Once a master of tea ceremonies, today he is the main figure in a large-scale cryptocurrency fraud. Vladimir Okhotnikov, better known as Lado, together with his team built one of the largest financial pyramids in the world - Forsage, which, according to investigators, defrauded investors of over $340 million under the guise of an innovative DeFi project.
American law enforcement officers accused Okhotnikov and his accomplices — Lola Ferrari, Gleb Milyon, and Sergey Maslakov — of creating a Ponzi scheme disguised as a decentralized platform. According to the case materials, Forsage's smart contracts were intentionally written to bring profit only to the organizers who occupied the highest positions in the structure.
As a result, most investors were left with nothing: 88% of participants suffered financial losses. Forsage was especially actively promoted in countries with low living standards - the Philippines, Nigeria, Venezuela. People invested their last savings in a “safe” life-changing opportunity, which was actually a fiction.
Despite investigations, lawsuits, and accusations from the SEC, Lado has not stopped. He continues to launch new crypto projects — Ethereum xGold, Meta Force — each time changing the branding, but not the essence. In his videos, he denies guilt, talks about “revolutionary technologies,” and promises super profits.
The formula does not change: the big words about AI, the metaverse, and the “new economy” serve as a smokescreen for the old scheme — attracting as many new investors as possible and quickly withdrawing funds.
Okhotnikov's career is an illustration of the path from a dietary supplement distributor to a "blockchain prophet" who built a multi-level pyramid, reaching millions of people around the world. Today, he and his team face up to 20 years in prison in the United States. However, in the world of cryptocurrency, where every new project can be a mask for an old scheme, there are still those willing to believe in Lado's promises.
