Update (December 12, 2017): US authorities have finally begun cracking down on USI-Tech. In a statement released on December 20, 2017, the Texas State Securities Board announced that it had moved against USI-Tech, serving the operation with an emergency cease-and-desist order. According to Texas Regulators, those named in the order (Clifford Thomas from Maryland and Michael Rivera from California) had violated state securities registration standards, and failed to disclose information based on which investors could make an informed decision about the feasibility of the USI-Tech pitch. Regulators have also pointed out that the operation peddles daily returns in classic HYIP fashion, while encouraging existing members (quite a few of whom have posted comments below) to bring others into the fold, matching yet another trait of classic Ponzi schemes.
USI (United Software Intelligence) Tech is very peculiar operation, which has recently started to probe the crypto currency vertical with an extremely scam-suspicious offer. What is so peculiar about USI Tech? If you take a look at their website and you actually do some research about the “products” they offer, you won’t find a single sign telling you that this is indeed legitimate. Everything about every facet of the operation screams “scam” and a “shameless pyramid scheme,” yet there are many people out there who promote it, doubtlessly in the hopes of picking up affiliate money in the shape of commissions and rewards. There’s a thread on USI Tech at bitcointalk.org too, where all the genuine posters express suspicion and skepticism, but no one actually delivers any kind of proof to combat the buzz generated by a couple of “promoters.” At this point, calling USI Tech a 100% scam would be far-fetched on account of this lack of evidence, but the fact remains that everything about the business model the operator pushes is wrong.
It appears that usi-tech.info, the official website of the operation, has started out as a run-of-the-mill auto trading scam. It peddles some sort of shady software which is supposed to dominate Forex trading, automatically generating massive and consistent revenues for its users, in exchange for a one-time fee. Sounds too good to be true? You bet it does. The way the auto-trader is promoted is highly suspicious too. The website features a highly scammy promotional video, and it makes outrageous promises, without delivering any kind of insight into how these feats of greatness are accomplished. We don’t really find out anything about the company/people behind the operation either. The site does have an “impressum” page, where a Dubai company registration number and an address is given. The address is but a PO box at a hotel though, so it does absolutely no favors to the operation on the credibility front.
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A truly dedicated investigator will actually find out though who this operation really belongs to, although it isn’t easy by any means, as those promoting the scheme will always do their best to keep this bit of information under wraps.
The person under whose name the usi-tech.info domain has been registered is a certain Joao Felipe Fernandez Severino, a Portuguese national, who has been barred from financial activity in Portugal. This person was involved with another scam called AMC INVEST – apparently USI Tech’s first incarnation. AMC Invest offered 10% interest per month on investments and it ended up scamming hundreds of people before it was blown up by the authorities. People were arrested in connection with this case and some of them remain in custody.
If you come across a YouTube video posted by a certain OJ Jordan, in which he interviews the alleged CEO Ralf Gold and the UK rep, take it with a grain salt. This OJ character is apparently in on the scam as well.
Why do so many people seem to provide positive feedback on USI tech though? The fact that a EUR120 referral reward is offered to every new “member” one brings into the fold, may have a lot to do with it.
While on the USI Tech homepage we are told that their trading bot is not the type built on a couple of straightforward technical indicators, like most of its peers, no specifics are provided in this regard at all. We are supposed to take their promises and statements at face value and that’s it. The auto trader supposedly works with the MT4 platform, so it probably makes use of the technical indicators of the platform. The bottom line on this trading bot angle is that it’s most likely a shameless (and quite unoriginal scam).
Just when you thought things couldn’t get any shadier with the operator, you learn about USI Tech’s Bitcoin HYIP/Pyramid scheme, which promises fabulous returns of 1% per day for 140 days on one’s BTC investment. All one really needs to do to get in on this deal is to hand these trustworthy people his/her bitcoins. “Earning opportunities” abound after the investment is actually made too. Those who bring friends of theirs into the USI fold, get a 10% commission on the Bitcoin packs these friends purchase and – in classic multi-level marketing meets pyramid-scheme fashion – a 3% on the referrals those referred by them make.
