NEVER WIRE MONEY FOR CRYPTO: YOU ARE WIRING TO A MONEY MULE FOR A CRYPTO SCAM.

The Elitepalace Prosperity Group & Athena System Crypto Fraud Scam

EXPOSED

Individuals Identified as Marcus Hawthorne, Alec Merritt, and Tessa Marlowee run the scam. 

These people may not be real and just use fake names

THE SUMMARY OF THE SCAM

The ElitePalace scheme, led by individuals identifying as Marcus Hawthorne, Alec Merritt, and Tessa Marlowee, is a textbook example of a "Pig Butchering" (long-term grooming) scam. It transitions victims from legitimate financial education into a completely controlled, fraudulent ecosystem.

Here is a summary of how the operation works:

1. The Lure: Legitimate Education

The scam begins on social media (Facebook or Instagram) or via unsolicited WhatsApp messages inviting you to an "exclusive" investment group.

• Initial Trust: For weeks or months, the group provides genuinely high-quality education and "daily stock picks" that actually work.

• The Hook: By making you money on real stocks (20–50% gains) and giving away "free" bonuses in BTC or USDT, they bypass your skepticism. You begin to see the "Professor" (Hawthorne) as a visionary mentor.

2. Transition to the "Walled Garden" (Milase)

Once trust is absolute, they pivot the group toward a proprietary platform called Milase.com.

• The "House Money" Test: They provide you with $700 in "house funds" to trade on Milase. They allow you to keep the "profits" as long as you return the $700.

• Simulated Returns: This is where the deception becomes technical. Every trade on Milase is a winner. Users see their accounts grow from $700 to $2,000+ in days.

• Fake Market Data: The crypto pairs on Milase do not exist on legitimate exchanges like Coinbase or Binance. While a token might be worth $0.01 in the real world, Milase displays it at $100. The "gains" you see are just numbers typed into a website by the scammers.

3. The Cult of Fervor

As the "test" succeeds, the group dynamics shift. Marcus, Alec, and Tessa create a sense of urgency and exclusivity.

• Psychological Pressure: They claim the stock market is crashing and that "80% allocation to crypto" is the only way to survive.

• The Senior Member Trap: They encourage users to deposit large sums of their own money to reach "Senior Member" status for better trading signals.

• Social Proof: The WhatsApp/Signal groups are filled with "shills" (fake accounts) posting screenshots of their massive (fake) withdrawals and thanking the Professor, making you feel like the only one missing out.

4. The Withdrawal Block (The "Butchering")

The moment a victim attempts to withdraw their principal or a large portion of their profit, the "walled garden" becomes a cage.

• The Tax Trap: They will tell you that you must pay a "20% personal income tax" or "verification fee" upfront before the withdrawal can be processed.

• Security Lock-ups: They may claim your account is "under investigation" or "locked for market stability" (a common tactic used with their ELIX token).

• The Final Disappearance: If you refuse to pay more, or if you pay and still try to withdraw, they will delete the Signal chat history (using disappearing messages), block you, and move on to the next victim.

Warning: If you are currently in this group, do not confront them. Confrontation leads to immediate blocking and deletion of evidence. Instead, screen-capture every chat, transaction hash, and profile immediately, and file a report at IC3.gov.

FAKE TRADING PLATFORM THAT SHOWS FAKE GAINS

⚠️*****web.milase.com****⚠️

Milase P2P (often linked to "Elite Prosperity" groups) fits the exact profile of a cryptocurrency scam.

If you have money on a platform called "Milase" or web.milase.com, or if you are in a WhatsApp/Telegram group called "Elite Prosperity" guiding you to use this site, you are likely being targeted by a fraudulent scheme.

Here is the breakdown of why this is dangerous and what is likely happening.

1. The Red Flags

• Unknown & Unregulated: "Milase" is not a registered exchange in the US (SEC/FINRA), UK (FCA), or any other major financial jurisdiction. Legitimate exchanges (like Coinbase, Kraken, or Binance) are easy to verify. Milase has virtually no legitimate footprint outside of warnings.

