Stock scam - Russ Mould case

Scams like the ones described below are unfortunately common in WhatsApp groups and take different forms. Joining a WhatsApp group is typically done through targeted invitations sent either by administrators or through advertisements on social networks, especially Facebook.

A typical WhatsApp group consists of administrators, including a financial analyst, an assistant in charge of communication and group promotion, as well as members. In the case of a scam, the group often contains fake members, who are actually collaborators of the administrators participating in the scam by publishing false investments, false results, or false information. Among the various variants of this scam, I will describe the most insidious.

The scam unfolded in three stages. In this section, I will detail the first stage, with the next two stages accessible via the links at the bottom of the page. The analyst behind this scam is named Russ Mould (image on the left at the top of the screen). As his assistant Anne Novia has published documents in the group with the logo of AJBell Bank , it is logical to assume that this is Russ Mould, the analyst and investment director at AJBell Bank (photo on the right at the top of the screen). However, it is crucial to specify :

Although several indicators suggest that this is Russ Mould of AJBell Bank , I do not have irrefutable proof. Since this is a scam, identity theft is possible. Therefore, when I mention Russ Mould in this article, I am referring to the WhatsApp account with that identity, which may not be the real Russ Mould, similar to AJBell Bank . It is up to each individual to make the connection or not with the real Russ Mould and the real AJBell Bank .

performance table of AJBell Bank communicated by assistant Anne Novia

The scam is built on a well-known model called "pump and dump." It involves buying large quantities of a stock, encouraging other investors to do the same, to artificially inflate the price. The increase in demand for this stock raises the price and the quantity exchanged. When the organizers of the scam sell their assets and stop promoting them, the price collapses, leaving other investors with assets whose value has greatly decreased, even close to zero. For more details, you can consult the Wikipedia article that explains this model: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pump_and_dump. . To achieve these ends, a plan is necessary. Here is how Russ Mould's scam unfolded chronologically:

- Trial Period
Members initially benefit from a trial period where the analyst demonstrates their skills by achieving enticing and 100% secure profit. The group offers compensation in case of loss. Russ Mould managed to convince group members with successful investment advice for several months, indicating seasoned professionals with a perfect understanding of investor psychology. The promised compensation will also turn out to be a scam aiming to exploit the remaining funds of investors in the scam.

- Real Collaboration with the Group
Members progress to the second stage by becoming VIP members, allowing them to participate in significant group investments for a 10% commission on profits.

- Implementation of the Scam

This phase unfolds in two stages:

Grouped purchases of Winto stock

https://www.investing.com/equities/winto-historical-data

The execution date of the scam is set for August 7, 2023. Russ Mould, with the help of his assistant, goes to great lengths to encourage members to invest heavily in Winto stock. The stock price, as communicated by Russ Mould and his assistant, is expected to rise between $8.5 and $10 in just a few days, resulting in expected returns of over 300%.

Massive Winto share purchase campaign on WhatsApp group

Faced with such a tempting offer, it is difficult to hesitate, especially since the analyst has already proven the relevance of his choices. The total trust placed in the analyst leads the majority of members to invest virtually all their money in this stock, which for some represents the entirety of their life savings. Some have even gone into debt for this supposed opportunity.

Triggering the Stock Price Decline

The last stage of the first part of the scam unfolded on August 7, 2023, a shocking date for the group members. The stock price plummeted by 97%, when everyone expected it to rise sharply. Russ Mould and his assistant each communicated to explain that this drop was due to massive selling of the stock by malicious investors, including professionals engaged in short selling. This explanation actually hides the second phase of the scam. For more information on short selling and how to profit by selling financial assets: : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_(finance)

At this point, without going into the technical details, the price of the stock according to the well-known principle of supply and demand, has fallen due to massive selling of the stock. It should be noted in this communication:

That the amount of losses was huge for some investors
Russ Mould speculates that some investors began to doubt the seriousness of his institution, which I confirm because I myself began to doubt but later this doubt became a certainty. Russ Mould assures that a compensation plan will be put in place but this compensation plan is nothing more than phase three of his scam.

Message from Russ Mould after Winto stock plummets

In the following pages, I will explain in detail:

The second stage of the scam
Why this phase demonstrates that the malicious investors mentioned in Russ Mould's communication are none other than Russ Mould himself and his institution. Other arguments supporting this claim are also detailed
The third stage of the scam
The compensation plan proposed by Russ Mould

During the week when I shared the link to this website on WhatsApp, I noticed that the photo of the real Russ Mould on the AJBell Bank website changed. Is this a coincidence? Could it be another indication that the two profiles belong to the same person? Only time will tell. In any case, it is easy to observe that the two photos are of the same person.