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If one has any doubt in his/her mind about the true nature of this operation, in the ridiculous videos through which they promote their Ponzi scheme, the marketers of USI Tech use a series of pyramid diagrams just to make everything crystal-clear. There may indeed be a good dose of irony at work here.
Joining this Bitcoin Ponzi scheme is obviously free of charge, unlike the auto trader deal detailed above. All the perpetrators really need are their victims’ Bitcoin deposits.
Again, if you log onto YouTube or run a Google search, you will see scores of people promoting this scam. The above detailed affiliate scheme does quite a bit to explain why that is the case. Furthermore, Ponzi schemes like the USI Tech Bitcoin one, may actually pay a few of their victims for a while, from the funds deposited by their referrals. Some of these schemes may actually run as long as new people keep joining by the droves, but sooner or later they will indeed collapse, as the math just never adds up for them.
While bitcointalk forum users are cautiously suspicious in USI Tech’s regard for the time being, that’s hardly the case at Reddit, where people don’t shy away from calling this Ponzi scheme what it truly is.
Now, if you think that you are the only one who fell for this scam, think again. The domain usi-tech.info enjoys an Alexa global rank of 21,933 at the time of writing, which indicates this is a highly popular website. It’s mostly visited by people from the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany and Canada.
USI Tech Review Conclusion
The more closely you dissect USI Tech and its ridiculous offers, the more convinced you shall be that you are indeed looking at a combination of several different underhanded promotional methods and scams. We have an auto trading scam and a Bitcoin Ponzi scheme in the same package, powered by the evergreen appeal of multi-level marketing, and of course, by the never-ending supply of human ignorance.
Verdit: USI Tech is a SCAM!
Blacklisted sites: usi-tech.info, usiview.com, usitech-int.com & bitcoincashflow.net
Now, as you can see below and also in various forums, there are many positive reviews of USI Tech online. The reason quite simply might be that they offer 35% commissions on 12 referral levels in classic Ponzi fashion. If you have been scammed by them, please share your story with us by replying below. You should probably also report them to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center to prevent other people from getting scammed!
Update (November 6, 2017)
USI Tech have apparently realized that the only way to keep their system running is to constantly make announcements, release new features and have public appearances. This way, the public is kept hyped and new money keeps flowing into the system. Thus far, USI Tech have apparently paid their participants, but some of their hype-generating statements have been revealed to be nothing but lies. For instance, the operation has NOT been cleared by the SEC for the US market. That is nothing but a lie. USI Tech is not registered with the SEC in any shape or form: this can be verified by searching the Edgar database. In fact, it looks like some people have already reported the operation to the SEC. The only reason it has not yet been investigated, is the limited nature of the resources the regulator has at its disposal. If it keeps growing the way it currently does though, USI Tech may just earn a spot higher up on the SEC priority-ladder. For the time being, take a look at this document and see what the SEC’s attitude is towards operations like USI Tech.
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The operation has slowly been phasing out its Forex-robot angle, and it is now almost exclusively focused on the crypto currency packages. It has begun explaining its outlandish return rates through the generation of free energy with the aid of a magnetic generators, and the near loss-less re-conversion of heat into electricity. There’s an all-too-familiar artificial intelligence angle tossed in for seasoning too, so it’s safe to say that this one is getting wilder by the day.
Let us not forget that USI Tech have begun issuing their own crypto tokens, too.
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Update (January 24, 2024)
A press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of New York, details charges against Horst Jicha, the CEO of a crypto investment platform called USI Tech. Jicha, a German national, has been charged with securities fraud and conspiracies to commit securities fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering. He was arrested on December 23, 2023, as he entered the United States.
The indictment alleges that USI Tech was a multilevel marketing scheme disguised as a cryptocurrency investment platform. It was initially launched in Europe and later introduced in the United States in 2017. Jicha, as a co-founder and CEO, falsely guaranteed high returns and misrepresented the legality of the platform’s offerings. After facing regulatory scrutiny in the U.S. in early 2018, USI Tech abruptly ceased operations in the U.S., leaving investors unable to access their funds and resulting in substantial financial losses. It’s estimated that around $150 million in Ether and Bitcoin was transferred to addresses controlled by Jicha after the platform shut down.
