American authorities are pursuing a Perth online entrepreneur for $445 million that they say his company made by ripping off consumers all over the world through false promises of investment returns which never materialised.

Matthew Lloyd McPhee, who also called himself Matt Lloyd, was the mastermind behind MOBE — My Online Business Education — which from 2013 marketed itself as a business education program and investment opportunity which could earn investors millions of dollars.

The child of a Wheatbelt farming family, Mr McPhee bragged how he had become a millionaire by the age of 25 using his online sales skills, flaunting his fast cars and fancy lifestyle through websites, social media and live events.

But according to the Federal Trade Commission — the US Government’s consumer protection agency — MOBE was targeting vulnerable consumers internationally with patently false assurances of refunds or money-back guarantees.

The sick, the elderly and war veterans were among those convinced to part with up to $84,000 to become part of MOBE’s 21-step program to get rich quick.

A Catholic nun reportedly borrowed $84,000 or more from family members to get involved.

Camera Icon Matthew McPhee bought Bounty Island in Fiji in 2017. Credit: Facebook

In a claim lodged with the US courts last month, the FTC says the scheme was a colossal scam.

“The vast majority of consumers did not make money from the ... program or offerings, but in fact lost substantial sums of money or incurred crippling debt, and many were not able to obtain refunds,” it said.

“In other words, the ... representations were not only misleading but blatantly false.”

While the online marketing of MOBE was spread through “summits” in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Vancouver, London, Costa Rica, Panama and Sydney, the online business empire was actually registered to a modest suburban address in Mercury Street, Carlisle.

Through video presentations, Mr McPhee described how his family’s humble beginnings in country WA were the catalyst for his ambition, having tried to earn a dollar by selling kangaroo furs, marron or potatoes on the side of the road.

“I saw the blood, sweat and tears they put into the business, but it always seemed to be a struggle ... so from a very early age I was always thinking of ways I could earn a few extra dollars,” he said in a YouTube video.

His online biography claims Mr McPhee studied commerce at the University of WA before dropping out in 2009.

It also claimed that before he was 30, his companies had racked up more than $150 million in sales.

But according to the court documents, those practices, largely conducted by Mr McPhee personally, “caused substantial and widespread consumer harm”.

Some of his techniques were described as “malevolent”.

“For six years, (MOBE) relentlessly peddled an investment opportunity that falsely promised immediate and substantial returns for consumers who purchased ... bogus program offerings,” the court documents said.

Camera Icon The Sunset Del Mar beach resort in Costa Rica. Credit: Expedia

American receivers were appointed to the company last year.

Their investigation of MOBE’s customer database showed purchase records between 2012 and last year that put the company revenue at a staggering $445 million.

Between February and June 2018, investigators found revenue totalling almost $78 million.

Authorities have traced where some of that money was spent.

In 2017, Mr McPhee purchased his own 19ha island in Fiji — Bounty Island — complete with resort accommodation.

The business also bought an ageing resort in Costa Rica, near Esterillos beach, which was then extensively renovated.

The FTC wants those properties frozen, along with two apartments in Kuala Lumpur, one of which Mr McPhee is believed to live in.

It also wants him banned from starting similar businesses.

In a defence filed by Mr McPhee, he admitted many of the allegations. But he also insisted the services provided were “educational”, not marketing, “with tons of value”.