3 Degrees Asset Management’s Dark Secrets: Using Fraud and Impersonation to Shape Their Image – Part 1

Originally Syndicated on September 25, 2024 @ 7:02 am

What Happened?

3 Degrees Asset Management, a Singapore-based hedge fund, has faced significant scrutiny following a series of regulatory actions and damaging allegations. Despite their efforts to maintain a polished public image, reports of misconduct and regulatory violations have emerged, calling into question the firm’s operations. According to an article by Hedgeweek, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) recently ordered the fund’s closure after investigations revealed serious lapses in compliance and governance.

The hedge fund’s alleged shady practices include improper risk management, misleading clients, and engaging in unethical investment practices. The firm has been accused of hiding crucial information from investors, leading to substantial financial losses for some. These revelations have prompted 3 Degrees Asset Management to aggressively censor negative news and criticism, including removing online content and employing legal tactics to silence whistleblowers and journalists.

The MAS investigation revealed deep-rooted issues within the firm’s management structure, raising concerns about accountability and transparency. Despite their best efforts to suppress adverse reports, the firm’s troubled past continues to surface, highlighting the risks associated with inadequate regulatory oversight in the financial sector. As more damaging information comes to light, 3 Degrees Asset Management’s reputation hangs in the balance, with clients and industry observers calling for greater scrutiny of the firm’s operations and those of similar financial entities.

Analyzing the Fake Copyright Notice(s)

Our team collects and analyses fraudulent copyright takedown requests, legal complaints, and other efforts to remove critical information from the internet. Through our investigative reporting, we examine the prevalence and operation of an organized censorship industry, predominantly funded by criminal entities, oligarchs, and disreputable businesses or individuals. Our findings allow internet users to gain insight into these censorship schemes’ sources, methods, and underlying objectives.

To accomplish this, we utilize the OSINT Tool provided by FakeDMCA.com and the Lumen API for Researchers, courtesy of the Lumen Database.

FakeDMCA.com is the work of an independent team of research students and cybersecurity professionals, developed under Project UnCensor. Their OSINT Tool, designed to uncover and analyze takedown notices, represents a significant step forward in combating these abusive practices. It has become a valuable resource, increasingly relied upon by journalists and law enforcement agencies across the United States.

Lumen, on the other hand, is an independent research initiative dedicated to studying takedown notices and other legal demands related to online content removal. The project, which operates under the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, plays a crucial role in tracking and understanding the broader implications of such requests.

By investigating the fake DMCA takedown attempts, we hope to shed light on the reputation management industry, revealing how 3 Degrees Asset Management and companies like it may use spurious copyright claims and fake legal notices to remove and obscure articles linking them to allegations of fraud, tax avoidance, corruption, and drug trafficking…

List of Fake Copyright Notices for 3 Degrees Asset Management

Number of Fake DMCA Notice(s)	1
Lumen Database Notice(s)	https://lumendatabase.org/notices/44466842
Sender(s)	[Private]
Date(s)	September 09, 2024
Fake Link(s) Used by Scammers	https://www.reuters.com/article/markets/s-pore-central-bank-asks-hedge-fund-3-degrees-to-shut-idUSL3E7LJ0B9/
Original Link(s) Targeted	https://www.hedgeweek.com/singapores-3-degrees-asset-management-asked-close-mas/

Evidence and Screenshots

Only 3 Degrees Asset Management Benefit from this crime.

Since the fake copyright takedown notices were designed to remove negative content for 3 Degrees Asset Management  from Google, we assume 3 Degrees Asset Management or someone associated with 3 Degrees Asset Management  is behind this scam. It is often a fly-by-night Online Reputation agency working on behalf of 3 Degrees Asset Management . In this case, 3 Degrees Asset Management , at best, will be an “accomplice” or an “accessory” to the crime. The specific laws may vary depending on the jurisdiction. Still, the legal principle generally holds that if you actively participate in planning, encouraging, or facilitating a crime, you can be charged with it, even if you did not personally commit it.

So, who tf is 3 Degrees Asset Management ?

