Mark Davis' AladdinBot investment scheme has ceased operations, with its website inaccessible and investor withdrawals halted since mid-January. The platform, which marketed itself as an AI-powered crypto trading bot, stopped paying out funds weeks before its public collapse. Users attempting to access the site now encounter a technical error message, masking the server's true offline status.
Attempts to visit AladdinBot's website currently redirect to a page displaying a "too many requests" error. Examination of the error page's source code reveals CloudFlare is generating this message because AladdinBot's actual server has been disabled. The "HTTP 400 error" serves as a fabricated response, obscuring the underlying server shutdown.
AladdinBot began delaying investor withdrawals around the middle of January. By early February, no funds were being paid out. Mark Davis, identified as the scheme's CEO, attributed these delays to unspecified "security issues."
Just before the complete cessation of withdrawals, AladdinBot launched a "Spring Break promotion" on February 9th. The promotion encouraged investors to "Bring a friend, bring your family and make a vacation or retreat out of this time to celebrate the end of Winter and the beginning of Spring!" The announcement also promised details on "how many qualifiers at next weeks corporate Zoom!"
Over the following week, investors realized withdrawals were not processing. This prompted a halt to the regularly scheduled "corporate Zooms." On February 13th, AladdinBot informed investors that the delays stemmed from "beta testing," "phishing attempts," and "hacking."
The company stated, "The weekly corporate zoom for tomorrow is delayed due to awaiting trading results for week 17. And incentive results and details for the future promotion scheduled for March 1. And scheduled ai telegram bot beta testing." They added, "We believe security updates on the site are in motion with higher settings to avoid phishing attempts and hacking. This also occurred about 7-10 days ago." AladdinBot's final communication, issued on February 15th, simply requested, "Please be patient while we work on solutions from the IT team."
AladdinBot operated as a Dubai-based multi-level marketing (MLM) crypto Ponzi scheme. Mark Davis, an Australian national, is believed to be residing in Indonesia. He has a history of promoting similar MLM Ponzi schemes, including AI Trade and PGI Global.
The platform's claims of AI-powered trading are a common tactic in such schemes. These operations frequently promise high, guaranteed returns, often using advanced technology as a front for unsustainable payouts funded by new investor money. Regulators worldwide have observed a pattern where platforms attribute withdrawal issues to technical glitches, security breaches, or system upgrades just before an outright collapse.
At the time of its collapse, SimilarWeb data indicated AladdinBot's website received approximately 61,000 monthly visits in January 2023. The majority of this traffic originated from the United States, accounting for 38% of visitors, followed by Hungary at 26%.
The full scope of AladdinBot's victim count and the total financial losses are not yet known. Federal agencies, including the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, regularly issue investor alerts regarding fraudulent crypto asset schemes. Investors who suspect they have been victims of a scam should file a report with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3.gov).