Victims of this scheme are encouraged to contact the FBI at USITechFraud@fbi.gov. The charges are currently allegations, and Jicha is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Business and Securities Fraud and General Crimes Sections, with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kaitlin Farrell, Genny Ngai, and Daniel Marcus leading the prosecution.
This case highlights the U.S. government’s commitment to prosecuting financial fraud, particularly in emerging financial opportunities like cryptocurrency.
USI Tech will be bigger than Apple, the more people think its a scam the better it is for those who have actually researched this company and it’s reputation. Thank you for your doubt as it means more for us!
Lol. Get off the drugs kid.
So over the last 6 months, i have been intrigued by crypto currency, i began trading on IG, but i found that i recorded quite a lot of losses, but also if i held my equity in there i would have to pay huge holding fees. So i came across this platform that trades for you called USI-Tech for people that do not know what it is, this video explains it youtube.com/watch?v=Uu86vms1hJM.
So 6 months on i started with 20 packages which is roughly about 800, currently i am sitting on 110 packs which is roughly around 4,400 worth. In the group for USI-Tech i see that people are making some serious cash out of it and in fact some millionaires. What do you think, if Bitcoin goes to 20,000 + as predicted it really could be life changing as with USI you earn 140% in 140 working days therefore you benefit for the appreciation of the Bitcoin but also the extra 140% plus each pack you receive an ice to their crypto currency which will at least trade at $10 per coin, i currently have 30 tokens . Is a win win right because if i am holding it i may as well make a little bit more on the side also, for anyone that wants to have a look [affiliate link removed]
what does everyone think, should i sell now or wait and see how it does
So your looking at numbers on a screen and don’t actually have any of that money you mentioned in your possession?
Yes after getting this yesterday it is a scam..certain people have access to my money and others…I can’t even get to it and I don’t know if I will ever get it back.
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January 05 2018 17:14:04.
Partner Id: 123472124
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Important Notice
Extraordinary Termination of Distributor Agreement (Distributor ID: 123472124)
Dear Customer,
You are active for our company in the US and/or Canada as a distributor offering our services. We were utterly dismayed to learn that a large number of our sales partners extensively advertise our services on their own websites as well as on social media in a manner which is a breach of contract as well as illegal, and which gives the appearance that our service portfolio violates both US and Canadian law. Despite the measures which we have already initiated, this behavior has even intensified in recent weeks and months. This has already resulted in actions by the respective authorities against various distributors, as well as the first preliminary injunctions in response to this advertising behavior.
The initiation of the above-mentioned official action and the court-ordered preliminary injunctions has also inevitably placed our company in a legally problematic situation. This is due to the fact that, in the event of any doubt, it cannot be ruled out that this illegal advertising by the distributors involved will cause the relevant authorities to suspect that our company itself is promoting this type of advertising activity, or at least tolerates it. This type of alarming view by the authorities would lead to unforeseeable damage for our company as well as our sales partners who observe applicable laws. We cannot subject our company or our reputable sales partners to this danger.
Consequently, we have decided to immediately discontinue our business activities as well as our sales in the US and Canada. Unfortunately, this also has a direct consequence for you as a sales partner since the cessation of our marketing operations means that we are forced to immediately terminate our contractual relationship with you.
Although we deeply regret this step both on a business and a personal level, effective immediately we hereby summarily cancel the existing contractual relationship with you as a distributor,
or, alternatively, hereby notify you of ordinary termination as of the next possible date.
In light of the above-announced termination, effective immediately you may no longer market goods, software or other services to our customers, and we will unfortunately no longer be able to accept applications for distributor agreements from third parties from you. In order not to jeopardize the termination of our contractual cooperation, for security reasons your sales partner account in our back office will also immediately be blocked.
Naturally, we will be paying out all commissions earned up to today’s date. We expect to check your remaining unpaid commissions within the next 2 weeks, and as part of this process we will also check/offset/reclaim commission claims of various distribution partners for unlawful double payments/rebuys as well as for unlawful payments due to double-accounts (multiple registrations). Once we have concluded our audit and have determined commission claims, we will remit them to you taking into account the requirements of Section 14 of our Distributor Terms and Conditions. With respect to those sales partners whose illegal advertising behavior is responsible for this current situation, we reserve the right to assert claims for damages, which we will also enforce by offsetting them against commission claims.
