On March 5th, the court-appointed Receiver for the $850 million Zeek Rewards Ponzi scheme initiated legal action against nine UK residents, seeking to reclaim approximately $1.4 million in alleged illicit profits. These individuals are identified as net-winners who withdrew more money than they invested in the fraudulent program.
The Receiver's complaint names Shaun Smith, a Bridgnorth resident, as having profited $262,900 under usernames including "topincometeam." Peter William Bennett of Wokingham received $257,573 via usernames such as "orchard." Mark Anthony Ferrie, residing in Abergavenny, profited $212,072, linked to usernames like "maferrie." Gary Bryan Morris, also from Abergavenny, received $342,405, associated with the username "everychance."
Further defendants include Kalpesh Patel of Newham, London, who received $140,842 under the username "international." Parvis Parvizi, a Macclesfield resident, profited $90,518 through "globalpartners." Cathal Lambe from Omagh received $90,311 under "luckoftheirish." Adrian John Hibbert of Sully profited $82,103 via "ade," and John Noakes of Croydon, London, received $59,850, linked to "syfgroup." These amounts represent the net gains each individual allegedly withdrew from the Zeek Rewards system.
Kalpesh Patel, one of the named defendants, has a documented history of promoting multi-level marketing and pyramid schemes prior to his involvement with Zeek Rewards. A 2008 investigation by journalist Andrew Penman for the Daily Mirror detailed Patel's activities with schemes like Omi Club, VIP, LMI, MLI, and "Success University." Penman's colleague, Andrew Gregory, went undercover to a sales pitch for Success University, where Patel presented the program.
Success University, originating in the United States, charged 149.95 dollars (then approximately 76 pounds) to join and a monthly fee of 50 pounds. Patel reportedly claimed members would receive a website worth "at least 10,000 pounds to build yourself." The model involved recruiting others to sign up, with members earning 5 pounds for each direct recruit and a share of joining fees from downline recruits.
During the investigation, journalist Penman confronted Patel's associate, Ketan Hirani, suggesting the operation was a pyramid scam. Hirani insisted it was "network marketing," while Patel reportedly advised Hirani to "just say 'no comment'." These earlier reports underscore a pattern of involvement in operations resembling fraudulent schemes.
The Zeek Rewards Ponzi scheme, which collapsed in 2012, defrauded over a million victims worldwide. The Receiver's mandate is to recover funds from net-winners and other parties to distribute them equitably among the victims who lost money. Similar clawback actions have been initiated against net-winners in other countries, including Norway. The ongoing legal process aims to maximize recovery for those who invested in the fraudulent enterprise.