2024.4.23, New Zealand scammer Shelly Cullen convicted over $17m crypto pyramid scheme Lion’s Share
COMMERCE COMMISSION NEW ZEALAND
Case register
Lion’s Share and Shelly Rose Cullen
In March 2023, the New Zealand Commerce Commission commenced a prosecution against Ms Shelly Rose Cullen for her promotion (in 2020) of a pyramid selling scheme known as ‘Lion’s Share’. The Commission filed 5 charges in the North Shore District Court for breaches of section 24 (enforced via section 40(1A)) of the Fair Trading Act 1986. On 27 March 2024, the matter was heard in the North Shore District Court by way a formal proof hearing. Following that hearing, on 16 April 2024 Ms Cullen was found guilty in respect of all five charges. The matter now proceeds to sentencing (date to be confirmed).
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‘One of the biggest scammers in New Zealand’ convicted
A Kiwi woman has been convicted on a number of charges for her role promoting a global pyramid scheme here in New Zealand.
Announcing Shelly Cullen’s successful prosecution, the Commerce Commission (ComCom) urged New Zealanders to take care.
“The Commerce Commission is warning consumers about the risks and increasing sophistication of pyramid schemes, following the conviction of the lead New Zealand promoter of one of the biggest pyramid schemes the Commission has seen promoted in New Zealand,” ComCom said in a statement.
“The pyramid scheme in question, ‘Lion’s Share’, was responsible for approximately 150,000 participants worldwide losing a total of almost NZ$17 million.”
Cullen had been on the commission’s radar for some time.
She was sent a “Stop Now letter” in December 2020, according to public records – but she didn’t stop.
Cullen promoted the global cryptocurrency-based scheme in New Zealand during 2020 and 2021, targeting Māori and Pasifika communities in particular.
The ComCom’s fair trading general manager Vanessa Horne said: “The successful prosecution of Shelly Cullen under the Fair Trading Act on five charges relating to the scheme highlights a brazen disregard for potentially vulnerable consumers.”
And the commission said she publicly stated: “I am going to make history as one of the biggest scammers in New Zealand.”
Horne said 83% of participants lost money from the global scheme.
“This case was a particular focus of the commission… it also highlights a much broader risk for Kiwi consumers,” Horne said.
“When these schemes collapse, the impacts on most of those involved and their families can be devastating.”
And Cullen’s currently promoting another scheme online, Horne alleged.
“Ms Cullen has been promoting a new investment opportunity known as ‘MaVie’, and so we are urging communities to exercise caution around this and all similar schemes.
“We think this is particularly important following the Court’s finding that Lion’s Share was a pyramid scheme, and Ms Cullen’s conviction for the promotion of that scheme.
“Pyramid schemes are illegal in New Zealand under the Fair Trading Act, but some people may not recognise the features that define these schemes – so we’re reaching out directly to help get the warning to as many people as possible,” she said.
Cullen was convicted in North Shore District Court and was yet to be sentenced.
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New Zealand scammer Shelly Cullen convicted over $17m crypto pyramid scheme Lion’s Share
A promoter of a sophisticated pyramid scheme, self-described as one of the biggest scammers in New Zealand, has been convicted in North Shore District Court on five charges under the Fair Trading Act.
The Commerce Commission said Shelly Cullen promoted the global cryptocurrency-based scheme to Māori and Pasifika communities in New Zealand during 2020 and 2021, with 83 per cent of participants losing their money.
Fair Trading general manager Vanessa Horne said the pyramid scheme in question, “Lion’s Share”, was responsible for about 150,000 participants worldwide losing a total of almost $17 million.
She said Cullen showed “brazen disregard” for potentially vulnerable people and publicly stated she was “going to make history as one of the biggest scammers in New Zealand”.
“We take pyramid scheme cases seriously because of the harm they can cause in our communities. People are often misled about the financial benefits of membership and the level of risk. When these schemes collapse, the impacts on most of those involved and their families can be devastating.”
Horne said other schemes were circulating online, including one currently promoted by Cullen and others in New Zealand.
“Ms Cullen has been promoting a new investment opportunity known as ‘MaVie’, and so we are urging communities to exercise caution around this and all similar schemes.
“We think this is particularly important following the court’s finding that Lion’s Share was a pyramid scheme, and Ms Cullen’s conviction for the promotion of that scheme.”
Horne said pyramid schemes were illegal in under the Fair Trading Act, but some people may not recognise the features that define these schemes.
She said pyramid schemes were evolving with the use of social media and cryptocurrencies and often gave the appearance of legitimate revenue generating opportunities.
