DANNY : DE HEK

Another day, another crypto scam dressed up in Kiwi clothing. This blog uncovers what I believe is a recycled Ponzi-style investment scam dressed up in slick branding and hidden behind a legitimate-looking New Zealand company registration.

A familiar script with a New Zealand twist — just like BEONBIT, which tried this trick using Australian incorporation, PrimeTen is now playing the same game in Wellington. They’ve got a registered address, a company certificate, and a new .co.nz domain—but don’t be fooled. The surface polish hides a hollow shell built on deception.

The Cold Message: From Poland, With Lies

It all started with a message from a recruiter named Jessica Meir on Telegram. She introduced herself as being from Poland, dropped vague leadership-flavoured compliments, and pitched a “pre-launch crypto project” that needed like-minded individuals. The script was familiar. She quickly urged me to move the chat to WhatsApp—something scammers always prefer to do to keep their communications off indexed platforms. Her exact words were:

“Hi leader, my name is Jessica, and I’m reaching out from Poland. I’m currently involved in an exciting upcoming crypto project and wanted to connect with like-minded individuals in the space. Are you open to exploring new opportunities—especially those with strong leadership support and room for real impact?”

When I engaged with her, she promised legal documents and a PDF pitch once I moved to WhatsApp. That alone was enough to raise my eyebrows—textbook grooming tactics straight out of the Ponzi recruiter playbook.

PrimeTen’s Thin Corporate Veil

PDFThey claim to be registered in New Zealand under company number 9343693, NZBN 9429052853791. Incorporation date? 20 May 2025—shockingly recent given how polished their website and pitch decks look. The only person listed is Joseph Cassar, the sole director and shareholder of 100% of the company. The address they list? 1 Victoria Street, Wellington Central. Sounds prestigious—until you realise it’s likely a virtual office used by dozens of shell companies.

A quick investigation revealed just how shallow the operation is. I called their publicly listed number—no answer. I emailed support@primeten.co and info@primeten.co—they both bounced back immediately as undeliverable. Even their customer support email bounces—literally undeliverable. Their digital footprint has all the hallmarks of a hastily spun-up scam: sleek logos and bold promises, but no operational infrastructure or customer support.

The Laughable, Dangerous Investment Pitch

Their pitch deck is pure Ponzinomics. PrimeTen claims to offer returns of 0.75% to 5% daily. Their most expensive package promises a 750% return. That’s not investment—that’s fantasy. They say these profits come from crypto trading, REIT tokenization, staking, and even oil and coal investments. But when you dig into the so-called strategies, it’s clear they’re just buzzwords stitched together with no financial disclosures or regulatory backing.

And yes, there’s a classic MLM structure hiding in plain sight. You earn bonuses from referring others, binary tree commissions, check match rewards—the usual chain-recruitment mechanics disguised as ‘affiliate marketing.’ These commission levels bleed money upward and punish anyone who doesn’t actively recruit new investors to keep the game going.

YouTube Hype, Human Absence

Their official YouTube Channel has only two videos—both are nothing more than dramatic logo reveals. No people. No founders. No live explanations. Their Telegram group, with over 2,600 subscribers, is a carefully curated echo chamber of launch countdowns, inflated hype, and motivational soundbites. I captured screenshots showing their admins pushing “team-building” and encouraging members to lock in early. It’s all about momentum, not substance.

Why This Should Anger Every Kiwi

What makes this one personal is how it abuses the trust built into our national systems. PrimeTen registered as a New Zealand company just to create the illusion of legitimacy. By slapping a Wellington address on their website and using a .co.nz domain, they’re tricking everyday New Zealanders into thinking this is safe, vetted, and local. It isn’t.

We’ve seen this before. BEONBIT did it in Australia. PrimeTen is trying the same play here. But instead of hiding behind Telegram bots and fake CEOs, they’re using our national registry to stage the scam.

Who Is Joseph Cassar?

The only person listed on the official company extract is Joseph Cassar, supposedly residing and operating out of 1 Victoria Street, Wellington. That’s it. No photo, no background, no public video—nothing to prove he exists or is actually involved. It’s eerily similar to the “Richard Bates” saga in BEONBIT—only this time the fake persona may have been replaced by a legal shell and a name on paper.

The Business Presentation: More Questions Than Answers

PDF

The official PrimeTen business presentation PDF I reviewed adds another layer of deception. It tries to sound technical with talk of blockchain use cases in healthcare, carbon credit tokenization, ICO investments, and smart contracts. But it’s all generic. No specifics, no verifiable partnerships, and no financial disclosures. It’s just dressing up a high-yield investment scam in tech jargon.

The packages are divided into Silver, Gold, and Diamond tiers, starting as low as $50 and going up to $10,000+. They push ROI promises and additional commission structures that clearly incentivize recruitment. The entire document reads like a bait-and-switch for unsuspecting crypto enthusiasts and passive-income dreamers.

Final Warning

PrimeTen is not a legitimate investment platform. It is a flashy decoy, hiding behind a freshly minted NZ company registration. Their promises are unrealistic. Their leadership is invisible. Their contact details are non-functional. Their Telegram group is nothing more than a marketing echo chamber. Their YouTube presence is a digital ghost town.

If you’ve been contacted by anyone pushing this scheme, share this blog. Report it. Expose it.

I will be submitting this blog and supporting documents—including screenshots, company records, and the full business pitch PDF—to New Zealand’s Financial Markets Authority (FMA), the Department of Internal Affairs, and the Serious Fraud Office.

— Danny de Hek, The Crypto Ponzi Scheme Avenger

About the Author Danny de Hek, also known as The Crypto Ponzi Scheme Avenger, is a New Zealand-based investigative journalist specializing in exposing crypto fraud, Ponzi schemes, and MLM scams. His work has been featured by Bloomberg, The New York Times, The Guardian Australia, ABC News Australia, and other international outlets.

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