The Alabama Securities Commission (ASC) filed a cease and desist administrative order against GS Partners Global, a company that sells MetaCertificates to prospective customers.
The company is based out of Dubai and Germany but also has representatives from Alabama. GS Partners is owned by Josip Heit, who has mailing addresses in the United Arab Emirates, London and Romania.
According to the order filed by ASC director Amanda Senn, GS Partners markets and sells the MetaCertificates in Alabama through WealthBuilders Worldwide. Heit and GS Partners’s business plan involves selling MetaCertificates to investors with the promise of guaranteed, lucrative returns. Customers purchase the MetaCertificates by paying a fixed amount each month in addition to purchasing MetaCertificates. Customers can earn additional returns and/or income by recruiting new customers to GS Partners.
MetaCertificates are unregistered securities in Alabama. According to the order, an ASC employee attended one of multiple seminars held in Montgomery in 2023 where Nathaniel Hines, a Huntsville resident and GS Partners/WeathBuilders representative, marketed the products as “the same as a bank certificate of deposit but better. It pays more.” Hines reportedly said at one meeting that attendees could earn over $61,000 by investing $5,000 by the end of the term of one class of MetaCertificate. The returns were reportedly marketed as 5% per week, 1.5% per month, and a $3,500 bonus.
Hines reportedly told attendees MetaCertificates could only be purchased with cryptocurrency such as Tether, Bitcoin, and Ethereum. Hines said his family purchased a “Hera MetaCertificate” at another seminar and converted $60,000 into $300,000 in 18 months.
“These activities fall squarely within the definition of ‘investment adviser’ and ‘investment adviser representative’, both of which designate financial professionals in this state who meet the requirements of Alabama law, including maintaining certain capital requirements, ensuring cybersecurity procedures are in place to protect against data breaches, and maintaining stringent controls for anti-money laundering; in addition to demonstrating a certain level of financial knowledge and expertise,” Senn said in a statement. “GS Partners, WealthBuilders Worldwide, and their promoters claim to operate with ‘good conduct’ and ‘in a highly regulated environment’, but they are in fact evading Alabama laws and making guarantees that are unrealistic.”
According to the ASC, other Alabamian representatives of GS Partners and WealthBuilders include Jeanette Hines, Del Lewis and Diana Lewis.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email caleb.taylor@1819News.com.
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