5 Star Signals announced legal action against former co-founder Emily Mendez, alleging extortion following revelations of the company's foundational deceptions. The company, which admitted using the alias "Marie Shaw" for trader Dean Black, published its threats in a blog post titled "Corporate Statement and Legal Actions" approximately seven months after the alleged discovery of the alias.

The company stated Marie Shaw "was actually an alias for another trader who had been shedding a great deal of light on many of the predators in the Forex industry." This statement served to reframe the internal fraud scandal as an extortion plot. 5 Star Signals claimed Mendez "demanded payment or she would go public with this story," labeling the demand as extortion and citing Department of Justice definitions.

Emily Mendez, an original co-founder, joined 5 Star Signals with an understanding it would provide forex education and trading signals. She later discovered that "Marie Shaw," along with other personas "Rosa" and "Craig Walters," were all identities used by Dean Black. Mendez had developed a friendship with the "Marie" persona and contributed significantly to the company's design and marketing efforts.

Mendez disagreed with the decision to conceal the identity fraud. As she distanced herself from the company, she found herself excluded from corporate decisions. She ultimately decided to leave. Her professional server hosted the company's website, and its corporate PayPal transactions ran through her business account. Mendez facilitated the transfer of these assets. She only requested payment for work already completed.

When Mendez submitted an invoice for her labor, Mariska Langenberg, another principal, reportedly accused her of providing no value. Langenberg then threatened Mendez with blackmail charges. Mendez had no non-disclosure agreement or other contract preventing her from speaking about her experiences. Mendez believes the company could have avoided its current troubles if it had been transparent from the outset.

Dean Black consistently lost significant funds, reportedly "99% of funds," invested by 5 Star Signals affiliates. This pattern continued through the various aliases. The company's claim that Mendez partnered with "Daily Exposed" to defame them is inaccurate. ScamTelegraph published its initial review of 5 Star Signals on October 14, 2015, following multiple reader requests. The research and writing predated any contact with Mendez or Marcum.

Emily Marcum, who had a contract with 5 Star Signals for design work, later provided source material for an article exposing the Dean Black, Marie Shaw, and Craig Walters identities. Marcum initially asked for her identity to remain private, fearing public retaliation from Langenberg. After 5 Star Signals published its legal threats against Mendez, Marcum contacted ScamTelegraph again, granting permission to cite her as a source.

Marcum stated, "It's come to my attention that van de Langenberg is blaming someone else for the information leak. I won't have her bashing someone for doing literally nothing." Marcum identified herself as a member of the 5 Star Signals sales force and design team. She also contacted Langenberg directly to clarify her position. Like Mendez, Marcum claims she was not paid for her work at 5 Star Signals.

5 Star Signals announced its intention to continue business as usual, promising "solid forex education and the best forex strategies available anywhere." The company dismissed the revelations as "a feeble attempt to derail" its operations. Dean Black continues to operate under the "Craig Walters" persona, despite the documented history of investor losses and the admitted use of aliases.

The company's business model involved offering what appear to be unregistered securities, coupled with a recruitment-driven backend, a structure that often draws scrutiny from regulatory bodies like the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or state securities regulators. Despite the admitted deception and ongoing activities, neither 5 Star Signals, Mariska Langenberg, nor Dean Black have publicly addressed the fraud carried out while Langenberg served as CEO.

Mariska Langenberg, in August 2014 correspondence, stated, "I value your website and detest companies like Bonofa. They have topleaders with a Ponzi past like Kalpesh Patel (also a bigger Zeek leader) and another one who recently spent 6 months in jail (Frank van Zon)... the latter purchased multiple 'VIP packages' and is involved in some other scams as well." Victims of investment fraud can contact the SEC's Office of Investor Education and Advocacy for guidance.