You know the familiar adage, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” Generally, a true statement, but after a recent experience, that’s not always the case.
First, the good news: Very few, if any, offer what DigitalAMN’s PAI provides to investors and emerging companies. Similar to how a car provides efficient transport from Point A to Point B, DigitalAMN’s PAI is a vehicle transporting a diverse group of people to a destination where they can establish generational wealth through early investing and entrepreneurship.
The bad news: A car’s intrinsic simplicity can be broken by lifting the hood and examining the complex engineering of its functionality. This parallels the PAI’s ecosystem as a growth and liquidity vehicle for everyday people and angel investors; the PAI’s design isn’t intended for laypeople– just its purpose. This unfortunately, gives way to those sleazy scumbag mechanics who look to take advantage of innocent, unsuspecting people who simply want to drive and enjoy the ride.
Like many of you, I know nothing about cars. I can’t even change a tire, nor do I have any interest in ever doing so. Similarly, most entrepreneurs simply want to raise money and focus on building their businesses. Underrepresented people (non-accredited and accredited) just want an opportunity to invest in opportunities and secure a share of the growing economy. Angel investors need liquidity, period. All of this, without worrying about how much horsepower is under the hood. ‘Just simply, drive!’
The challenge of course, is without working knowledge of how something functions, then it’s easier for some opportunist to sell you a ‘fugazi’. No one likes to be suckered – and no one likes their good name used to take advantage of unsuspecting individuals! This is one of those moments where imitation is NOT the sincerest form of flattery, especially when that imitation caused us to be victimized by a ploy to wrongfully use our brand.
Recently, DigitalAMN was the victim of an imitation ploy on LinkedIn, whereby an unknown individual/group falsely claimed to be an employee of our firm and pretended as if we were soliciting for investments through social media. This individual/group set up a fake profile—including a fake picture and fake education!— referenced our Company’s good name and began soliciting random LinkedIn members for investments through cryptocurrency and trading strategies. The audacity! This fraudulent activity both shocked and sickened our entire team.
First, let me be very clear: we have never and will never improperly solicit an investment from anyone, period. Those interested in becoming shareholders of our Company know that they must go through a registered broker-dealer inorder to buy or sell stock in the open market, just like everyone else. When in doubt, you can check the background on registered individuals trying to sell you stock through FINRA’s website BrokerCheck. And those interested in investing in our client or portfolio companies directly can do so under the JOBS Act and/or any guidelines set forth by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Neither DigitalAMN or its team will ever give investment advice and we will never send documents or materials through outside or non-corporate email addresses. While we are thrilled to connect with our DAMN enthusiasts on social media, we use these platforms solely to distribute news, content and other information—never to illicitly solicit investments and/or communicate to potential supporters on a one-on-one basis about investments. These activities are unequivocally not tolerated.
We do not yet know the full extent of this imposter’s fraudulent activities, if any. However, I can assure everyone that the DigitalAMN team immediately acted upon being made aware of the situation. We promptly:
- Contacted LinkedIn and had the imposter’s profile shutdown;
- Notified the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); and
- Informed the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of our actions and findings.
We believe that all the appropriate authorities were contacted and apprised of the situation.
Now, we share this information with all of you for two reasons. First, DISCLOSURE. The FBI didn’t tell us to do this. Nor did the SEC. I am just of the opinion that in an environment which I’ve said many times is a ‘strange and unusual bazaar’, something like this can be taken way out of context, particularly if keeping it innocently close to the vest is perceived as negligent or malicious, hence the radical transparency. Secondly, we care!
We care about our DigitalAMN Family (our DAMN team, client and portfolio companies, investors, and shareholders) and in building the confidence of our current and future supporters. And we mean it… we genuinely care. Even if no one was truly affected by this sick imposter, we will remain steadfast, continuing to protect our collective interests as best we can.
So, friends, if you ever receive a communication that supposedly came from us, and there is any doubt in your mind about its authenticity, just contact us and ask! ALL of our emails will always come from an @DigitalAMN.com account and we will never request any personal information via email, phone, or any social media platforms. We remain available 24/7 for our entire DigitalAMN Family, either through email at info@DigitalAMN.com, or by phone at (718) 285-6378.
We thank you all for your continued support and understanding during these ever changing times.