We would also like to point out that, as a result of the above termination, effective immediately you must destroy and/or take offline all websites, landing pages, social media sites/chat groups (e.g., Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, WhatsApp, Telegram pp.) or other online or offline advertising materials relating to direct sales of our goods, software, other services and/or our direct sales concept. At the same time, you are obligated to immediately discontinue or cancel all current advertising and/or planned advertising, promotional events or other promotional efforts for our company. In addition, you must immediately terminate or discontinue the use of any registered internet domains, social media accounts, WhatsApp groups or comparable tools, as well as delete the associated login info and/or registrations inasfar as these internet domains, social media accounts, WhatsApp Groups or similar tools include our name, trademarks, product names or other characteristics of our company.
Compliance with the foregoing is also very important with respect to your own interests, e.g. in order to still any concerns on your part with respect to warnings or other actions for misleading or unlawful advertising by third parties or any official investigation of you, given that we have terminated our direct sales in the United States and Canada.
If you currently also use our products, software or other services as a customer, we will be promptly informing you separately regarding the continuation of our customer relationship with you.
We would like to conclude by thanking you for your commitment to our company and for your sales efforts. We extremely regret these recent negative developments caused by the behavior of dubious sales partners and wish you all the best professionally and personally.
Best regards
USI-TECH Management
This article is so wrong…
The Emergency Cease and Desist order, not to USI-Tech, but to Clifford Thomas and MIchael Rivera
Because they were promoting USI Tech on Craigslist telling people they could make a 1% Return on their “investment”.
They were breaking USI-Tech’s Terms of Service by promoting this as an investment or security.
You are only allowed to promote this as a product purchase not as an investment.
No cryptocurrency company has a license with the SEC.
USI-Tech is already aware of this Emergency Cease and Desist Order to the people who were promoting this incorrectly.
USI-Tech has a SEC Lawyer by the name of Hart David out of Chicago.
This is nothing more than a couple of dumbass rogue promoters promoting the product wrong.
The 140% Revenue USI pays it’s members is earned from:
Bitcoin mining
Ethereum Mining
Forex & Alt Coin Trading
Exchange Arbitrage
Leasing Patented Technology to other miners (added future revenue)
Bitcoin ATM’s (added future revenue)
USI-Tech uses all the legal above methods to bring in revenue and pay members their return on their btc packages.
Again.. this is about how two promoters were wrongly promoting USI-Tech nothing more.
Everyone yells scam or ponzi and does a bait an switch. They are only pitching FUD… Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt.
How is it that you are conversant with the sources of revenue when USI is reticent to divulge information of this nature? To me it seems like a pot pourri of legitimate sounding explanations that has been put together to sound good. Lets look at some of these so called sources of revenue.
Bitcoin Mining. The computing power required for Bitcoin mining is immense. Where is all of the mining taking place given the huge facilities required and the enormous power required?
Forex and Alt Coin Trading. Sounds like a really nice mix here. As a former Forex trader I find almost no similarity between forex and alt coin trading.
Exchange arbitrage. Sounds good until you look at what arbitrage actually is. Are we talking exchange rate arbitrage, cryptocurrency arbitrage or what exactly is it that is subject to the arbitrage?
Leasing patented technology. This is a really nice one. Given that the technology is patented, i.e. commercially protected, would it be possible to disclose what the patents are as they seem to be generating income.
Bitcoin ATMs. How many of the 1800 international Bitcoin ATMs do they own and where is the location?
Where are the dozens, if not hundreds, of staff located to service all of these revenue generating sources?
My friend it appears that have some skin in the game. This has all of the hallmarks, and the form of people involved, to indicate it is a Ponzi. If it waddles like a duck, quacks like a duck, has webbed feet like a duck, there is a strong chance it is a duck.
thank you for this reference , i have use the term investment everytime i share the link huhu, because a swiss told me its an investment platform and registered in sec..i got the idea from this person.. but usi tech still pays? im still a newbie there got a single pack i hope wont disappear
Is it true that USI TECH will open back up to the US and Canada soon?
