Gary “Vee” Vaynerchuk Exposed
The Manipulation and Deception King of NFTs and Web3
A comprehensive resource library detailing instances of fraud conducted by Gary Vaynerchuk also known as Gary Vee, within the NFT market, along with additional resources highlighting his past behaviours.
The ongoing investigation remains open. As new information comes to light, I will integrate it into an updated article. I’m aware of private discord messages, private group chats, and videos that I did not save at the time. If these materials resurface, I will incorporate them into the revised version. Also, consider that I am limited to space and time, there are hundreds to thousands of pieces of evidence on X, YouTube, and Discord collectively.
Edited to Include Revised and Updated Articles
“I’ll say anything for the sale, anything!” - Gary Vaynerchuk
Table of Contents
List of Projects Acquired, Pumped, and Sold by Gary from One of his Many Wallets
Etherscan Linked to Gary Vee, Displaying ETH and Fiat Profits
Bonus: Others Responses’ Outside Web3
The Beginning
In May 2021, Gary Vaynerchuk launched VeeFriends NFT project, marking the beginning of a journey that would soon take unprecedented turns. My initial encounter with his work was in admiration, but as early as November 2021, concerns began to surface. Despite my attempts to communicate theses issues to Gary and his team, my efforts proved futile, leading me to part ways by April 2022 due to misalignment with his actions within the web3 market. Surprisingly, Gary Vaynerchuk has garnered significant sums (over $140 million) from both primary and secondary sales, across various collections and investments.
List of Projects – each earning Royalties every time an NFT is sold.
VeeFriends (10% Royalties)
VeeFriends 2 (6.55%)
BookGames (5.5%) - Immutable X [IMX] a Layer 2 scaling solution on ETH, TokenTrove, the marketplace, is another vested interest due to investments made by Gary
VeeFriends Iconics (5.5%)
VeeCon 2022 Tickets (5.5%)
VeeCon 2023 Tickets (5%)
VeeFriends Mini Drops (10%)
VeeFriends Gift Goat x ‘Featured Artist’ (10%) – with some stating they won’t work with Gary Vee again
Please Take a Step Back by Snoop Dogg & Gary Vee (4.2%)
VaynerNFT was in charge or several projects that were a bust, went silent, disorganized, improperly ran, filled with market manipulation, hyped and pumped
Gary engaged with smaller web3 accounts, he strategically utilized NFT purchases and conversations to bolster his standing with the community. Initially some perceived him as an Entrepreneur, Motivational Speaker, and Influencer. Gary’s reputation was questioned by some, while others applauding him for his efforts in bringing attention to the NFT market, skepticism arose about his true intentions. He used a Dutch auction mechanism and valued his NFTs at 3 ETH and higher (~$9,000 USD+) depending on the token and utility – some did fall to 0.5 ETH (~$1,500 USD).
VeeFriends Introduction Video
Gary making over $90 million with NFTs
Gary also taking in an extra $50 million from investors
Gary stating he’s building the next “Disney/Pokemon”
Promises of grandiose achievements in the distant future without providing tangible details or a clear roadmap can be red flags. If a founder is using vague, long-term projections to encourage immediate purchases, it's crucial for consumers to exercise caution and thoroughly evaluate the credibility of such claims.
I was among one the first to publicly trade my way up to a VeeFriend NFT, achieved on August 9th, 2021.
Pre-Launch
He plunged into a web of deceit, weaving a narrative of false assurances and manipulative marketing strategies to propel the success of his VeeFriends NFT project, accompanied by an abundance of unwarranted enthusiasm. Initially, he pitched his NFTs as a Business conference Ticket, with the NFT giving access, there was no mentions of how he was planning to divide the ticket from the NFT itself and start a new collection in which he could receive royalties on, another 5.5%, every time it is sold. Gary has vested interest in the floor price being volatile to maximize profits. The VeeCon introduction video, showcased influential figures like Dwayne Johnson (The Rock) and Jessica Alba, hinting at their participation as guest speakers, only to unveil that the majority of the speakers were individuals Gary had artificially elevated with the NFT market.
