc." The past few years saw little activity from him; none of his previous promotions gained significant traction. "3 To 5 Years" now appears to be his latest attempt to establish a lasting operation.
The "3 To 5 Years" website provides no ownership details, no "About Us" page, and no leadership biographies. Visitors arriving without a referral link encounter only a login form. Those who enter through a referral link are directed to marketing videos narrated by Silver. The company offers no products or services to the general public. Instead, affiliates promote membership to other affiliates. This membership grants access to a passive forex trading investment, requiring a minimum investment of $350.
"3 To 5 Years" distributes referral commissions when recruited affiliates invest through the company's designated broker. These commissions are paid through a unilevel structure, reaching four levels deep. A direct recruit is placed on an affiliate's Level 1. Any individuals they recruit are placed on Level 2, and so on. Trade commissions range from 5% to 10% on Level 1, 1.05% to 2.1% on Level 2, and 0.525% to 1.05% on Levels 3 and 4. The website also mentions trade commissions tied to collected trade fees, but specifics remain unclear, including whether these are single-level or multi-tiered payouts. Affiliate membership costs and associated trading account setup fees are not disclosed on the company's website.
The scheme promises monthly returns of 20% to 30%. An official presentation claims trading accounts have generated a 95.26% return on investment since August 2019. Silver attributes these returns to "Uniglobe." In a recorded promotional pitch, he explained that "3 To 5 Years" approached several brokers to find one that would allow them to offer a multi-tiered Introducing Broker (IB) compensation structure to "their peeps." Uniglobe reportedly customized a payout system for this purpose.
"Uniglobe" refers to Uniglobe Markets, operating under Uniglobe Markets Limited. This entity is incorporated as a shell company in the Marshall Islands, a jurisdiction known for its minimal regulatory oversight. Such registrations often make it difficult for regulators to investigate or for investors to seek recourse.
The combination of forex trading and referral commissions, while not inherently illegal separately, forms an unregistered securities offering when packaged as a passive investment opportunity. Offering securities generally requires specific licensing from financial regulators in nearly every country. Neither "3 To 5 Years" nor T. LeMont Silver holds any such registration. Silver, with his extensive history, is certainly aware of what constitutes a security. Uniglobe Markets also appears to disregard these regulatory requirements.
Offering or promoting unregistered securities is a form of securities fraud and is illegal. Furthermore, "3 To 5 Years" functions as an illegal pyramid scheme. Every participant is an affiliate, and the business model lacks any genuine retail customers. An organization structured as a multi-level marketing company with no retail sales ultimately qualifies as a pyramid scheme. Whether regulators intervene to shut down "3 To 5 Years" or it collapses from a lack of new participants, the financial outcome for investors is typically negative. Individuals seeking to engage in forex trading should do so through legitimate, regulated brokers. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) maintains a database of registered investment professionals and firms.