I had to delete the previous thread because someone went complaining to Twitter that the thread contained private information.
Reposting this story again with some edits.
Reposting this story again with some edits.
A week back @artijourno from @livemint published this piece about @HedonovaFund
I had a small investment with Hedonova purely from an experimental and curiosity point of view. I was always apprehensive about their legitimacy.
So let's dive deeper. ๐
livemint.com
I had a small investment with Hedonova purely from an experimental and curiosity point of view. I was always apprehensive about their legitimacy.
So let's dive deeper. ๐
livemint.com
The article claims that Hedonova is basically Anurag Bhatia's (ex-Minance CEO) new venture, with a new face and fictional characters.
A quick primer on Anurag Bhatia and history:
thenewsminute.com
A quick primer on Anurag Bhatia and history:
thenewsminute.com
Hereโs my review of Hedonova Fund. @twitter everything contained in this thread is either public information or my own information and data. @HedonovaFund Is making every attempt to get this thread deleted by reporting them under a false pretext, so take note before flagging.
Hedonova calls itself an investment fund for alternative assets. Think Mutual Fund that invests in alternative assets such as paintings, litigation finance, crypto, startups, p2p, agronomy, etc.
Very interesting indeed. ๐ค
Very interesting indeed. ๐ค
While you can invest in a lot of these assets individually through platforms like masterworks, forge, etc having a fund do that for you makes it far easier and more professional since you hope that the folks running it have relevant experience in alt. assets.
โน๏ธ For full disclosure, here's proof of my investment and subsequent withdrawal and I did receive the entire investment back from them with the returns earned.
But that is also how Ponzi schemes work. As long as new scapegoats keep coming in, the old ones get paid.
But that is also how Ponzi schemes work. As long as new scapegoats keep coming in, the old ones get paid.
Let's look at the company Hedonova LLC. From their website:
"Hedonova LLC is located at 8, The Green, Suite B, City of Dover, Delaware 19901."
It's a virtual office address and you will find 100s of companies registered at the same address.
"Hedonova LLC is located at 8, The Green, Suite B, City of Dover, Delaware 19901."
It's a virtual office address and you will find 100s of companies registered at the same address.
The domain name is hedonova.io registered in 2021-12-20. The domain is privacy protected, already a huge ๐ฉ for a financial institution.
Their phone number and Whatsapp numbers both listed on their website are both virtual numbers from Twilio.
Their phone number and Whatsapp numbers both listed on their website are both virtual numbers from Twilio.
Their website lists a number and LA address as their HQ. The phone number listed is a virtual number. I reached out to the property management from Silverstein Properties and they could not verify that a company named Hedonova existed in the building however they did mention...
...that Regus occupies a space in the building and the company could be their client. Surprisingly, Hedonova does not list a suite number on the address.
Should I give them a visit during my next trip to LA?
Should I give them a visit during my next trip to LA?
The fund is registered under Regulation D of the SEC & lists: sec.gov
๐ Alexander Cavendish as the CEO
๐ Suman Banerjee as the Promoter
๐ Shamit Hansa as the Exec. Officer
You will find absolutely no information about the above characters anywhere on the web.
๐ Alexander Cavendish as the CEO
๐ Suman Banerjee as the Promoter
๐ Shamit Hansa as the Exec. Officer
You will find absolutely no information about the above characters anywhere on the web.
๐ Empty or Placeholder Linked profiles.
๐ Mentions of the names on articles promoting/covering Hedonova.
These fictional characters do not exist! You can form an LLC in the US as any Tom, Dick, and Harry and file a Reg D Form. You are asked for your name and address but not ID
๐ Mentions of the names on articles promoting/covering Hedonova.
These fictional characters do not exist! You can form an LLC in the US as any Tom, Dick, and Harry and file a Reg D Form. You are asked for your name and address but not ID
You would imagine graduates from eth Zurich, ex Millenium Partner Fund Managers, and other folks with such accomplishments would at least have a LinkedIn profile, if not research papers or appear in alumni directories, etc.
hedonova.io
hedonova.io
They try to convince you that their Reg. D filing is the holy grail of their existence. It is the easiest, cheapest and quickest way to collect money from investors with the least amount of compliance.
Refer: investopedia.com
Refer: investopedia.com
Once you land on the website you are greeted by Esmee on the chat. That cute stock image seems rather familiar. ๐
She will schedule a call for you with their Investor Relationship Manager - Neel Aryan Birla! This is where the fun starts.
She will schedule a call for you with their Investor Relationship Manager - Neel Aryan Birla! This is where the fun starts.
@neelaryanbirla (NAB), is the Head of Investor Relations and a Cambridge Graduate with an illustrious career in finance.
The problem?
๐ He has no LinkedIn account.
๐ He uses the same picture all across the web on various potentially paid/sponsored posts.
The problem?
