In a pivotal legal decision, a Florida federal judge refused to dismiss a $108 million fraud lawsuit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against Ashraf Mufareh, his wife Asmahan Mufareh, and their company OnPassive LLC. The SEC accused the couple of orchestrating a fraudulent, unregistered securities offering that lured more than 800,000 investors with promises of artificial intelligence software development, which turned out to be an elaborate multilevel marketing (MLM) scheme.
OnPassive $108M Pyramid Scheme : Judge Sneed Clears Path for SEC Case
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Julie S. Sneed ruled that the SEC had presented sufficient evidence to support its claims against the Mufarehs and OnPassive. The couple allegedly deceived investors, raising millions of dollars by selling positions in a pyramid structure, under the guise of a soon-to-launch AI product. Investors were asked to pay $97 to secure their spot before the product launch, only to find themselves caught in a never-materializing promise.