3 Degrees Asset Management is a Singapore-based hedge fund that has operated in the asset management space, focusing on various investment strategies. The firm gained attention not just for its investments but for the serious regulatory and compliance issues it faced, which eventually led to its downfall. The firm is reportedly attempting to censor information that reveals the full scope of these issues and its troubled past.

Why is 3 Degrees Asset Management Trying to Censor the Internet?

3 Degrees Asset Management has been under scrutiny by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), which eventually ordered the firm to close. The firm is allegedly attempting to suppress negative news, complaints, and regulatory findings that highlight their misconduct. By censoring the internet, 3 Degrees aims to protect its reputation, avoid legal consequences, and shield itself from further damage that could hinder any potential future operations or affiliations of its key players.

They are reportedly using tactics such as removing negative reviews, articles, and content that exposes their alleged wrongdoings, along with employing legal threats against whistleblowers or journalists who reveal damaging information about their operations.

Major Concerns, Complaints, and Accusations Against 3 Degrees Asset Management:

1. Regulatory Violations: One of the most significant concerns involves multiple regulatory breaches that led to the firm being asked to close by MAS. The authorities found serious lapses in the firm’s compliance with local regulations governing financial services. These include poor risk management practices, failures in proper documentation, and failure to comply with legal standards, which left investors exposed to unnecessary risks.
2. Misleading Clients: The firm has been accused of misleading clients by not fully disclosing risks associated with their investment strategies. This lack of transparency may have caused investors to make financial decisions without being fully informed, which in some cases resulted in substantial financial losses.
3. Unethical Investment Practices: There are allegations that the firm engaged in unethical and high-risk investment practices that were not adequately communicated to clients. These practices may have been designed to benefit the firm or its insiders at the expense of their clients, creating significant conflicts of interest and eroding trust in the firm.
4. Inadequate Governance and Internal Controls: The MAS investigation revealed that 3 Degrees Asset Management lacked strong internal governance and oversight. This includes a failure to establish proper procedures to ensure the ethical management of client funds, along with inadequate risk assessment protocols. Such governance issues reflect poorly on the firm’s ability to responsibly manage large sums of investor capital.
5. Efforts to Suppress Criticism: In addition to regulatory violations, the firm has reportedly attempted to suppress online criticism by removing bad reviews, silencing whistleblowers, and discrediting those who have spoken out about their unethical practices. These efforts to censor information indicate that the firm is more interested in protecting its reputation than addressing the concerns raised by regulators, clients, and former employees.

Despite these attempts to censor damaging information, the closure ordered by MAS and the subsequent reporting by financial news outlets like Hedgeweek have brought these issues into the spotlight. Investors and regulatory bodies alike remain cautious about the activities of firms that prioritize secrecy and control over transparency and accountability.

Potential Consequences for 3 Degrees Asset Management

Under Florida Statute 831.01, the crime of Forgery is committed when a person falsifies, alters, counterfeits, or forges a document that carries “legal efficacy” with the intent to injure or defraud another person or entity.

Forging a document is considered a white-collar crime. It involves altering, changing, or modifying a document to deceive another person. It can also include passing along copies of documents that are known to be false. In many states in the US, falsifying a document is a crime punishable as a felony.

Additionally, under most laws, “fraud on the court” is where “a party has sentiently set in motion some unconscionable scheme calculated to interfere with the judicial system’s ability impartially to adjudicate a matter by improperly influencing the trier of fact or unfairly hampering the presentation of the opposing party’s claim or defense.”  Cox v. Burke, 706 So. 2d 43, 46 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998) (quoting Aoude v. Mobil Oil Corp., 892 F.2d 1115, 1118 (1st Cir. 1989)). 

Is 3 Degrees Asset Management Committing a Cyber Crime?

Yes, it seems so. 3 Degrees Asset Management used multiple approaches to remove unwanted material from review sites and Google’s search results. Thanks to protections allowing freedom of speech in the United States, there are very few legal ways to do this. 3 Degrees Asset Management could not eliminate negative reviews or search results that linked to them without a valid claim of defamation, copyright infringement, or some other clear breach of the law.

Faced with these limitations, some companies like 3 Degrees Asset Management have gone to extreme lengths to fraudulently claim copyright ownership over a negative review in the hopes of taking it down.

