If TelexFree, WCM777 and Wings Network were not enough, the office of Massachusetts Commonwealth Secretary William Galvin now is investigating the “EmGoldEx” program.

The Boston Globe broke the story this morning. Galvin leads the Massachusetts Securities Division.

From the Globe (italics added):

Secretary of State William F. Galvin’s office is investigating the Andover operation of Emgoldex Team USA Inc., a company that recruits investors to buy gold online and pays bonuses for referring friends and acquaintances.

The degree to which EmGoldEx has penetrated Massachusetts is unclear. “Gold” and other shiny-object schemes typically ride on the coattails of MLM HYIP recruiting scams. Narratives surrounding such schemes often are incongruous, if not downright wild, sometimes focusing on tales of spectacular profit opportunities in Europe and the Middle East and a chance to deal with purported royal families or upstream investors interested in elevating people out of poverty.

EmGoldEx purportedly operates from Dubai. Here is a verbatim snippet of the EmGoldEx narrative as it appears in challenged English: “To become a client of the Internet – shop, it is necessary to be registered and make an Order. In the Internet shop an account will be opened for you and the purchase price will be fixed for 24 hours.”

Hidden text on the page appears to be in Russian.

As part of the TelexFree probe in April, Galvin’s office alleged a Massachusetts entity had asserted that it bought “TelexFree packages, and all sorts of real estate within the U.S.A. or foreign countries.” Investigators further alleged that the enterprise asserted it was backed by “Dubai investors.”

Regulators in Quebec issued a warning on a “program” known as Karatbars International earlier this year. Other recent (or relatively recent) gold-themed “programs” that have been targeted by regulators include Gold Nugget Invest (HYIP/shiny-object scheme that collapsed in 2010 amid bizarre, companion claims INTERPOL was investigating the SEC); and Gold Quest International (HYIP with possible links to the “sovereign citizens movement” and operated in part by a purported “Lord”).

In October 2013, the office of North Carolina Secretary of State Elaine F. Marshall announced criminal charges against Rondell Scott Hedrick, 48, of Lexington, N.C.

Investigators linked Hedrick to an alleged “precious metals scam” that involved trawling for investor cash on Craigslist.

One investor, according to the state, wired Hedrick $5,000 after Hedrick had provided instructions and claimed he’d be leaving for Dubai soon and providing the investor a return of 200 percent.

Shiny-object scams are close cousins to prime-bank swindles, which produce equally wild narratives. (See Sept. 30, 2011, PP Blog story on the experience of U.S. Ponzi schemer Marian Morgan, who was arrested in Sri Lanka.)

Read June 2014 review of EmGoldEx on BehindMLM.com.

Galvin’s office is publishing a brochure on how to steer clear of pyramid schemes.