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- "Steven Reece Lewis" had an impressive CV, which may have attracted investors to a crypto scheme.
- However, there is no record of Lewis ever existing, The Guardian reported.
- Investors put an estimated $1.3 billion into the now-collapsed HyperVerse scheme.
The man presented as the CEO of a now-collapsed crypto fund appears to be a complete fabrication, according to an investigation by The Guardian.
HyperVerse was an Australian metaverse investment scheme that thousands of investors put as much as $1.3 billion into in 2022, according to estimates from blockchain analysts Chainalysis reported by the outlet.
A HyperVerse membership cost at least $300 and would be converted to HyperUnits once invested, but the scheme's failure left investors unable to access their funds.
HyperVerse was flagged by regulators in New Zealand and the UK as a potential "scam" in 2021, claims the founders have denied.
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In 2021, HyperVerse presented a man called Steven Reece Lewis as its CEO to potential investors, The Guardian reported.
A long list of credentials included a degree from Leeds University and a master's degree from Cambridge University, followed by a decade of experience in the IT and fintech sectors.
But when the outlet contacted the universities and searched the UK companies register, no record could be found of Lewis at any of the organizations mentioned by HyperVerse.
Furthermore, Lewis doesn't seem to exist online at all.
He appears to be part of the crypto scheme apparently set up by the Australian businessman Sam Lee and his partner Ryan Xu. They are listed as chairman and founder of the HyperTech group, the parent company of HyperVerse.
Lee and Xu also own the collapsed bitcoin company Blockchain Global, which owed creditors $58 million after going into administration in 2021.
The two were referred to the Australian Securities and Investments Commissions for alleged breaches of the Corporations Act, but to date the regulator has said it did not intend to take any action.
Lee did not respond to emailed questions from The Guardian about his roles with Hyper entities, or to queries about Reece Lewis.
Lee and Xu did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.
In a further twist, Lewis and HyperVerse seemingly managed to secure endorsements from the likes of Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak, actor Chuck Norris, and singer Lance Bass, The Guardian reported.
"I'm here to support Steven and HyperVerse," said Wozniak in a video. "I can't wait for the HyperVerse."
"Under the leadership of CEO Steven, HyperVerse will be the leader of metaverse space," said Norris in a similar message shared with investors.
The messages may have been obtained from the video-request platform Cameo, per The Guardian, and there is no suggestion of any wrongdoing on their part.
Cryptocurrency is less regulated than other assets, so it's easier for bad actors to influence prices and defraud unsuspecting investors.
Crypto scams rose by 162% from 2021 to 2022 in Australia, amounting to the loss of $148 million, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
Correction: January 4, 2024 — This story has been updated to describe HyperVerse as an investment scheme that attracted an estimated $1.3 billion from investors.