Fake DMCA notices have targeted articles highlighting the criminal activity of prominent people to hide their illegal behavior. These people, which include US, Russian, and Khazakstani politicians as well as members from elite circles including the mafia and those with massive financial power, are all connected – and alleged corruption ranging from child abuse to sexual harassment is exposed when exploring evidence found at these URLs. It appears there’s a disturbing level of influence being exerted here that needs further investigation before justice can be served. 3 Degrees Asset Management is certainly keeping interesting company here….

The DMCA takedown process requires that copyright owners submit a takedown notice to an ISP identifying the allegedly infringing content and declaring, under penalty of perjury, that they have a good faith belief that the content is infringing. The ISP must then promptly remove or disable access to the content. The alleged infringer can then submit a counter-notice, and if the copyright owner does not take legal action within 10 to 14 days, the ISP can restore the content.

Since these platforms are predominantly based in the U.S., the complaints are typically made under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which requires online service providers and platforms to react immediately to reports or violations. Big Tech companies rarely have systems in place to assess the merit of each report. Instead, all bad actors need to do is clone a story, backdate it, and then demand the real thing be taken down.

What was 3 Degrees Asset Management trying to hide?

3 Degrees Asset Management is reportedly trying to hide a series of damaging news reports, bad reviews, complaints, and regulatory documents that expose serious issues within the firm’s operations. The adverse information includes regulatory violations, unethical business practices, and potential financial misconduct, all of which have been brought to light following investigations by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Below are the key concerns and accusations that the firm is allegedly attempting to suppress online:

1. Regulatory Violations Leading to Forced Closure:

One of the most significant pieces of adverse news involves the firm’s forced closure by the MAS due to multiple regulatory breaches. The investigation by MAS uncovered that 3 Degrees Asset Management had failed to meet compliance standards expected of financial institutions in Singapore. These violations relate to inadequate risk management practices, governance issues, and failing to follow proper financial regulations, which ultimately led to their business license being revoked.

2. Misleading Clients and Investors:

The firm has faced accusations of misleading its clients regarding the risks associated with their investments. Allegedly, 3 Degrees did not provide transparent or adequate information about high-risk investments, leading to uninformed decisions that resulted in financial losses for their clients. The lack of disclosure about the nature of the investments has led to claims of dishonesty and unethical practices in how the firm managed its client relationships.

3. Questionable Risk Management Practices:

One of the major concerns outlined in MAS’s findings is the firm’s improper handling of risk management. 3 Degrees is accused of exposing its clients to unnecessary financial risks due to inadequate oversight and risk assessment processes. The firm’s poor internal controls meant that clients’ investments were not properly safeguarded, leaving them vulnerable to significant financial losses.

4. Unethical Investment and Financial Misconduct:

Complaints from former employees and clients allege that 3 Degrees Asset Management engaged in questionable investment practices that may have benefited the firm or its executives at the expense of its clients. These practices reportedly involved pushing risky investments without proper client consent and prioritizing firm profits over client welfare, which raises serious ethical concerns about their business conduct.

5. Attempts to Censor Negative Reviews and Online Criticism:

There have been reports of 3 Degrees Asset Management using legal threats or other tactics to remove negative reviews and suppress criticism online. This includes attempts to silence former clients, employees, or whistleblowers who have tried to expose the firm’s unethical practices or speak out about their negative experiences. These censorship efforts suggest a desire to maintain a positive public image while concealing the firm’s problematic actions.

6. Suppression of Regulatory Documents and Investigations:

The firm is likely attempting to prevent public access to the regulatory documents from MAS that detail the full extent of their non-compliance. These documents outline the specific breaches in the firm’s governance, risk management, and client handling processes, providing evidence of their failure to operate within legal and ethical boundaries. Hiding these documents could be an effort to avoid further reputational damage and scrutiny from potential clients or industry observers.

7. Bad Reviews and Complaints from Investors:

Investors who suffered losses due to the firm’s actions have reportedly left negative reviews and lodged complaints about their experiences. These reviews highlight concerns about poor communication, undisclosed risks, and a lack of transparency in how client funds were managed. The firm has allegedly attempted to suppress or remove these complaints to prevent potential clients from becoming aware of their track record.

