Mariska van de Langenberg launched 5 Star Signals in mid-2014, a multi-level marketing scheme claiming Irish jurisdiction while she operated from Amsterdam. The company promotes forex trading signals and automated trading, but its core business involves recruiting new members who pay monthly fees. This structure mirrors van de Langenberg's history with several prior alleged pyramid schemes.

Her career bio claims 25 years in corporate management and five years in network marketing. Public records and scheme timelines show a different path. In 2013, van de Langenberg promoted Global One, a venture that began as Ultimate Power Profits in 2012. Ultimate Power Profits initially mimicked the penny auction model of Zeek Rewards, a notorious Ponzi scheme shut down by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in August 2012. Global One then pivoted to a pure recruitment model, collapsing in mid-2013.

Van de Langenberg then shifted to Bonofa in May 2013. Bonofa required affiliates to pay fees to join, then compensated them for recruiting others. It also operated an unregistered securities points scheme, which Bonofa linked to a speculative initial public offering. Bonofa's operations ceased by late 2014, according to web traffic data. She introduced 5 Star Signals as Bonofa declined. The Irish registration appears to be a flag of convenience, given her stated Amsterdam base.

5 Star Signals offers no retail products or services. Affiliates market membership to other prospective affiliates. Members pay a fee, recruit others who also pay fees, and then collect commissions. The company adds a layer of complexity with residual payouts tied to affiliates' investments in third-party forex brokers. 5 Star Signals holds affiliate agreements with these brokers, earning a commission from any trading activity.

The compensation plan uses a 10x10 matrix structure. An affiliate occupies the top position, with ten direct recruits forming the first level. Each of these ten positions branches into ten more, creating 100 spots on the second level, and so on, for ten levels. This design theoretically offers 11.1 billion potential positions. The company itself acknowledges this matrix is impossible to fill, stating, "Make yourself no illusions, you will never be able to fill that matrix." This structure, common in pyramid schemes, obscures the actual recruitment effort needed to earn significant commissions.

Commissions vary by level: 12% on level one, 34% on level two, 8% on level three, 6% on level four, 4% on level five, 2% on levels six and seven, 3% on level eight, 4% on level nine, and 5% on level ten. These payments are monthly, contingent on all recruited affiliates maintaining their monthly fees. When affiliates trade through 5 Star Signals' partner brokers, the company takes a commission, redistributing 60% of it. Affiliates receive 40% from the trading activity of their personally recruited members and 20% from their recruits' recruits.

Automated trading commissions introduce a third level of payouts, contingent on the downline's invested capital. Affiliates with a downline investment exceeding $250,000 receive 3% of third-level automated trading earnings. This rises to 5% for over $500,000 and 7% for investments exceeding $1 million. Two quarterly pools also exist, each funded by 1% of all affiliate payments. The Personal Global Pool awards shares based on recruitment points: Copper recruits earn 1 point, Bronze 2, Silver 5, and Gold 10. Every 100 points equates to one share. The Team Global Pool operates similarly but counts downline recruits, offering 0.5 points for Copper recruits, 1 for Bronze, 3 for Silver, and 5 for Gold, with the same 100-point share conversion.

Joining 5 Star Signals costs $10, plus one of four monthly tiers: Copper ($7, non-MLM), Bronze ($27), Silver ($197), or Gold ($497). An additional $20 annual fee applies to all members. The company promotes "passive" forex returns. Securities law flags such promises as potentially indicative of an unregistered investment. 5 Star Signals does not appear registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or any other major securities regulator.

The website suggests minimum deposits of $500 to $1,000 into third-party brokers, promising monthly returns ranging from 3% to 15% depending on risk multipliers. In August 2015, van de Langenberg claimed on Facebook that "100% of the members can make money" with forex products, ensuring "the failure is taken out of the equation." Such claims of guaranteed returns are not present in legitimate trading environments.

The compensation plan of 5 Star Signals, with its reliance on chain recruitment and requiring members to pay for the ability to recruit others, fits the definition of a pyramid scheme. This is separate from any securities law violations related to the forex trading promises. The promised returns, supposedly from forex trading, raise concerns that new member money might simply pay existing members, suggesting a Ponzi scheme element.

Van de Langenberg admitted on Facebook in September 2015 to having "promoted opportunities that turned to scam in the past" and being a top leader in "a product based pyramid scheme that still goes around." Her message to victims was to conduct due diligence and accept personal blame. With 5 Star Signals, this pattern of victim-blaming continues. The scheme presents as either a pyramid scheme linked to unregulated brokers or a pyramid scheme masking a Ponzi fraud. Consumers considering such programs should consult the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's website for warnings on forex scams.