• Trustpilot Warning: The URL web.milase.com has been flagged on review sites like Trustpilot with warnings that the company is associated with "high-risk investments" or scams.

• The "Elite Prosperity" Group: Scammers often create "VIP" or "Elite" groups on WhatsApp or Telegram. They use "professors" or "mentors" who claim to have inside knowledge to build trust. This is a psychological trick to lower your defenses.

2. How the Scam Works (The "Pig Butchering" Method)

This specific setup usually follows a pattern known as "Pig Butchering" (fattening the victim up before taking everything).

• The Lure: You are added to a group (Elite Prosperity) where people post screenshots of massive profits. These "people" are often bots or accomplices.

• The Test: They ask you to move a small amount of money to the Milase platform. You trade, make a profit, and they let you withdraw this small amount to the bank. This convinces you it is real.

• The Trap: They pressure you to invest larger sums (e.g., $10k, $50k) for a "special P2P event" or "contract."

• The Lockout: When you try to withdraw the large amount, you can't. They will demand you pay a "tax," "security deposit," or "verification fee" to release the funds. Do not pay this. It is a secondary scam to steal more money.

3. Immediate Steps to Take

If you have already sent funds, please follow these steps immediately:

1. Stop all payments: Do not send another cent. If they say you need to pay 20% tax to withdraw, it is a lie. No legitimate exchange works this way.

2. Disconnect: Exit the "Elite Prosperity" group. The "friends" you made there are likely part of the scam.

3. Secure your info: If you uploaded your ID or passport to the Milase site, you are at risk of identity theft. You should freeze your credit.

4. Report it: File a report with the FBI IC3 (Internet Crime Complaint Center) if you are in the US.

When the "Elite Prosperity" group or the Milase platform asks you to wire money to a random individual (a "merchant") via a bank transfer instead of sending crypto directly from a verified exchange (like Coinbase), they are doing it for three specific strategic reasons:

1. To Bypass Security Filters (The "Money Mule" System)

• The Problem for Scammers: If you try to send $50,000 directly to a known crypto scam wallet, major exchanges (like Coinbase or Binance) or your bank might flag the transaction as "high risk" and block it.

• The Solution: By asking you to wire money to "John Smith" or "XYZ Consulting LLC" (who is actually a money mule—a person whose account is being used to launder money), the transaction looks like a normal personal or business transfer. Your bank is less likely to block a wire to a person than a transfer to a suspicious crypto wallet.

2. The Platform is a Simulation (Fake Credits)

This is the most dangerous part of the scam to understand: No actual trading is taking place.

• How it works: You wire $10,000 to the "merchant." You send a screenshot of the receipt to the Milase customer support.

• The Trick: The scammers sit at a computer and essentially "type" $10,000 into your account balance on the website.

• The Reality: The money didn't go into a trading account. It went into the mule's bank account, was immediately withdrawn, and is now gone. The numbers you see on your screen are just pixels. If you had sent real crypto on the blockchain, you might be able to trace it. By using wires, they sever the digital link between you and the crypto.

3. Plausible Deniability

If you later complain to the police or your bank, the scammers use the "P2P" (Peer-to-Peer) label as a shield.

• They claim: "We are just a platform connecting users. You sent money to another user, not to us. We aren't responsible if that user didn't fulfill the deal."

• This makes it incredibly difficult for law enforcement to shut down the website itself because they claim to be a neutral third party, even though they control the whole operation.

Summary: They want wires because wires are final, hard to track, and bypass the fraud alerts that usually protect people from crypto scams.

Action Item: If you have sent a wire recently (within 24-48 hours), you should call your bank's fraud department immediately and ask for a "Wire Recall" or "Kill Chain" due to fraud. It is a long shot, but sometimes possible if caught early.