A guard tower and razor wire at a prison in Texas. (Photo by Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)
Three men were sentenced on Monday for their roles in founding and operating an illegal, multi-million dollar pyramid scheme. According to court documents, Alex Dee, of Fate, Texas, allegedly was the co-founder of 8 Figure Dream Lifestyle (8FDL).
Brian Kaplan, 53, of Fort Collins, Colorado, and Jerrold Maurer, 58, of North Bellmore, New York, co-founded 8FDL with Dee and participated in the scheme.
Court documents show that from January 2017 through March 2019, Dee, Kaplan and Maurer founded and operated 8FDL. In total, more than 2,800 individuals joined 8FDL, which resulted in approximately $23.5 million in losses for victim members.
The men advertised 8FDL as an online marketing business that allowed members to easily earn millions of dollars by selling memberships to 8FDL. The business purportedly allowed its members to access various digital videos, mostly related to online marketing and self-help lessons, but the videos had nominal value and served merely as a vehicle for the company to appear legitimate.
The U.S. Department of Justice says the main purpose of the company, however, was to allow members to make money by recruiting new members and selling additional memberships. In marketing the 8FDL memberships, Dee, Kaplan, and Maurer falsely represented to the public that typical members with no prior skills or experience would make substantial sums in a short period of time, including earning more than $10,000 within 60–90 days. In fact, the vast majority of 8FDL members never made a single sale, and Dee, Kaplan, and Maurer made these false statements to induce others to join 8FDL.
In November 2023, both Kaplan and Maurer pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Dee, formerly known as Alex Dowlatshahi, 50, of Maple Ridge, British Columbia, was arrested at the U.S.-Canada border in Jan. 2024 while trying to enter Washington state from British Columbia. In July 2024, Dee pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Dee was sentenced to 36 months in prison and ordered to pay more than $1.8 million in forfeiture. Kaplan was sentenced to 22 months in prison and ordered to pay more than $2.8 million in forfeiture. Mauer was sentenced to 22 months in prison and ordered to pay more than $1.5 million in forfeiture.