Following an investigation that began in 2016, Norwegian authorities have laid charges against four Crypto 888 Club Ponzi scammers.
As
reported by DN on February 7th
, the accused are:
Terje Hvidsten (right), aka Aleksander Romanov – convicted serial fraudster who is already in prison since early 2024 on separate criminal charges
Dag Haetta Eriksen, aka Dag Verner Eriksen – another serial fraudster with prior convictions
an unidentified 52-year old from Romerike “who calls himself a craftsman” – charged with laundering 306 million kroner through a Hong Kong shell company (~$27 million USD)
an unidentified 70 year old former lawyer – charged with assisting Crypto 888 Club scammers launder 768 million kroner (~$69 million USD)
BehindMLM
reviewed Crypto 888 Club
in 2015, correctly identifying it as an MLM crypto Ponzi built around “octacoin”.
Crypto 888 Club was fronted by Hvidsten’s alterego Aleksander Romanov.
Romanov was presented as a gaming tycoon who owned “over 1000 betting shops and three casinos, mainly in eastern Europe”.
In January 2016, Hvidsten’s ex-wife
turned up in BehindMLM’s comments to claim
;
Terje Hvidsten has been in jail 9 times in Norway and Germany, he lives in Ski, Norway.
Last year he got 5 years in prison for children abuse and Freud/business scam. He will start his new sentence later this year.
He together with Dag Verner Eriksen (also been in jail several times in same scam case/freud as Jarle Thorsen), use a criminal lawer [sic] ; Petter Forsberg to money laundering/transfer the money around the world.
It’s highly probably Petter Forsberg is the unnamed arrested former lawyer but at time of publication this remains unconfirmed.
As to the unidentified “52-year old from Romerike”, a BehindMLM reader tipped me off to Pål André Børsting Berntsen.
Business records
reveal Berntsen registered himself as a craftsman from Ullensaker in 2023. Ullensaker is part of Romerike.
Berntsen was also born in 1972, making him 52 if he hasn’t had his birthday this year.
Pertaining to the Norwegian criminal charges, a BehindMLM reader
cited Berntsen as Crypto 888 Club’s Chief Operating Officer
in 2016.
Additional Scandinavian fraudsters of note who promoted Crypto 888 Club include Frode Jorgensen (far left) and Rocco DiBenedetto (far right):
Jorgensen, currently running the
Daxio Ponzi scheme
from the Philippines, and DiBenedetto
joined Crypto 888 Club after their Bidify Ponzi scheme collapsed
.
By late 2016 Crypto 888 Club had collapsed twice. BehindMLM documented a
third reboot as Nano Club
in September 2016.
Nano Club collapsed in late 2017, prompting a fourth reboot as
Nano Crowd
.
Prior to the Norwegian Crypto 888 Club arrests;
Nano Club promoter Joseph Tran was
arrested in Sweden
in 2019 and
sentenced to 1 year and 9 months in prison
Belgian Nano Club promoter Stijn Vanstraelen was
arrested in Spain
in 2024 (no updates since)
Norwegian authorities claim “several thousand” documented Crypto 888
🤖 Quick Answer
What is the Crypto 888 Club case in Norway?Crypto 888 Club is a Ponzi scheme investigated by Norwegian authorities since 2016. In February 2025, four individuals were charged, including convicted serial fraudsters Terje Hvidsten (also known as Aleksander Romanov) and Dag Haetta Eriksen, along with two unidentified accomplices accused of laundering hundreds of millions of Norwegian kroner through shell companies.
Who are the main defendants charged in the Crypto 888 Club fraud?
The four charged individuals are Terje Hvidsten, a convicted serial fraudster already imprisoned since early 2024; Dag Haetta Eriksen, another serial fraudster with prior convictions; an unidentified 52-year-old from Romerike accused of laundering approximately 306 million kroner; and an unidentified
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