NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance’s (TDCI) Division of Securities along with other state securities regulators announce that a multi-million dollar settlement has been reached with GSB Gold Standard Corporation AG, a company based in Germany that purportedly operates in the fintech and banking industries, and GSB Gold Standard Bank LTD, more commonly known as “GS Partners.” The settlement also names Josip Heit, the principal and Chairman of the Board of GS Partners, and other affiliated organizations that are often collectively known as the “GSB Group.”

Tennessee consumers who invested in or deposited funds with GSB Gold Standard Corporation AG or GSB Gold Standard Bank LTD will be eligible to receive the value of their investments or deposits, less the value of any withdrawals. Investors will have 90 days to file a claim once the claims process has opened, which is expected to open in November.

“This settlement is proof that bad actors who don’t deliver what they promise to investors shouldn’t expect to get away with perpetrating their schemes no matter how they might try and hide,” said TDCI Commissioner Carter Lawrence. “I applaud the work of regulators across the country who worked together to help protect hard-working consumers in Tennessee and elsewhere who lost money in this scheme.”

The alleged offerings of investments were tied to digital assets and the metaverse, including the “G999 token,” a digital asset deployed on a proprietary blockchain purportedly tied to physical gold; “XLT Vouchers,” a digital asset purportedly representing ownership interests in a skyscraper; and investments in a so-called “staking pool” in a metaverse known as “Lydian World.” The regulators’ investigation also focused on the alleged sale of “Elemental and Success Series Certificates,” through which purchasers were allegedly incentivized through gamification to continue adding more and more value to their certificates to unlock greater returns, such as the payment of weekly or monthly passive income.

GS Partners and its affiliates targeted investors primarily through in-person seminars at churches, hotels, convention centers, and other facilities nationwide. They also promoted their investments using online presentations through Zoom and Facebook Live, websites, and social media. They claimed their investment deals were “the best opportunity on the planet,” a “gamechanger,” and an “industry disrupter.” The promotors often used catch phrases like “building generational wealth” and “let your money work for you” to entice investors.

The settlement requires the respondents to return the full amount of all monies and/or cryptocurrencies invested or deposited with GSB Group, GS Partners and its affiliates, regardless of the product or service purchased from the respondents. GS Partners, its affiliated companies, and its representatives claim to have over 800,000 investors from more than 170 countries and to be close to completing $1 billion in transactions. Many of the products offered to investors were converted and often tied to a number of other tangible and intangible investments.

More information about filing a claim will be shared by TDCI’s Securities Division when available. More information about the settlement is available here.   

“Tennesseans who purchased any product or service from GSB Group should contact TDCI’s Division of Securities today so that we might help affected investors begin preparing for the claims process,” said TDCI Assistant Commissioner of Securities Elizabeth Bowling. “Consumers should contact us by phone at (615) 741-5900 or visit us online today for more information.”

All communications with TDCI's Securities Division are protected and deemed confidential as a matter of law. 

###