Crypto influencer confronted on camera over alleged fraud

What happens when you combine a dubious crypto project, a straight investor and a wealthy founder enjoying his profits? A fight in an upscale mall, of course.

Prominent Venezuelan crypto influencer Newman Perez was confronted earlier this month at a Colombian mall by a man who accused him of stealing his money. The confrontation, caught on camera, was uploaded to TikTok, shared on Twitter, and has since gone viral.

“You didn’t steal from me? What do you call that? A scam,” said the man, who then turned to the audience to share his thoughts on Perez. “I present to you Colombia’s number one scammer.”

Perez is actually Venezuelan, but currently lives in Colombia because he is wanted in Venezuela on charges of “continuous aggravated fraud, threats against a public official, alteration of goods and private violence,” according to local media. Caraota Digital.

The influencer, who has an Instagram following of more than 668,000, has launched several businesses recently. One of his oldest and best-known initiatives is the website Apreciodepana.com, which, according to Perezwas backed by Google Ventures. Decrypt have not been able to confirm this claim, and representatives of Google Ventures has not responded to requests for comment.

Perez’s other businesses include MacStore Venezuela, DivisasToGo and several business and finance coaching courses. Among his more dubious ventures were illegal rental of Zelle accountswhich led to his Twitter account being banned.

Days after the viral video was uploaded, Perez said on his Instagram account that it was all a “social experiment” — perhaps as a way to save face — and then redirected his followers to a press release published in Forbeswho is promoting his latest crypto project BNB Beats.

BNB beats controversy

BNB Beats, a crypto app on the BNB chain, claims to generate daily returns of 1% and 3% per day on any amount invested by its users. It is white paper doesn’t explain what it does, but says it focuses on “enhancing the quality of life of people” through education, trust and innovation.

Recently, DappBay – an app hub created by Binance in July 2022-issued a red alert on Perez’s BNB Beats. It essentially means that it has been flagged as a scam. “The contract is executed differently from what the project owners announced, and that disparity (between what was announced and what was actually executed) will lead to unexpected results,” DappBay said.

Perez criticized DappBay’s audit and instructed his followers to instead read an audit from HazeCrypto, a DappBay competitor. “Want to see a real audit??? Well, look at HazeCrypto’s,” he said in his Telegram group.

HazeCrypto’s audit says BNB Beat’s smart contract has no vulnerabilities. On the other hand, the supervisory authority warns that deposited funds cannot be withdrawn and that dividends are paid from new users’ deposits—the textbook definition of a Ponzi scheme.

Currently, BNB Beats V3 alone has 3,673 users and just over 544 BNB (roughly $164,000) in total value locked, according to HazeCrypto metrics — not counting his other projects. BNB Beats’ whitepaper estimates a return on investment of 333,233% between January 2023 and April 2025.