“Pyramid schemes usually involve purchasing a membership or making an upfront payment into schemes that are frequently promoted as ‘investment opportunities’. These schemes are primarily an opportunity to recruit new members rather than to buy or sell goods or services to make money.”
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新西兰诈骗犯 Shelly Cullen 因价值 1700 万美元的加密货币传销计划被判有罪
一名新西兰女性因金字塔诈骗计划（传销诈骗）而被判犯多项罪名。
新西兰商务委员会（ComCom）宣布Shelly Cullen成功受到起诉，并提醒新西兰人保持警惕。
委员会在声明中表示：“案件所涉及的金字塔诈骗计划名为’Lion’s Share’，全球约15万名参与者共损失近1700万纽币。”
Cullen很久前便引起了商务委员会的注意。
根据公开记录，她在2020年12月收到了一封要求她“立即停止”的信件，但她没有遵从这一建议。
Cullen在2020年和2021年期间负责在新西兰推广这一全球加密货币计划，重点针对毛利人和太平洋岛民社区。
商务委员会公平交易总经理Vanessa Horne表示：“根据《公平交易法》，Shelly Cullen因涉及该计划的五项指控而成功被起诉，这体现了对潜在脆弱消费者的公然漠视。”
Cullen公开表示：“我将成为新西兰最大的骗子之一，我将创造历史。”
Horne表示，这一全球诈骗计划中，有83%的参与者亏损。
“当这些计划爆雷时，大多数参与者及其家庭受到的影响可能是毁灭性的。”
Horne指控Cullen目前正在网上推广另一个计划。
“Cullen一直在推广名为’MaVie’的新投资机会，因此我们敦促社区对此及所有类似计划保持警惕。”
“金字塔计划在新西兰是非法的，但有些人可能无法识别它们的特征，因此我们正在直接努力将警告传达给尽可能多的人。”
商务委员会网站上对金字塔计划有如下描述：
金字塔计划有多种形式，但具有以下基本要素：
根据新会员的缴款提供金钱回报；
回报主要取决于新会员的持续招募，而不是产品或服务的销售；
许多参与者加入的主要动机是通过招募其他人来赚钱。
金字塔计划可能涉及某些“噱头”产品（例如证书），或价格过高的产品或服务，这些产品或服务几乎或完全没有转售价值，也不太可能再次购买（例如个人发展计划或一般财务信息）。
示例：三个商人发起“快速致富”计划，并告知准会员，计划的潜在回报“巨大”：90 天内至少 1 万美金，“最低潜在收入”为 16 万美金。但会员赚钱的唯一途径是招募新会员。 如果没有招募新会员，就赚不到钱。
2024.3.4 租房诈骗者专门针对在新西兰寻求住宿的中国人。警方已收到多起涉及华人社区的出租房屋诈骗案的举报。诈骗者的目标是在新西兰（特别是奥克兰市区）寻求出租房屋的中国人。不幸的是，这不是一个新的骗局，并通过不同的平台针对受害者。
（New Zealand Police News）
Rental scammers targeting Chinese people seeking New Zealand accommodation
Police have received several reports of a rental property rental scam involving the Chinese community.
The scammers are targeting China-based people who are seeking rental accommodation in New Zealand, and in particular the Auckland city area.
Unfortunately, this not a new scam and targets victims through different platforms.
We are seeing reports of this scam recently being advertised on a popular New Zealand-based Chinese web forum.
In all instances, the scammers are posing as legitimate landlords or real estate agents.
A person seeking a rental property is usually asked to make contact with the supposed landlord or agent over the messaging app WeChat.
The scammer will send alleged proof of identity through to the renter, usually in the form of a real-looking passport photo or official-looking document.
The renter is then asked to digitally sign a false tenancy agreement and transfer money, usually thousands of dollars, to a New Zealand-based bank account to secure the rental property.
The scammer often asks the renter for more money, again usually in the thousands to reserve the property, telling them a New Zealand-based tenant was also interested in the property.
If the China-based renter does not pay, the property would be rented out to the New Zealand-based renter, and they would lose it.
Often, the victim is asked for a third payment, to make sure the rental property is furnished.
Upon arriving in New Zealand however, the renter soon learns they have been scammed, when they discover that their supposed rental property is already occupied.
Police understand that these offences can be very believable. They can be carried out from anywhere in the world and are prevalent on many online platforms especially social platforms.