Assertions such as “Wait until you see who shows up at Dinner” regarding meal access tokens turned out to be a fabrication, with rare guest appearances, sometimes Gary bringing a family member along. The promise of networking opportunities with subject matter experts fell flat. Gary also continuously hyped and made false statements surrounding the Gift Goat “gifts”, leading to widespread disappointment. The exaggeration of these gifts, couple with recurring problems during each release, fueled a pattern of drama, and discontent within the community.
Further adding to the deceit, he falsely claimed a sold out status while purchasing numerous tokens himself. During the launch, his lack of preparedness became evident as he sought community help, leveraging volunteers to cut costs. Notably, he failed to forewarn the community about the escalating gas prices (GWEI) and neglected to provide guidance on addressing known MetaMask issues at the time, consequently, the community, including myself, found ourselves assisting others with known MetaMask bugs. There was a noticeable absence of adequate support or direction from Gary himself, as he didn’t understand what he was doing and overextended himself.
Watch Gary Vaynerchuk engage in manipulative insider trading with the CryptoPunks NFT project in this revealing video. Gary had a strategic phone call with influential figures like Logan Paul, Mr. Beast and “other billionaires” as they collectively pump the CryptoPunks, elevating Gary’s image and causing the value to surge from 20 ETH to 100 ETH.
February 16th, 2021, Gary purchased his first public punk from DannySecure in his Gennady Wallet. (We will see Danny’s name again down below).
VeeFriends is Stolen Art
The following Article by Inflation.us highlights the details surrounding how Gary Vaynerchuk infringed the art for his VeeFriends NFT project from Karen Ritchie. Here is her X account, which highlights her discontent as she never gave him permission to utilize the artwork.
Christie’s Auction
Gary Vaynerchuk emphasized that Christie’s announcement marked our final opportunity to purchase his VeeFriend NFT on secondary, implying a significant surge in their floor price, projecting it to remain above 20 to 25 ETH (approximately $60,000 USD at the time). He strongly urged the community to hold onto their assets, discouraging profit-taking. Interestingly, he not only discouraged selling, but also was sell shaming individuals who did, fostering an unsupportive atmosphere within the community. Ironically, despite promoting kindness and empathy, his actions contradicted these values.
Upon conducting an advanced search on X, it becomes apparent that Gary deleted numerous messages related to Christie’s, particularly during what was supposed to be a pivotal moment in his life. It’s noteworthy that Gary Vee maintained a close friendship with Noah Davis, who served as the gatekeeper for NFTs at Christie’s.
Further, Gary suggested to community members the formation of a DAO to collectively purchase one of the NFT drawings. The community acted on his suggestion, contributing to the artificial inflation of the stolen artwork’s price. The collaboration between Christie’s and Gary Vee in overseeing and allowing such actions to transpire is bewildering.
Price Anchoring & Market Manipulation ( Including “GOOs”)
Gary Vaynerchuk exemplified the sale of his own NFTs, named “GOO”, an acronym for Gary Originally Owned – tokens. He had previously hyped them up, emphasizing their uniqueness and special nature. By doing so, he engaged in price anchoring and manipulation, aiming to establish a perceived high value for these NFTs. However, despite the hype, the actual value of these NFTs does not align with elevated perception created by Gary and some of the community members.
Here is one of Gary’s wallets buying his own tokens to artificially boost demand among unsuspecting and new users Simultaneously, he is establishing the floor price for his own NFTS.
The first VeeCon, with various bad actors, and many individuals who were pumped by Gary himself. Six months ago, many of these individuals were not very well known in the NFT space.
The emphasis was strongly placed on practices like insider trading, market manipulation, and price anchoring. Consistently, he advocated for specific characters, asserting their uniqueness and closeness to significant developments transpiring behind the scenes, contributing to an atmosphere of heightened anticipation.
Book Games Manipulation
Gary Vaynerchuk devised a promotional strategy, offering a complimentary NFT for every 12 copies of his book “12 and a Half” purchased within a specified timeframe. In a live stream, he actively encouraged buyers to surpass the 12 and 24 copy thresholds, emphasizing the potential for increased earnings. At the 1:19:00 mark, he specifically discuses how individuals should avoid making the same “mistakes” made during the VeeFriends 1 launch and capitalizing on the “opportunity”.
