A new U.S. indictment in the HyperFund Ponzi case has brought renewed urgency to long-standing concerns within the Tongan community, where many suffered losses before one local promoter finally warned investors.
The action underscores how a global fraud that once took root among Tongans abroad continues to cast a shadow, even as authorities move to hold its architects to account.
A U.S. grand jury has recently issued an updated indictment against Rodney Burton, 56, also known as ‘Bitcoin Rodney’, of Miami, Florida, and Prince George’s County, Maryland, for his alleged role in promoting the US$1.8 billion fraud scheme.
Burton is accused of being a key global promoter of the HyperFund network — also marketed as HyperVerse and HyperTech — which U.S. authorities have labelled a global Ponzi scheme.”
His co-promoter, Australian cryptocurrency entrepreneur Sam Lee, has also been charged for his alleged role in the fraud scheme alongside two others.
Prosecutors allege the operation falsely promised investors consistent, high returns through cryptocurrency-related products that generated little or no genuine revenue.
Lee’s engagement with Tongan victims was direct and in person, facilitated by U.S-based Tongan promoter Setaita Folau Tānaki, who repeatedly hosted and featured him on her Facebook livestreams to encourage community participation before the Ponzi scheme collapsed in 2024.
Kaniva News closely monitored the scheme from its emergence in the Tongan community in 2021 through its collapse in 2024, tracking online engagement and reviewing the promotional videos directed at Tongans during that period.
Scam Cycle Repeats
The scheme was aggressively promoted through livestreams, social media, and online seminars.
This pattern mirrors previous investment scams that have circulated in Pacific diaspora communities, relying heavily on trust networks and social influence.
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Its early promotion within the Tongan community was met with mixed reactions. Some community members embraced it online after Tānaki promoted it, while others attended in‑person presentations before deciding to participate.
Meanwhile, critics voiced their concerns on social media, and several attendees confronted Tānaki at promotional meetings, accusing her of pushing a pyramid scheme and encouraging community members to invest in order to maintain her position at the top of the structure — a defining feature of such scams.
Despite the backlash, Tānaki and her loyal supporters continued to dismiss the criticism and encouraged more community members to join.
“I am withdrawing $200 a day,” she told her followers in a livestream, implying this was profit earned after depositing only a small amount into the HyperFund scheme.
The same style of promotion is now being used by BG Wealth Sharing promoters in the Tongan community.
Promoter Reverses Course
By early 2023, Tānaki abruptly changed the way she communicated with the community in what appeared to be her first public acknowledgement that the scheme she had promoted was fraudulent.
During a livestream, her tone and demeanour shifted markedly, and she urged investors to stop depositing funds as the operation unravelled, as previously reported by Kaniva News.
By then, HyperFund activity within the Tongan community had begun to fade as withdrawals stalled, associated platforms collapsed, and the scale of financial losses became increasingly clear.
According to Tānaki, many Tongans had invested more than $100,000 each, only to be blocked by the scammers and told to complete additional forms in order for their funds to be ‘considered’ for release.
Identical Fraud Playbook
What makes the new US indictment particularly relevant now is that a near-identical scheme is again circulating among Tongans.
BG Wealth Sharing has drawn comparisons to the HyperFund scam because both operations follow the same fraud pattern: they promise unrealistic daily returns, use fake leaders and forged documents to appear legitimate, and recruit heavily through private messaging groups.
Regulators in several countries have already issued warnings against BG Wealth Sharing and its linked platform DSJEX, noting the same hallmarks seen in HyperFund — including fake profits shown on internal dashboards, blocked withdrawals, and pressure on investors to deposit more.
Both schemes also credited or paid a small number of early participants to create the illusion of legitimacy, using those apparent “success stories” as bait to convince and lure more people into the scam.
Warnings Ignored Again
BG Wealth Sharing and its partner platform DSJEX have been flagged by regulators in the U.S., Canada, and the UK as a fraudulent investment scheme.
Authorities in Washington State report complaints resembling a pump‑and‑dump operation involving impersonation of a legitimate investment firm, while warnings in California link the scam to Rancho Cordova.
International regulators have also taken action. The Alberta Securities Commission placed BG Wealth Sharing on its Investment Caution List on January 15, 2026, and the UK Financial Conduct Authority issued a warning in May 2025 declaring BG Wealth Sharing/dsjex.net an unauthorised firm.
The National Reserve Bank of Tonga has identified the operation as a scam, saying it is targeting the Tongan diaspora in Australia, New Zealand, and other countries abroad.
The operation shows classic scam signs: fake documents, including forged U.S. incorporation and SEC certificates; a “pig‑butchering” recruitment method using WhatsApp/Telegram groups led by fake “mentors” such as “Professor Stephen Beard”; and blocked withdrawals, with victims told to pay bogus “taxes” or “security deposits” to access their own funds.
Despite these warnings, Tongans across New Zealand, Australia, and the U.S. continue to report recruitment attempts.”
