Financing / Crowdfunding : Contacted by Financiers by Cheryl Boyles

Looked at the Ortec Finance website and checked it out on LinkedIn; the company looks legit but definitely confused about why they're interested in financing your projects if they have not read them. I would tread but tread carefully, feel them out with some questions first. Do you have an entertainment lawyer to discuss this with?

Definitely confused here too, Lance! I was given the name of “the investor,” Mr. Juris Grišins, and asked to contact him because he is “excited” about my work. I wrote him back this morning so stay tuned if you are interested. No entertainment lawyer as yet (since I’ve not thus far had need of one), but do have some in my Stage 32 network. I definitely won’t sign anything or make any other sort of commitments without an attorney though. Did not have this twist on my bingo card!

It does seem scammy, Cheryl Boyles. You can report them to Stage 32. support@stage32.com

If something seems too good to be true, it usually is.

Thanks much for the link, Maurice. I won’t hesitate to report them the moment it feels like they’ve crossed a line. I’m a pretty skeptical person when something sounds too good to be true (you are right, Stephen!) so I even created a new encrypted email to write them on. I just want to see what they say before I make an all-out judgment.

Very scammy! (and I received that DM too) Let me know via DM and/or report it to support@stage32.com like Maurice suggested

You're welcome, Cheryl Boyles.

Attached is the message I received back from this email: info@ortexfinance.com. Should I report it, ignore it, other?

It looks scammy, Cheryl Boyles. Juris mentioned Ivan Zahharenko. Ivan messaged me on here wanting to discuss funding, but I told him I'm not involved in producing movies. I don't know a lot about financing, so I can't say if this is legit or not, but I suggest forwarding the messages and that picture to Stage 32 and see what they think (support@stage32.com). I'm about to message Stage 32 about Ivan and see what they say.

Done! Thanks Maurice. Let me know what Stage 32 support says, and I will do the same.

You're welcome, Cheryl Boyles. I emailed Stage 32 a little while ago. I'll let you know what they say.

Maurice Vaughan yeah, Ivan from Texarkana messaged me also offering financing, I told him the script is for sale and that shut him up lol ...

Thank you everyone for sending in your thoughts! When in doubt, reach out! But seriously, I'm always more than happy to look into something that feels off or suspicious.

Oi Cheryl Boyles. Eu recebi o mesmo email. Nele, me ofereciam de 100 mil a 100.000.000 de dólares. Não tenho dúvidas que isso é fraude.

Well there you go! Thanks Niki Hayes and everyone at Stage 32 for keeping this space professional and safe.

Hi Cheryl what did you end up finding out on this possible scam?

Cheryl, he contacted me as well. I did check out the site for Ortex Finance and it was one of those "stock" websites and had lots of typos on it. Big red flag. I did send him an NDA before sending him my pitch deck, which he signed, and I cc'd my lawyer. Ivan wrote back SUPER EXCITED about my deck (another red flag, since finance people never gush like that over a project). I still gave him the benefit of the doubt and sent an email to the guy he said to contact (cc-ing my lawyer again) and the email I got back from the guy was so nuts, I didn't respond and I reported him to Stage 32. Ivan was suspended from the site.

Thanks much for the update, Maureen. I also found the super excitement over projects they’d never seen red flag worthy. It is assuring to know he is gone from our platform. All the best!