The entire book and NFT drop were revealed to be fraudulent and manipulative, artificially inflating the value and demand for the books and the NFTs. Many individuals exploited the situation by seeking refunds and acquiring the NFTs for free, taking advantage of Gary’s inability to verify purchases. Within our group chat, suspicions arose about the dubious nature of the promotion at the time. It was surprising to many of us that Gary Vee would resort to manipulating book sales in such a manner.
An article subsequently detailed Gary’s manipulation and outright fraud, although the author doesn’t comprehend legal implications associated with these tactics.
VeeFriends 2 - Price Anchoring
VeeFriends 2 was a surprise announcement, as there was no indication that Gary would launch another project immediately, just a year after his first main collection. This change in focus, particularly unexpected given the extensive communication about character development, emphasis placed on certain characters and rarities to hold and purchase in VeeFriends 1. Additionally, there were assurances that Gary would focus most of his energy on VeeFriends 1, which ultimately prove to be untrue, exhibiting more deceit, and manipulation.
These are the types of messages that are consistently broadcasted by Gary Vaynerchuk. Here is an instance where GaryVee suggesting that the floor price of a VeeFriend 2 and his VeeCon NFT could average 3.5 ETH or $10,000 USD each at the time – This assertion seemed unrealistic and risky, prompting warnings from many, especially considering the influx of new individuals. Drawing on my trading experience as a data analyst, I could affirm the high improbability of this scenario, considering the market dynamics, his reputation, and the substantial number of tokens being released. In fact, I made a prediction before the drop that proved fairly accurate, being within 0.1 to 0.2 ETH of the actual outcome, unlike Gary's estimate, which was off by several ETHs.
Gary Vee is seen here purchasing more of his own NFTS to artificially generating demand and employing price anchoring tactics for his second main collection, VeeFriends 2.
Stealing from Members and Holders within his Own Community
Regularly steals ideas from his community and presents them as his own.
Here’s a NFT community member HashBastards, exposing how Gary Vee, and VeeFriends stole intellectual property from their own prominent community member, Doreen. Upon the occurrence of this incident, I questioned the president Andy Krainak and Gary Vaynerchuk, whom lied to me in a video message inside the VeeFriends discord. In that moment, I was certain I was dealing with men of questionable ethics, and financial misconduct. Consequently, I made the decision to exit the discord, and I never looked back.
Another incident when there was no prior notification to Loic regarding the use of his art for the Ledger collaboration. Not only did he go uncompensated for his work, but he also didn’t receive due credit. In this particular case, the artist was genuinely excited and honoured to see his artwork being shared. However, this situation sets a problematic precedent, reinforcing the notion that Gary Vee and Veefriends can freely take from the community without facing any consequences.
A friend had to engage a lawyer to compel Gary Vaynerchuk to acknowledge the act, eventually leading to Gary investing in my friend’s business. The necessity of legal intervention to hold Gary Vaynerchuk accountable for such actions raises significant concerns.
Gary Vee Exploiting Children for Financial Gains
Gary Vee attempting to capitalize on the exploitation of children for profits and self-gains. This endeavour coincides with a period when children’s art in the NFT market was experiencing a surge driven by market dynamics and social demand, reminiscent of the earlier trend with women-led teams and projects.
Nastya NFT – Gary Vee attempted to conceal his association with the project, and intentionally obscured the refund process, keeping it very difficult to access. Here is an article and video covering the details of the incident.
Pumping & Dumping Schemes and Creating Artificial Demand
Gary Vee's Pumping and Dumping - World of Women (WoW).
Purchased through July 27th – August 1st, 2021
Sold through August 22nd – August 24th, 2021, after pumping the project through Twitter and Discord.
If only that was true – according to the blockchain you waited less than 1 month.
List of Projects Acquired, Pumped and Sold by Gary from One of his Many Wallets
Etherscan Linked to Gary Vee, Displaying ETH and Fiat Profits
Exploitative Influence & Insider Trading
He actively promoted and inflated the value of numerous projects with the intention of benefiting himself, as well as his family, and staff – including his sister Liz Vaynerchuk, brother AJ Vaynerchuk, and VeeFriends president Andy Krainak. This behaviour raises concerns about insider trading.