Yes they updated their news feed on their backoffice stating they will cominse withdrawals once the audit of account are completed, which should be no later than next week.
Then why has the withdraw button and wallet been removed from back office since this fiasco started?
Also, the payout on BTC packages has reduced after 45 days instead of 140, for no apparent reason…there is no excuse or justification for that……..
Even if you make money on it, if it gets shut down as a scam, they may later come after the “net winners” for participating in a fraud. It has happened before with Zeek Rewards and some other HYIP programs. They clawed back “winnings” of everyone who made over $1000. Success doesn’t look like having legal problems for months or years, and also tax problems because your deductions for a fake business will also be disallowed. The only hope you have is it stays small enough for the SEC not to invest time in prosecuting it.
I’m constantly telling people this. Many won’t listen. I was with Zeek for a few months before they closed, made no money, but saw many lose their money & investigated as well, having to pay the money back.
It’s sad to see people work a whole year, solely focused on that one company, only to lose their money & their year’s work!
The Canadian government have just issued a warning about USI-TECH. Check the British Columbia Securities Commission website yourselves as they have officially added USI-Tech to its investment caution list.
To be fair, the BCSC is saying simply that USI Tech is not registered in British Colombia, and with all firms not registered in BC, they urge caution. That’s it. They don’t call USI dishonest or a scam. They’re simply stating that USI isn’t registered in BC, so proceed with caution. Which is sound advice.
For the record, CLSA, a 30-year old top London-based securities firms, is not registered in BC. Nor is SEK (Sweden’s biggie), and probably many more.
BC’s entire population is less than 5 million people. That’s a fraction of the city I live in.
Good for them, for guiding their residents with sound financial advice. How much bearing that has for those of us involved in USI is probably pretty small.
This indicates a scam. If you are selling an unregistered security in Canada, or Texas, you are scamming people. Eventually they will be banned from doing business in these countries, & all the “investors” will be losers!
In all reality, if you are selling an unregistered security anywhere you are committing fraud.
Dubai, furthermore, is known for their email, phone, & street scams…look it up!
You will notice that the company is not registered in Dubai but in another emirate in the UAE, Ras al-Khaimai. If I wished to scam someone I think I would prefer to say my company was registered in Dubai rather than Ras al-Khaimai which no – one has heard of.
Instead of voicing your idiotic opinion WHY DON’T YOU SHOW US THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN SCAMMED? Names, numbers anything..What a LOSER YOU ARE,,
Can we write your name here now?
If the money/commissions is not being paid from new recruits and is in fact from the value of bitcoin, why not just buy cryptocurrency direct? If the value of cryptocurrencies fall where will the commission and capital returns come from? Only invest in what you can afford to lose whether purchasing crypto direct or via loaning money to USI Tech to purchase packages.
There were many pieces that helped my wife and I decide to trust USI-Tech. One was hearing the COO talk about them going through the process of becoming a publicly traded company by 2020. Another was digging around and seeing them appear on the blockchains. Here’s just one shot, this one from the etherchain:
i.imgur.com/13Mi8Ft.jpg
We appreciate that for many, USI won’t feel safe for another couple years, or even forever. But I’m 61 years old. All the big money bets I’ve made in my life were ones where I got in when most of the world thought it was silly, or illegal, or would fall apart, or was a scam.
Well so far doubled my money, so I’m happy. Everything from here on out is butter. I love it.
Well, the btc packages have been so successful, we’ve got some 220,000 members or so who trusts us to the teeth. Let’s get some serious cash, hehehe. Let’s issue 500M of our own digital currency for sale to them!
Questions? What? No we better bar people from taking videos from our conventions! Otherwise, people will know the truth. Look… once we make our 50m, do you think it’s time to shut down the site?
WOW, these btc packages are so attractive, people are buying them left right and centre. I mean why wouldn’t you? a 40% return in 6.5 months… that’s insane! Even JP Morgan and the mob don’t make that much? so wait… some people are asking questions…
lol, imagine if you really could make that much money?