In summary, 3 Degrees Asset Management appears to be focused on hiding a range of negative information that could further damage their already tarnished reputation. The firm’s alleged attempts to censor adverse news, bad reviews, and regulatory findings only underscore the gravity of the allegations they face. Despite their efforts, the closure ordered by MAS and the ongoing scrutiny from the financial community have kept these issues in the public eye.

Reputation Agency’s Modus Operandi

The fake DMCA notices we found always use the “back-dated article” technique. With this technique, the wrongful notice sender (or copier) creates a copy of a “true original” article and back-dates it, creating a “fake original” article (a copy of the true original) that, at first glance, appears to have been published before the true original.

Then, based on the claim that this backdated article is the “original,” the scammers send a DMCA to the relevant online service providers (e.g. Google), alleging that the ‘true’ original is the copied or “infringing” article and that the copied article is the “original,” requesting the takedown of the ‘true’ original article. After sending the DMCA request, the person who sent the wrong notice takes down the fake original URL, likely to make sure that the article doesn’t stay online in any way. If the takedown notice is successful, the disappearance from the internet of information is most likely to be legitimate speech.

How did 3 Degrees Asset Management purport this DMCA Fraud?

As an integral part of this scheme, the ‘reputation management’ company hired by 3 Degrees Asset Management creates a website that purports to be a ‘news’ site. This site is designed to look legitimate at a glance, but any degree of scrutiny reveals it as the charade it is.

The company copies the ‘negative’ content and posts it “on the fake ‘news’ site, attributing it to a separate author,” then gives it “a false publication date on the ‘news’ website that predated the original publication.

The reputation company then sent Google a Digital Millennium Copyright Act notice claiming the original website infringed copyright. After a cursory examination of the fake news site, Google frequently accepts the notice and delists the content.

In committing numerous offences, 3 Degrees Asset Management either premeditated actions or were unaware of the consequences. Despite hiring an agency to make Google disregard any negative information about 3 Degrees Asset Management , ignorance does not excuse this wrongdoing.

The Reputation Laundering

Rogue Reputation agencies use spurious copyright claims and fake legal notices to remove and obscure articles linking clients to allegations of tax avoidance, corruption, and drug trafficking. Most of these reputation agencies are based offshore, mainly in Russia, India, and Eastern Europe, and they do not worry about complying with US-based laws.

The content in all of the articles for which the fraudulent DMCA notices have been sent relates to allegations of criminal allegations, including corruption, child abuse, sexual harassment, human trafficking and financial fraud against businesses and individuals with ultra-high net worth.

In addition to the misuse of the DMCA takedown process, there is a notable absence of enforcement concerning perjury violations. The statutory requirement related to perjury is designed to deter copyright holders from submitting fraudulent or knowingly false takedown requests, as they may face legal consequences for making false declarations under penalty of perjury. However, to date, there have been no known instances of any individual being prosecuted for perjury in connection with the submission of false DMCA takedown notices.

This lack of enforcement has emboldened copyright holders to exploit the DMCA takedown process to suppress dissent, criticism, or other unfavorable content, without fear of legal repercussions.

Not In Good Company

Some of the people and businesses who have employed this tactic to remove legitimate content from Google illegally include a Spanish businessman-turned-cocaine-trafficker, Organised crime, an Israeli-Argentine banker accused of laundering money for Hugo Chávez’s regime, a French “responsible” mining company accused of tax evasion, child molesters and sexual predators. 3 Degrees Asset Management is in great company ….

Ironically, the manipulation tactics used to remove public-interest information from the Internet are backfiring on 3 Degrees Asset Management , which is now associated with the worst of this world.

Here are some of the specimens that share the internet space with 3 Degrees Asset Management –

Miguel Octavio Vargas Maldonado

Miguel Octavio Vargas Maldonado appears to be the former foreign affairs minister of the Dominican Republic. His name is listed next to more than 500 links to news articles, blogs, social media posts, and YouTube videos targeted for removal or de-indexing. Many of the articles refer to questions over his political fundraising practices. They include accusations that Vargas had received donations from an individual who would later be convicted of drug trafficking. Some targeted links remain active, while others return 404 errors or “file not found.”

