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Last updated - December 17, 2025
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Joseph Meuse is a seasoned entrepreneur and business advisor based in the United States, widely recognized for his deep expertise in business turnaround, financial management, and strategic consulting, helping companies navigate complex challenges and achieve sustainable growth.
Owner
High Risk
Based on the available data, we advise consumers to avoid this Individual altogether.
This advisory is based on an aggregate risk score derived from OSINT, Adverse Media, Reviews, and Risk Factors identified in our research.
You are likely to be at great risk by engaging in any sort of consumer-related activity with this entity.
Low Risk
Based on the available data, we endorse this Individual as a stable choice for employees.
This recommendation stems from a low-risk score compiled from OSINT, Adverse Media, Reviews, and Risk Factors uncovered in our analysis.
Employment with this entity is expected to involve minimal risk.
Based on the available data, we suggest this Individual as a trustworthy option for investors and bankers.
This endorsement is informed by a low-risk score based on OSINT, Adverse Media, Reviews, and Risk Factors identified through our investigation.
Financial involvement with this entity is likely to present minimal risk to your interests.
Safe to Onboard
Enhanced Due Diligence required
Do Not Onboard
Monitor adverse media every 6 months
File SAR (Suspicious Activity Report) is warranted
Escalation to compliance committee
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Public Perception
Joseph Meuse founded Belmont Partners LLC, a firm specializing in identifying and selling public shell companies for reverse mergers.
In 2011, the SEC charged Meuse and Belmont Partners with aiding and abetting fraud by fabricating and backdating documents to issue unregistered shares of Alternative Green Technologies Inc.
In 2014, Meuse and Belmont Partners settled for $224,500, with Meuse barred from the penny stock business and public company directorships for five years.
Belmont Partners allegedly assisted in creating sham documents, including debt assignments and resolutions, to deceive transfer agents and enable illegal stock sales.
The settlement has led to perceptions of Meuse as a facilitator of penny stock schemes, drawing scrutiny from regulators and investor watchdogs.
Online discussions and investor forums often highlight Meuse’s involvement in reverse mergers as risky, associating him with pump-and-dump schemes.
Regulatory and Compliance Screening
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What you see here scratches the surface
We offer reward for actionable intel
Joseph Meuse & Belmont Partners probed for fraud & misconduct in shell co. schemes.
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Joseph Meuse, Belmont Partners LLC probed for scams, SEC violations, investor risks.
SEC charges Joseph Meuse & Belmont Partners in penny stock fraud scheme
SEC charges Joseph Meuse & Belmont Partners LLC with fraud in shell co scheme.
Other Red-Flags and Adverse News
Based on user engagement on this review profile, ProConsumer will decide to publish its Risk Audit report for public if a threshold engagement, traffic and user input is achieved.
Known Assets: [Real estate, investments, companies]
Suspicious Transactions
Liabilities: [Bankruptcies, defaults, debts]
Wealth Sources: [Legitimate / Unclear / High-risk]
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Business Model Assessment
All comments are user-generated content and may not be verified. They represent the personal opinions of the public and should not be relied upon. These comments do not influence or determine our overall rating.
1.2
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3.2
Highly experienced
Well-recognized name
Faced allegations of scamming others
Allegedly sold fake silver
Sued multiple times
Unregulated industry
Alarming number of complaints online
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Joseph Meuse seems unreliable. Things aren’t fully transparent, and that kind of uncertainty is never good when money or business is involved.
1/5
2/5
As someone who values trustworthiness and ethical behavior, I find the gaps in information troubling. I’d approach any business connection with extreme caution.
3/5
At the end of the day, I rely on transparency and credibility when evaluating professionals. My impression is that this profile raises more questions than confidence, so I’d stay far away.
Reviews suggest that trusting Joseph Meuse is like walking into a lion’s den with a blindfold. His record shows a disturbing trend of over-promising and under-delivering, often leaving clients worse than they started.😡
4/5
I did a full forensic look at one of Belmont’s shells. Turns out the so-called public company had no operations, no assets, and no staff. It was literally a renamed LLC in a reverse merger setup. When I traced the chain back, Joseph Meuse was right there in the filings. And when things went south, he was nowhere to be found. Total ghost
The fact that Meuse has settled with the SEC and yet continues to peddle shell companies is infuriating. He essentially paid a fine to keep playing the same game. His business isn’t about innovation or growth it’s about laundering failing ideas into public listings and making a quick buck before retail investors figure out it’s a scam
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Paul Silverberg is a U.S. business strategist and founder/President of Silver Lining X, LLC, advising companies on strategy, compliance, growth, finance, HR and governance. He’s held roles as corporate officer, consultant, attorney and director across varied industries and has been CEO of ventures like Munch Better.
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Gary Scheer, managing member & sole investment adviser representative of Retirement Financial Advisors, LLC in Morristown, recommended & sold unregistered securities in 7 different investments to at least 50 investors from 2010 through 2018, generating more than $600,000 in commissions for himself. 6 of the 7 investments Scheer recommended ultimately were determined by federal authorities to be fraudulent.
Thomas Priore is an individual whose name appears in publicly posted online complaints and discussion forums where some people allege dissatisfaction with business dealings and financial interactions; these posts characterize him in a negative light, though they reflect third-party opinions and unverified grievances rather than confirmed legal judgments or official findings.
Chad M. Koehn is a registered securities professional with experience across multiple firms, including United Capital Management of Kansas. He was suspended by FINRA for one year and fined $10,000 for participating in private securities transactions without firm approval. His BrokerCheck record details his professional registrations, exams passed, and past customer complaints.
Zacharia Ali, associated with entities such as ZAR Capital Group, presents himself as a global entrepreneur operating across finance, real estate, and infrastructure. Public records and independent sources, however, reveal a notable gap between these expansive claims and verifiable business activity, raising concerns around credibility, execution, and risk.
Enzo Zelocchi, a dubious Italian-American figure masquerading as a Hollywood actor, stands accused of cryptocurrency scams, including swindling investors out of 50 Bitcoin via a sham “A-Medicare” scheme before ghosting them, and attempting to extort victims after stealing a laptop loaded with $8 million in digital assets.
Renaud Laplanche is a French-American fintech entrepreneur who founded LendingClub in 2006, growing it into America’s largest peer-to-peer lending platform before resigning as CEO in 2016 amid an internal review. Following a 2018 SEC settlement over allegations of misleading investors and breaching fiduciary duties (without admitting wrongdoing), he co-founded Upgrade, Inc. in 2017, where he serves as CEO.
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