๐ He has no LinkedIn account.
๐ He uses the same picture all across the web on various potentially paid/sponsored posts.
๐ He strolls around Paris however uploads stock photos of his "strolls" on Twitter. ๐คฃ
๐ His Christmas market and "Snowy Paris" pictures too look very similar to someone else's.
๐ However, the biggest problem is NAB doesn't like video calls. He is either traveling or his camera is broken when in a call.
๐ However, the biggest problem is NAB doesn't like video calls. He is either traveling or his camera is broken when in a call.
Anyways, I jumped on a brief (audio) call with our NAB guy, very convincing, and speaks with a thick Indian accent. I asked him about some of their startup investments, apparently SpaceX, and Swiggy is amongst the companies they have invested in.
However, there is nothing about these investments online. You'd imagine a fund investing in SpaceX would do some PR about it.
The second big ๐ฉ was when NAB told me that I could invest in crypto through USDT/BTC or ETH. Very interesting. ๐ค
The second big ๐ฉ was when NAB told me that I could invest in crypto through USDT/BTC or ETH. Very interesting. ๐ค
Also, last month they raised their min. investment size to $5K, when I invested it was $1K. I asked NAB about the fees, the website lists 10% performance fees and 1% management fees.
He shrugs the question saying, "uh we don't charge those yet they are just on the website."
He shrugs the question saying, "uh we don't charge those yet they are just on the website."
The best part:
Me: "You call yourself a hedge fund, so how do you hedge your assets?"
NAB: "We hedge everything, all our investments are always hedged."
Me: "How do you hedge paintings, shrimp farms, litigation finance?" ๐คฏ
NAB: "Ahh no, only crypto and currency are hedged."
Me: "You call yourself a hedge fund, so how do you hedge your assets?"
NAB: "We hedge everything, all our investments are always hedged."
Me: "How do you hedge paintings, shrimp farms, litigation finance?" ๐คฏ
NAB: "Ahh no, only crypto and currency are hedged."
My apprehensions started developing. I asked some additional questions about the fund, auditor, fund manager, the legitimacy of the fund, etc. This is my conversation, there is no private information here.
Answers ๐
Answers ๐
What would be the next steps? I asked. I was told to fill up a "KYC" form on the website:
hedonova.io and I'd be good to go, I decided to put in $2K USD via crypto (USDT).
As you can see, the form asks for some basic information, and an ID number. No verification.
hedonova.io and I'd be good to go, I decided to put in $2K USD via crypto (USDT).
As you can see, the form asks for some basic information, and an ID number. No verification.
On the 4th of April, I transferred $2000 USDT to the wallet address provided and my account was set up subsequently. The nav apparently is updated daily.
The last investor update by CIO Suman Banerjee was published in December.
The last investor update by CIO Suman Banerjee was published in December.
In April Hedonova set up a Bahamas-based fund to "reduce regulatory risks" for US-based investors. Wonder why the sudden move?
hedonova.io
hedonova.io
Hedonova claims to use Citi/HSBC as their banking partner, Northern Trust as their Custodian, Deloitte US as their Auditor, and Nishith Desai as General Counsel.
The bank account details I was provided for my deposit in addition to the USDT address, was a fintech/virtual bank account, The withdrawal too came from this account.
They use a fintech/virtual bank account you can see the withdrawal coming into my account from "on behalf of Hedonova LLC" this is common when the account is an FBO (For benefit of Account).
For example, Aeldra provides such accounts:
For example, Aeldra provides such accounts:
As a part of the article, @artijourno reached out to both Nishith Desai and Deloitte and both denied Hedonova was their client.
Snippet from the Mint article ๐
Snippet from the Mint article ๐
If you do a google search for "Hedonova Review" you will find that the fund is shilled by several so-called "financial influencers".
Doesn't take a genius to figure out that these are simply paid placements.
Doesn't take a genius to figure out that these are simply paid placements.
To end this long thread, goes without saying, I was lucky to get my money back, you might not necessarily be.
Remember, a Ponzi scam relies on an inflow of fresh investors to provide returns to previous investors.
You never know what is going on in the fund. AVOID.
Remember, a Ponzi scam relies on an inflow of fresh investors to provide returns to previous investors.
You never know what is going on in the fund. AVOID.
That's all folks.
As always if you liked it please like and retweet the original tweet linked below. If you know anyone invested here sends this thread to them, if you hear anyone speaking about them, make them aware.
Avoid investing in Hedonova.
As always if you liked it please like and retweet the original tweet linked below. If you know anyone invested here sends this thread to them, if you hear anyone speaking about them, make them aware.
Avoid investing in Hedonova.
You can read the unrolled version of this thread here: typefully.com
Influencers and bloggers like like @financewsharan, @rohann09 since you have written about Hedonova in the past, you have moral responsibility towards your audience about covering this.
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