José Antonio Gordo Valero

José Gordo joined OneCoin in 2015 and has been named in an indictment for the OneCoin scam in Argentina. The articles listed next to Gordo’s name in the documents reviewed by Rest of World include references to his role at the company. 

Diego Adolfo Marynberg

He appears to be the same Marynberg connected to funding right-wing causes, including settlement efforts in Israel. Reports also alleged that his company received preferential treatment in acquiring Argentinian bonds worth millions of dollars. More than 70 URLs appear next to Marynberg’s name in the documents, including pages from the Israeli newspapers The Times of Israel, Haaretz, and Clarin, one of Argentina’s most prominent news sites.

Majed Khalil Majzoub

Majed is an influential businessman with close ties to several governments, including the administration of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro. Majzoub’s name appears next to more than 180 URLs, mostly from independent outlets. Of the two URLs that pointed to articles from Germany’s Der Spiegel, one now returns an error message; the other, which appears to refer to relations between Venezuela and Colombia, directs to an unrelated story about Brexit. 

Frequently Asked Questions

What is our next move?

Critical Intel will, in its capacity, do all it can to hold someone responsible for this incident. Here is what we are preparing for –

Since 3 Degrees Asset Management  made such efforts to hide something online, it seems fit to ensure that this article and our original review of 3 Degrees Asset Management , including but not limited to user contributions, remain a permanent record for anyone interested in 3 Degrees Asset Management .

A case perfect for the Streisand effect…

What else is 3 Degrees Asset Management hiding?

Click here to visit the Google Search page for ‘3 Degrees Asset Management ’. It’s likely if you scroll down to the bottom of this Google search results, you’ll stumble upon this Legal Takedown notice (pictured below)

To make such an investigation possible, we encourage more online service providers to come forward and share copies of content removal requests with us. If you have any information on 3 Degrees Asset Management that you want to share with us, kindly email the author directly at [email protected].

All communications are strictly confidential and safeguarded under a comprehensive Whistleblower Policy, ensuring full protection and anonymity for individuals who provide information.

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References and Citations Used

Over thirty thousand DMCA notices reveal an organized attempt to abuse copyright law.

Reputation Management, or Internet Conspiracy

Exposed documents reveal how the powerful cleaned up their digital past using a reputation laundering firm.

Companies Use Fake Websites and Backdated Articles to Censor Google’s Search Results.

Bad Reviews: How Companies Are Using Fake Websites to Censor Content

How fake copyright complaints are muzzling journalists

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Many thanks to FakeDMCA.com and Lumen for providing access to their database.

Photos and Illustrations provided by DALL-E 3 – “a representation of 3 Degrees Asset Management censoring the internet and committing cyber crimes.”

• Our investigative report on 3 Degrees Asset Management ‘s efforts to suppress online speech is significant, as it raises serious concerns about its integrity. The findings suggest that 3 Degrees Asset Management has engaged in questionable practices, including potential perjury, impersonation, and fraud, in a misguided attempt to manage or salvage its reputation.
• We intend to file a counternotice to reinstate the removed article(s). While this particular instance is relatively straightforward, it is important to note that, in other cases, the overwhelming volume of automated DMCA takedown notices can significantly hinder the ability of affected parties to respond—especially for those not large media organizations.
• You need an account with fakeDMCA.com and Lumen to access the research data. However, accounts are not widely available since these non-profit organisations manage large databases that could be susceptible to misuse. Nevertheless, they do offer access to non-profits and researchers.
• It’s unclear why U.S. authorities have yet to act against these rogue reputation agencies, whose business model seems rooted in fraudulent practices.
• We’ve reached out to 3 Degrees Asset Management for a comment or rebuttal regarding this investigation. It will strongly suggest they were behind the takedown attempt if they remain silent.

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About the Author

The author is affiliated with Harvard University and serves as a researcher at both Lumen and FakeDMCA.com. In his personal capacity, he and his team have been actively investigating and reporting on organized crime related to fraudulent copyright takedown schemes. Additionally, his team provides advisory services to major law firms and is frequently consulted on matters pertaining to intellectual property law. He can be reached at [email protected] directly.