Maxion, the UAE’s first matchmaking app, was recently offered what its founders thought was a ‘funding’ of $1.75 million. A business trip to Europe and $12,000 in travel expenses later, it emerged that it was all a scam. The company’s executives realised that they were being conned — just before they lost $250,000.
Christiane Maxion, the tech founder of the AI matchmaking concierge, “advisor” of a wealthy client emailed her about the investment in April. “What started as an innocuous email exchange quickly escalated into a phone call where the ‘advisor’ presented a promising investment opportunity, supposedly from the girlfriend of a 60-year-old ultra-high net worth individual who wanted to diversify her assets before moving to the UAE,” she said. “We agreed on an investment of $1.75 million… at a valuation of $10 million.”
For Christiana, the first red flag was that the so-called advisors did not require financial disclosures or conduct due diligence. “Maybe I had a dreamy look or was wearing rose-tinted glasses because… this additional investment would help us expand throughout the Gulf and prepare for an acquisition.”
Cristiana and her finance director Cristina Neculcea flew to Barcelona with the promise of closing the deal. They met in person with potential partners for a “very brief meeting regarding the investment.”
“Everything went well and we were invited to dinner that evening. We met and things got a little funny; they started mentioning something about cold ledger and proof of funds.”
They flew back to Dubai and as the negotiations progressed, red flags started to emerge. The “advisor” put forward the idea of a huge commission – a staggering $300,000 to be exact – which remained hidden from the investor. Moreover, the insistence on conducting cryptocurrency transactions raised suspicions.”
Christiana and Christina Neculcea renegotiated the terms and set the commission at $250,000. “Yes, it was an incredible amount… but I saw it as a win-win situation: we get the funding, the investor gets the capital, and the advisors get the commission.”
Unrealistic demands
The advisors wanted the company to provide “proof of funds” and purchase 250,000 USDT (Tether, a cryptocurrency pegged to the US dollar).
“Of course, since we are a startup, we (didn’t) have the money on hand, so we refused. They got angry with us and told us that we would have to put the cryptocurrency on a USB stick and meet them in Brussels or Amsterdam to close this deal. So we started digging and found: fake passports, fake names, fake companies, scam reports, etc.
The criminals operated under aliases, posed as legitimate business licenses, and fabricated websites. Their tactics ranged from falsifying investors’ credentials to pressuring them to use unorthodox payment methods, including demanding cold wallet transactions.”
Managers are currently working on filing a complaint with European police and the European Financial and Economic Crime Center (EFECC).
Since the lost money was spent on travel, they cannot get it back. “The money and time involved is minimal compared to the actual impact a real scam would have on us. Overall, I firmly believe that telling this story will help us attract real and honest investment for our seed round,” Christiane said.
Although the company’s executives did not fall for the scam, they have become “extremely conscientious” in dealing with future potential investors.
Maxion claims to expedite the dating process by sending members compatible profiles each week instead of “wasted time swiping from an endless pool of incompatible people”. Once there is a mutual connection, a first date is booked.
“Our seed round funding will help us open our ‘Indian Connections’ portal and the development of our ‘Muslim Marriages’ portal to help us enter two more markets before end of year,” added Christiana.