DANNY DE HEK
Scammers rely on silence. We make noise.
Welcome to the Avengers Anti-Fraud Alliance, led by Danny de Hek, a New Zealand investigative journalist whose work exposing scams, Ponzi schemes, MLMs and financial fraud has been featured by The New York Times, Bloomberg, The Guardian, ABC Australia, RNZ and others.
This podcast takes you inside real investigations.
We follow the money, identify the people behind fraudulent operations, examine corporate records, court documents, blockchain transactions, marketing material, leaked communications and digital evidence — then put what we find into the public record.
Some investigations begin with a victim contacting me. Others start with an anonymous tip, a suspicious Zoom meeting, a cryptocurrency wallet, a court filing, or an Avenger somewhere in the world saying: “Danny, you need to look at this.”
The Avengers Anti-Fraud Alliance brings together researchers, whistleblowers, victims and ordinary people who are tired of watching scammers operate without scrutiny.
Patreon helps fund that work and gives supporters a closer look behind the investigations — including updates, evidence, developing stories and material that doesn't always fit into a YouTube video.
I don't accept payment to remove investigations. I don't sell reputation management. And when someone I investigate disagrees with my reporting, I give them the opportunity to respond.
The objective is simple:
Investigate. Analyse. Expose. Protect.
If you're a victim, whistleblower or you've discovered something that deserves investigating, get in touch.
Scams thrive in darkness. The Avengers turn on the lights.
DANNY DE HEK
Goliath Ventures Inc: Piers Curry and Matthew Burks - The $20 Million Deal and Alleged Deception
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Two men who helped promote Goliath Ventures. A business partnership built around investor confidence and financial compliance. A $20 million separation agreement. Now, Piers Curry and Matthew Burks are at the centre of a Florida lawsuit involving allegations of deception, concealed financial information and conflicting business interests.
Before their relationship collapsed, both men were involved in BlackBlock Management Solutions, a company presented to Goliath investors as providing compliance oversight, investor relations and greater transparency. The question is whether those assurances were supported by genuine independent financial verification.
*THE MEN BEHIND BLACKBLOCK*
In December 2024, Piers Curry wrote to Goliath investors outlining BlackBlock's responsibilities for regulatory compliance, client verification and investor relations.
Two months later, Curry and Matthew Burks appeared together during a recorded Goliath presentation. They discussed insurance, fidelity bonds, investor accreditation and the financial safeguards they claimed were being developed.
Curry acknowledged that they had invested their own money with Christopher Delgado before helping other clients participate.
This was not simply two investors discussing an opportunity. They were helping establish confidence in an operation promising extraordinary cryptocurrency returns.
But what had they actually verified?
*THE $20 MILLION BREAKUP*
By February 2025, their business relationship was deteriorating.
Curry now alleges that Burks refused him access to financial information, concealed important business dealings and made misleading representations about Goliath's financial condition.
On 1 April 2025, they entered into a separation agreement providing for $20 million in consideration: $200,000 in cash and a $19.8 million secured promissory note.
The court documents establish the terms of that arrangement, not whether the full amount was paid.
What makes the agreement particularly interesting is what happened next.
Goliath continued operating for months before investors began experiencing serious withdrawal problems. Curry subsequently filed civil proceedings against Burks, seeking damages and the rescission of their separation agreement.
*FROM BUSINESS PARTNERS TO COURTROOM OPPONENTS*
In Hillsborough County Circuit Court, case 26-CA-006148, Curry's amended complaint sets out seven civil claims, including fraudulent misrepresentation, breach of fiduciary duty, civil conspiracy and fraudulent inducement.
Burks has relied on provisions of their separation agreement in challenging the lawsuit.
The dispute raises questions extending beyond the breakdown of a business partnership.
Curry alleges that Burks had access to cryptocurrency wallets, financial records and information about Goliath's operations that Curry could not independently examine.
The complaint also raises allegations involving WealthMD, overlapping compliance responsibilities and investor exit requests submitted shortly before Goliath's collapse.
These allegations have not been established as findings against Burks. But the documents provide an important opportunity to examine what was happening behind the compliance assurances being presented to investors.
*WHO KNEW WHAT?*
Christopher Delgado's recorded interview with WFTV adds another dimension.
Discussing decisions within Goliath, Delgado named Matthew Burks alongside himself and Nick Petrillo, claiming they knew what was happening.
That is Delgado's account, not an independent criminal finding against Burks.
And Curry's own involvement cannot be ignored. He participated in promoting Goliath, introducing investors and presenting BlackBlock's compliance arrangements as safeguards.
The lawsuit now places their competing accounts under scrutiny.
While these former business partners argue over alleged deception and the enforceability of their $20 million separation agreement, the investors who trusted Goliath are left with more fundamental questions.
Who verified the money? Who benefited financially? What did those responsible for compliance know about Goliath's actual operations?
And how could an investment operation promoted with such confidence collapse while the people presenting its safeguards were so deeply involved?
READ THE FULL INVESTIGATION:
https://www.dehek.com/general/scam-fraud-investigations/goliath-ventures-inc-piers-curry-and-matthew-burks-the-20-million-deal-and-alleged-deception/
The Avengers Anti-Fraud Alliance is a community supporting independent investigations into scams, Ponzi schemes, MLMs, crypto fraud and the people behind them.
Led by New Zealand investigative journalist Danny de Hek, the Avengers help uncover information, connect victims, analyse evidence and expose schemes that deserve public scrutiny.
We investigate. We expose. We protect.
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DANNY DE HEK
DANNY DE HEK