Crypto fund appears to have created a fake CEO to deceive investors

• “Stephen Rhys Lewis” has an impressive resume, which may have attracted investors to his cryptocurrency scheme.
• However, there is no record of Lewis ever existing, the Guardian reported.
• Hyperverse, which is now bankrupt, has lost $1.3 billion in investor money.

According to an investigation by the Guardian, the person described as the CEO of a failed crypto fund appears to be a complete fabrication.

HyperVerse is an Australian Metaverse investment scheme that stole $1.3 billion from thousands of investors who purchased cryptocurrency subscriptions and memberships.

Membership was supposed to cost at least $300 and be converted into Hyperunits upon investment, but the failure of this plan meant investors were unable to access their funds.

HyperVerse was flagged by regulators in New Zealand and the UK in 2021 as a possible scam, which its founders claim to have denied.

In 2021, the Guardian reported that Hyperverse offered a man named Stephen Rhys-Lewis as CEO to potential investors.

His long list of qualifications included a degree from the University of Leeds and a master’s degree from the University of Cambridge, followed by 10 years’ experience in the IT and fintech fields.

However, when the outlet contacted the university and checked the UK company register, it found no record of Mr Lewis in any of the organizations mentioned by HyperVerse.

Additionally, Lewis doesn’t seem to have any online presence at all.

He appears to be just one part of a crypto scam perpetrated by Australian businessman Sam Lee, who is listed as the chairman and founder of HyperTech Group, the parent company of HyperVerse, and his partner Ryan Hsu.

Lee and Xu also own the bankrupt Bitcoin company Blockchain Global, which still owes creditors $58 million after taking office in 2021.

The pair have been referred to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission for alleged breaches of corporate law, but the regulator has so far said it does not intend to take any action.

Mr Lee did not respond to emailed questions from the Guardian about his role at Hyper Entity or to questions about Rhys Lewis.

Lee and Xu did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.

In a further development, Lewis and Hyperverse appear to have received support from Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, actor Chuck Norris and singer Lance Bass, according to the Guardian. reported.

“I’m here to support Steven and the Hyperverse,” Wozniak said in the video. “I can’t wait for the Hyperverse.”

“Under CEO Stephen’s leadership, HyperVerse will become a leader in the metaverse space,” Norris said in a similar message shared with investors.

The Guardian said the messages may have been obtained from video request platform Cameo and there was no suggestion of any wrongdoing on their part.

Cryptocurrencies are less regulated than other assets, making it easier for bad actors to influence prices and defraud unsuspecting investors.

Cryptocurrency fraud increased by 162% in Australia from 2021 to 2022, with losses reaching $148 million.