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Epik, parent company of one LET Host Provider here, is under financial mess [Drama]
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Epik, parent company of one LET Host Provider here, is under financial mess [Drama]

JasonMJasonM Member
edited December 2022 in General

I stumbled upon a blog post today about Epik, who is parent company of one LET Hosting Provider here, is under financial mess.

the drama in-short:

  • they had in-store credit called Masterbucks
  • they used all money from Masterbucks to fund operations
  • could not return money to customers
  • promised 6% annual interest if they do not refund money from Masterbucks
  • Also, started Escrow service, without license
  • brought new CEO in September to solve the mess
  • emailed few customers: they brought down the Masterbucks debt from $4.5M to $800K
  • Last week their customer posted complaint that he still has $1.5M in Masterbucks not refunded.
  • Epik CEO is unaware of this $1.5 debt
  • Epik CEO is also unaware of additional debt $300,000 and states the $800K they quoted in email is no longer correct
  • Employee on contract sues Epik that he has not been paid
  • earlier they had all customer's data stolen!

    :s :| :|

«1

Comments

  • JasonMJasonM Member
    edited December 2022

    @dahartigan said: An epik scam

    Now that's an epik comment
    :D

  • I wonder if @terrahost is in danger now that they're owned by epik.

    Thanked by 2kheng86 Doragon
  • @fluffernutter said: I wonder if terrahost is in danger now that they're owned by epik.

    IDK, but according to the above blog post Monster previously quoted "the company received a $32 million investment. That investment didn’t fully come to fruition."

  • Time to start making backups I guess

    Thanked by 2ehab that_guy
  • @fluffernutter said:
    Time to start making backups I guess

    I'm fine, I've rsynced my terrahost backups to hostsolutions

  • HarambeHarambe Member, Host Rep

    Did everyone start a ponzi this year?

  • FranciscoFrancisco Top Host, Host Rep, Veteran

    @Harambe said:
    Did everyone start a ponzi this year?

    The EpikChain genesis block includes a full copy of the Charleston church massacre.

    Francisco

  • MannDudeMannDude Host Rep, Veteran

    @Francisco said:

    @Harambe said:
    Did everyone start a ponzi this year?

    The EpikChain genesis block includes a full copy of the Charleston church massacre.

    Francisco

    Lol. I almost forgot about that. Didn't the former CEO (Rob Monster) forward the video to his staff or make them watch it or something?

  • @MannDude said:

    @Francisco said:

    @Harambe said:
    Did everyone start a ponzi this year?

    The EpikChain genesis block includes a full copy of the Charleston church massacre.

    Francisco

    Lol. I almost forgot about that. Didn't the former CEO (Rob Monster) forward the video to his staff or make them watch it or something?

    Monster was widely condemned in the wake of the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings for uploading video of the shootings to Twitter and Gab. He posted on Gab that he had uploaded the file to the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS), and wrote that Epik was working on a tool to make it simpler for people to create IPFS files, describing IPFS as "crazy clever technology" that makes files "effectively uncensorable". The Washington Post later wrote that Monster had "used the moment as a marketing opportunity" to promote Epik's products. Monster also shared the link to the video on Twitter after Twitter announced it would be removing any video of the incident. His tweet was removed by Twitter after several hours. Monster made claims that the video of the Christchurch shooting was not real, and that the shooting had been a hoax. A former Epik staff member alleged that Monster had begun a company staff meeting by asking employees to watch the video of the shootings, saying that it would prove to them that the attack had been faked. (from his wiki article)

    So yes, he totally did lol

  • MannDudeMannDude Host Rep, Veteran

    @fluffernutter said:

    @MannDude said:

    @Francisco said:

    @Harambe said:
    Did everyone start a ponzi this year?

    The EpikChain genesis block includes a full copy of the Charleston church massacre.

    Francisco

    Lol. I almost forgot about that. Didn't the former CEO (Rob Monster) forward the video to his staff or make them watch it or something?