Tony Wright/NZ Police
2023.8.14，在奥克兰南部一栋肮脏的三居室房屋内发现数十名移民后，一项重大刑事调查正在进行中。据称，这些人为与当地招聘承包商签订的雇佣协议支付了数千美元，但自抵达以来，他们没有收到任何工作或工资。周日晚上，这些人在食物耗尽后报警，被迫乞讨。四十名男子连续几个月挤在奥克兰这座肮脏、拥挤的三居室住宅里，共用一个淋浴间，在一个炉子上做饭。印度移民普拉萨德·巴布说：“三天来，我们没有东西吃，只有喝水。没有食物，什么都没有。没有食物，先生，我们只能喝水。”他们说，他们每人支付了数万美元以获得工作机会，并与新西兰招聘承包商签订了合同，但没有工作一个小时，也没有得到一分钱。“你们从我们这里拿了两万美元来找工作。你们为什么向我们保证可以在这里过上更好的生活？这里没有更好的生活，”巴布说。他们没有过上更好的生活，而是转而乞讨。“就像乞丐一样，我们要去寺庙，吃那里的食物。我是基督徒，我甚至不能去印度寺庙，但我要去，因为我需要食物。”他们是通过认可的雇主工作签证计划抵达的，但他们没有找到工作，而是处于救济边缘——而且不仅仅是他们。“我们在这里受苦了三个月。我们连一美元都没有寄给我的家人和孩子们。他们怎么吃？” 巴布说道。新西兰移民局对涉嫌签证欺诈和移民剥削的严重刑事犯罪展开了重大调查。移民合规和调查总经理史蒂夫·沃森表示：“调查完成后，如果指控得到证实，我们将提起诉讼，并对任何违法者采取严厉行动。”但移民部长安德鲁·利特尔仍然不会承诺暂停认可雇主计划。“我们有大约 27,000 名经过认证的雇主，在新西兰有大约 77,000 名持有该计划签证的工人。绝大多数人工作得很好，”他说。“你告诉我们，你在新西兰生活得更好，你可以在这里安顿下来，你的孩子在这里接受良好的教育。这是哪里？像这样？每个人都这样睡觉？” 巴布说道。
Major criminal investigation after dozens of migrants discovered living in squalid Auckland home
14/08/2023
A major criminal investigation is underway after dozens of migrants were discovered crowded inside a squalid three-bedroom home in south Auckland.
It’s alleged the men paid thousands of dollars for employment agreements with local recruitment contractors, but since arriving they’ve received no work or pay.
On Sunday night, the men called police after their food ran out and they were forced to turn to begging.
Forty men were crammed into the filthy, overcrowded three-bedroom home in Auckland for months on end, sharing a single shower and cooking over one stove.
“Three days, we don’t have nothing to eat, only just drinking water. No food, nothing. No food, sir, we are only drinking water,” said Indian migrant Prasad Babu.
Newshub visited the Papakura property on Sunday night and found dozens of migrants crowding their street after calling in local police.
It’s a last resort. They say they paid tens of thousands of dollars each for job offers and signed contracts with New Zealand recruitment contractors, but haven’t worked an hour or seen a cent.
“You guys took $20,000 from us to get a job. Why did you promise us you can give a better life here? There is no better life here,” Babu said.
Instead of a better life, they’ve turned to begging.
“Like beggars, we are going to the temple and eating the food there. I’m a Christian, I can’t even go to the temple, Indo Temple, but I’m going because I need food.”
They arrived via the accredited employer work visa scheme but instead of jobs, they’re on the breadline – and it’s not just them.
“Three months we have been suffering here. We didn’t send even one dollar back to my family and my children. How can they eat?” Babu said.
Union Network of Migrants president Mandeep Bela walked Newshub through the property on Sunday night. Several men were crammed into a porta com out the front, suitcases were piled up into a lounge that doubles as a laundry, tiny back rooms were full of mattresses, while others sleep in the garage.
“In terms of work visa schemes – scam schemes – this is really at another level,” Bela said.
Immigration New Zealand has launched a major investigation into alleged visa fraud and migrant exploitation, which are serious criminal offences.
“Once the investigation is complete, if the charges are proven we will prosecute and we will take serious action against any offenders,” said Steve Watson, immigration compliance and investigations general manager.
So how widespread are scenes like this? The Ministry concedes it simply doesn’t know.
“Um, makes me sad for the integrity of the system being called into question because there are a large number of employers and people who come to this country and have a positive experience. And I don’t believe these people have had a positive experience,” Watson said.
But Immigration Minister Andrew Little still won’t commit to pausing the accredited employer scheme.
“We have about 27,000 accredited employers, we have about 77,000 workers here in New Zealand under visas under that scheme. The vast majority are working fine,” he said.
Even though this is the reality for who knows how many.
“You told us that you have a better life in New Zealand, you can settle with the family here, your children have a good education here. Where is it? Like this? Everybody sleeping like this?” Babu said.
They were sold a dream, but instead they bought a lie.
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