“Nobody wants to work with him any more. He hired pretty much everyone who was in that network, marketing, info-products. And he never paid anyone, every single time.”

A contractor in the industry

On the regulated side, it's over. Every financial intermediary approached in recent months, in France and in the UK, has declined. On the marketing and info-product side (online courses and coaching), same thing: unpaid bills everywhere, contractors passing the word around, not a single team wants to work with him any more. Benotmane is still flailing, like a headless chicken. But the body no longer follows.

“At the start, the intentions were good. The club was set to get off to a good start. But he wanted so badly to keep the money for himself.”

One of the people named in the video

The courts have been seized at least 4 times, including once through a group complaint brought by the Collectif AVI³. Several dozen members are asking for refunds, sometimes up to €14K, without success. Yet a handful would still be ready to put in €1M. At this point, it's natural selection.

There are dozens of Hakims. Unlicensed clubs, €5K courses sold by guys who have never run a business, challenges that cash in and vanish. The AMF (the markets regulator) refers you to the ACPR (the banking supervisor). The ACPR refers you to the DGCCRF (the consumer-fraud agency). The DGCCRF says it's a financial matter. The ARPP (the advertising standards body) looks the other way.

Contacted, Hakim Benotmane replied that I was “a piece of dog shit”. Let's consider that his right of reply⁴.

For real.