    Monster was widely condemned in the wake of the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings for uploading video of the shootings to Twitter and Gab. He posted on Gab that he had uploaded the file to the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS), and wrote that Epik was working on a tool to make it simpler for people to create IPFS files, describing IPFS as "crazy clever technology" that makes files "effectively uncensorable". The Washington Post later wrote that Monster had "used the moment as a marketing opportunity" to promote Epik's products. Monster also shared the link to the video on Twitter after Twitter announced it would be removing any video of the incident. His tweet was removed by Twitter after several hours. Monster made claims that the video of the Christchurch shooting was not real, and that the shooting had been a hoax. A former Epik staff member alleged that Monster had begun a company staff meeting by asking employees to watch the video of the shootings, saying that it would prove to them that the attack had been faked. (from his wiki article)

    So yes, he totally did lol

    Ooof

  • @MannDude said:

    @fluffernutter said:

    @MannDude said:

    @Francisco said:

    @Harambe said:
    Did everyone start a ponzi this year?

    The EpikChain genesis block includes a full copy of the Charleston church massacre.

    Francisco

    Lol. I almost forgot about that. Didn't the former CEO (Rob Monster) forward the video to his staff or make them watch it or something?

    Monster was widely condemned in the wake of the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings for uploading video of the shootings to Twitter and Gab. He posted on Gab that he had uploaded the file to the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS), and wrote that Epik was working on a tool to make it simpler for people to create IPFS files, describing IPFS as "crazy clever technology" that makes files "effectively uncensorable". The Washington Post later wrote that Monster had "used the moment as a marketing opportunity" to promote Epik's products. Monster also shared the link to the video on Twitter after Twitter announced it would be removing any video of the incident. His tweet was removed by Twitter after several hours. Monster made claims that the video of the Christchurch shooting was not real, and that the shooting had been a hoax. A former Epik staff member alleged that Monster had begun a company staff meeting by asking employees to watch the video of the shootings, saying that it would prove to them that the attack had been faked. (from his wiki article)

    So yes, he totally did lol

    Ooof

    Yeah, guy's fucking nuts.

  • vyas11vyas11 Member
    edited December 2022

    @JasonM said:

    • emailed few customers: they brought down the Masterbucks debt from $4.5M to $800K
    • Last week their customer posted complaint that he still has $1.5M in Masterbucks not refunded.
    • Epik CEO is unaware of this $1.5 debt

    Who owes the remaining 1499998.5 Dollars ?

  • Thanked by 1JasonM
  • https://www.trustpilot.com/reviews/637f4b70252cba2c02e23eae Ouch
    (DomainEmpire.com review about Epik owning them 1,5million they can't withdraw)

    Thanked by 1that_guy
  • Wow , the more I live,the less trust I have in all this stuff

    Thanked by 1that_guy
  • ShakibShakib Member, Patron Provider

    It's time to transfer out all of my domains from Epik.

    See y'all later.

    Thanked by 2sebkehl JasonM
  • It seems epik is using masterbucks as a cash machine, they take money from people selling domains through their escrow service and giving them $masterbucks even though some people requested direct to their bank account, is this legal?

    Thanked by 1JasonM
  • And I get annoyed having $1-$100 gift card balances for businesses that go tits up in my town.

    I don't know what would make me trade money/service/goods for $1.5M fake credit.

    Thanked by 2MannDude that_guy
  • @vyas11 said: Who owes the remaining 1499998.5 Dollars ?

    It was a typo from my side, the actual number is $1.5M debt. :D

    Thanked by 1vyas11
  • Sounds like I'll be making a cameo appearance in the near future

  • @JasonM said:

    @vyas11 said: Who owes the remaining 1499998.5 Dollars ?

    It was a typo from my side, the actual number is $1.5M debt. :D

    I was so hoping for a plot twist :-)
    Cheers

  • SwiftnodeSwiftnode Member, Host Rep

    I don't understand why you would ever hold 1.5M in "masterbucks" to begin with.

  • FranciscoFrancisco Top Host, Host Rep, Veteran

    @Swiftnode said: I don't understand why you would ever hold 1.5M in "masterbucks" to begin with.

    He treated it like a bank. A bank that was giving 6 - 7% returns. $100k/year for free.

    Francisco

    Thanked by 2Swiftnode _MS_
  • @Francisco said:

    @Swiftnode said: I don't understand why you would ever hold 1.5M in "masterbucks" to begin with.

