SnapBots, a digital asset investment platform, offers no public information regarding its ownership or management. The company's website, snapbots.io, registered in February 2018, was last updated on January 20th, 2020. Public records and LinkedIn profiles connect Bernard Ong, CEO of the collapsed Torque Trading Ponzi scheme, to SnapBots as its Chief Financial Officer. Ong held this position from March 2017 until August 2019, predating SnapBots' official launch.
Ong's tenure as SnapBots CFO concluded just before he launched the Torque Trading Ponzi scheme in October 2019. Snap Innovations, a Singapore-based entity described as a "Ponzi factory," lists SnapBots as one of its projects. This parent company has also been linked to other known Ponzi schemes, including Cloud Token and Torque Trading. Snap Innovations has recently attempted to distance itself from the fallout of Torque Trading's collapse.
Amin Sukisawn is identified on the Snap Innovations website as a SnapBots Ambassador. Marketing materials for SnapBots further list Snap Innovations executives Tan Duong and Donna Lee as SnapBots Ambassadors. The remaining Snap Innovations executive team is listed as SnapBots’ “research team.”
SnapBots does not offer any retailable products or services. Affiliates can only promote SnapBots itself. The platform operates on a compensation plan centered around the investment in SNAP tokens, promising investors a monthly return. Currently, the SnapBots website indicates a conversion rate of 1 SNAP token equaling 0.845 USDT. Investment solicitations also reportedly accept Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin.
Once invested, SNAP tokens are held by SnapBots, with a promised monthly return ranging from 2% to 5%. The multilevel marketing component of SnapBots’ compensation structure rewards affiliates for recruiting new members and for the returns those recruits generate. Referral and recruitment commissions are distributed through a unilevel compensation model. In this structure, affiliates are positioned at the top of their team, with personally recruited members placed on level one. Subsequent recruits fall onto lower levels, extending theoretically infinitely. However, SnapBots limits payable unilevel team levels to two.
Affiliates who pay a 1000 SNAP fee are eligible to earn recruitment and referral commissions. Level one affiliates receive 30% of their recruits’ returns. Level two affiliates earn 15% of their recruits’ returns. Recruitment commissions are derived from the 1000 SNAP fee imposed on new affiliates. Referral commissions are calculated based on the returns paid to affiliates on levels one and two.
The scheme effectively functions as a recruitment-driven operation, where earnings are directly tied to bringing new investors into the platform. This model is characteristic of Ponzi schemes, which rely on a continuous influx of new money to pay earlier investors. The lack of legitimate underlying products or services means that the platform’s sustainability depends entirely on perpetual recruitment.
The collapse of Torque Trading, and its direct links to SnapBots and Snap Innovations, raises significant concerns about the long-term viability and legitimacy of SnapBots. Investors who have placed funds into SNAP tokens may face substantial losses as the scheme inevitably unravels. Regulatory bodies often scrutinize such operations for potential securities fraud and illegal investment activities.
For individuals who believe they have been victimized by investment fraud, resources are available. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) provides information and complaint filing options on its website.