On March 25th, promoters for Ormeus Global's ORME token circulated predictions of a 4300% annual return, even as the wider cryptocurrency market experienced a sustained decline. This surge in ORME's value appears disconnected from organic demand, fueled instead by a familiar multi-level marketing recruitment model.
Affiliates are actively using ORME's temporary price spike to promote investment, often quoting highly improbable returns.
Ormeus Global began operations in mid-2017, touting a 160% return on investment, which it claimed came from an automated trading bot. The company stated its services were unavailable in the United States. But numerous American investors still joined and began recruiting others.
Among the most prominent US promoters are Troy Rejda, reportedly based in Missouri, and Mark Pooser, whose Facebook profile lists Dallas, Texas.
Public exchange data showed ORME's price climbing sharply in recent days. Trading volume on platforms like Cryptopia and HitBTC increased by over 1000%. Ormeus Global's pre-mined coins do not solely circulate through these public exchanges; the company's owners also sell them directly to affiliates.
The timing of this price surge raises questions. Reports indicate affiliates are moving investors from other schemes into Ormeus Global, often citing an "April cut off" deadline to acquire ORME coins. Rejda and Pooser quickly distributed new marketing materials, leveraging this manufactured urgency.
An email sent by Rejda around March 25th featured a Facebook post from Pooser, urging, "Been telling y'all to buy buy buy. I don't make this stuff up." Pooser's post included detailed "Ormeus Coin Price Predictions." He asserted that ORME, then trading at $1.57, would reach $68.14 within one year, representing a 4300% annual return. For 2023, he projected a price of $165.48 per coin, a 10,540% gain over five years. Pooser presented these figures as definitive answers to questions such as "Will the Ormeus Coin price rise?" and "Is it profitable to invest in Ormeus Coin?" He also stated that "Our prediction thinks it will not fall in value."
Nine months prior, Rejda promoted Ormeus Global with a consistent promise of "160% return over and over month after month."
Neither Troy Rejda nor Mark Pooser holds registration to offer securities with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), or with the state securities regulators in Missouri or Texas. Ormeus Global itself lacks registration with the SEC or any relevant state securities authority. Unregistered offerings carry significant risks for investors, lacking the disclosures and protections mandated by law.
Despite its nearly year-long operation, the Ormeus Global website continues to promote a "grand launch" event scheduled for next month in Thailand. This discrepancy suggests a potential lack of transparency regarding the company's actual operational status.
Pooser later denied creating the Facebook price predictions, stating he copied them from a third-party website. This claim does not alter the fact that he disseminated these predictions under his own name as part of a recruitment drive for Ormeus Global.
The SEC typically considers investments that promise profits from the efforts of others, especially when coupled with recruitment incentives, as securities. Unregistered offerings are illegal and deprive investors of critical information about the company and its financial health.