    He treated it like a bank. A bank that was giving 6 - 7% returns. $100k/year for free.

    Francisco

    I would have done so too before all this happened and get free 100k per year.

  • SwiftnodeSwiftnode Member, Host Rep

    @Ahfaiahkid said:

    @Francisco said:

    @Swiftnode said: I don't understand why you would ever hold 1.5M in "masterbucks" to begin with.

    He treated it like a bank. A bank that was giving 6 - 7% returns. $100k/year for free.

    Francisco

    I would have done so too before all this happened and get free 100k per year.

    You know what they say about too good to be true.

  • He put it in crypto didn't he?

  • MannDudeMannDude Host Rep, Veteran
    edited December 2022

    A video from a customer who is still waiting on her $91,000~ Masterbucks payout:

    Some eye-opening comments over at https://domainnamewire.com/2022/12/01/epik-continues-to-dig-out-from-financial-mess/ as well.

    Makes you wonder if Epik used some of these funds to purchase a hosting company that is known here. Pure speculation, of course... but that'd empty the coffers a bit, or if it was wrapped up in FTX.

    A bit more on Twitter, indicating this has been going on for months: https://twitter.com/search?q=#masterbucks&src=typed_query&f=live and on TrustPilot ( https://www.trustpilot.com/review/epik.com ) where Epik seems to be trying to get people to post their negative reviews here ( https://www.trustpilot.com/review/masterbucks.com ) instead.

    EDIT: Moar: https://twitter.com/search?q=masterbucks&src=typed_query&f=live , from last month: https://www.dailydot.com/debug/epik-masterbucks/ , etc, etc.

    The investors gave Monster $16 million up front, much of which Monster used to pay off personal debts and remodel his house, which the investors were unsurprisingly upset about. Monster also used his new found large bank roll to start many new projects with no clear focus on Epik’s core business and purchased several other businesses like Terrahost, all in a relatively short period of time.

    ...

    The investors saw the many reports, hopefully our articles were among them, coming out about Epik and Monster’s many false and very odd claims, which caused the investors to lose confidence and demand to see Epik’s financials in more detail. They subsequently cancelled their agreement and threatened to file fraud charges if the money wasn’t returned, however Monster had already spent most of it. They eventually came to a settlement some time around mid 2022, wherein Monster was required to pay back $8 million of the $16 million and turn over whatever tech and infrastructure Epik had developed on the investor’s behalf

    ..

    Earlier in the year Monster had already began letting many key Epik employees go and backing out of consultant agreements, one of those consultants is currently suing Epik for $750,00

    ...

    Around this time, 1 star negative reviews began proliferating on Epik’s Trust Pilot page, all complaining about the inability to withdraw funds for weeks and Epik customer service’s lack of response. Several received replies from Epik, telling them to start a support ticket or blaming the issue on “maintenance”, while others were flagged and removed by Epik for containing “harmful or illegal content”. Sticking to the same script as the data breach response, Monster tried threatening those bringing Epik’s issues to light as well.

    ...

    Royce blamed many of the problems on Monster not “dotting all the Is and crossing all the Ts” and claimed to be in the process of actually getting an escrow license for Masterbucks. When asked if the escrow funds were held in a separate account or used to fund the business, Royce replied that the money had been “comingled” and that the separation of operations between Epik’s escrow service and Epik itself “wasn’t there”.

    From: https://providencepost.com/epik-update-masterbucks-fails-to-payout-customers-after-maintenance/ ... There are many more eye opening remarks made in that article.

    Thanked by 2JasonM that_guy
  • feels like Dejavu.. i think around 2014-2015 when searching for payment online. That time masterbucks reputation already full of fraud and scam. scamming it's user's, they cant cash out their "income" doing survey,clicking ads,etc from f*ckbucks

  • otooto Member
    edited December 2022

    The service provided by Terrahost has been nothing short of amazing, and I hope that they'll be able to buy back their company if Epik goes belly up.

    Glad Epik didn't seem to fuck around too much with their day to day business. (except that Lagos thing I guess)

    Thanked by 1JasonM
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