Andy Krainak (VeeFriends President)
AJ Vaynerchuk (Gary’s Brother)
Danny Secure – the man who sold Gary his first Punk
Compilation of Projects Gary Pumped for Notable Speakers
Additionally, Gary sought out more prominent speakers and deliberately assisted them to secure their participation, enhancing the perceived stature of VeeCon conference. Despite community warnings, he allowed several bad actors, including Logan Paul and Farokh to speak, indicating that a conscious decision on his part. Some of these founders are already established, and Gary’s strategy was to support them enough that they would feel compelled to go speak at his conference.
More Projects he Encouraged Others to Purchase
Swampverse, The Flower Girls, Coolman’s Universe, Bored Ape Kennel Club, Creature World, Nuclear Nerds, mfers, Cryptoon Goonz, Robotos, MUMBOT, Avastars, OnChain Monkey, Glue Factory Show, Lucky Phantom Bunch, Chubbies and more.
ZeroCool Cards - Price Anchoring and Artificial Demand
Gary Vaynerchuk consistently engages in price fixing, and market manipulation of various products such as collectible physical items, cards, wine, merchandise, all categorized under the label of “collectibles”. ZeroCool Introduction Video. Gary has strategically invested in ZeroCool, aiming to capitalize on various fronts, particularly fostering a vested interest in the success of his ZeroCool cards.
With secondary sales occurring on platforms like eBay, there arises ample opportunities for Gary and his team to manipulate prices through artificial transactions, a practice observed in his NFT endeavours. This manipulation is evident in his decision to conduct a Dutch auction after setting a $10,000 bounty on a card featuring the black cat, a move designed to entice Gary’s devoted fans to spend $2,000 on the boxes, ultimately creating an environment of orchestrated demand.
In distributing 1,000 boxes, 200 were allocated to influencers, friends and family leaving 800 available for purchase. This deliberate reduction in supply is a tactic aimed at bolstering demand. Additionally, the probability of Gary himself securing one out of the 15 drawings is questionable, raising suspicion about fairness of the process.
Gary attempted to enhance the perceived value and demand for his ZeroCool cards by labelling them as “rookie cards” of VeeFriends. However, this exclusivity was limited to his USA community members, further neglecting his international audience – a pattern observed since the launch of VeeFriends in May of 2021.
Considering Gary’s operational approach, skepticism surrounds the randomness of the packs, with suspicions that they may be prepacked and manipulated to ensure favourable outcomes for those who consistently promote Gary’s content – another fraudulent strategic marketing tactic historically employed by him.
Candy Digital Nightmare
Associations with Bad Actors
Coffeezilla’s investigation solidified Logan Paul as a fraud and scammer.
Regarding his association with Beanie, when questioned about this matter, his response was a simple declaration that he had “too much money invested in it”.
Community Responses
Additional discussions about Gary Vee pumping the CryptoPunks for the wealthy to profit from on Reddit.
Gary damaged his reputation with OG Crypto artists, developers, and operators by leveraging them for his own gain, and in some instances, failing to fulfill his end of the agreement. If they choose to share their stories, they are welcome to do so. I’m aware of at least four individuals.
Others Exposing Gary Vaynerchuk
Closing Statement
While Gary Vee asserts a background of coming from the dirt, ample evidence suggests otherwise. By the age of 14, his father already owned a million-dollar wine store, and by the time Gary was 18, he claimed to have the financial capabilities to acquire anything he desired. Contrary to portraying a self-made narrative, he attended university and attributed his early knowledge of the internet, marketing potentials and its advantages to his college experience. Even before launching his first YouTube channel, WineLibararyTV, he had established connections with millionaires, thanks to his father Sasha and he had access to substantial financial resources, including access to line of credit exceeding a million dollars. The narrative of personal struggle seems incongruent with the opportunities and privileges he experienced early on. In contrast, a more accurate story of rising from humble beginnings to ownership could be attributed to his father.
While this article covers only a fraction of the financial crimes committed, it's crucial to note that numerous other projects, such as Fly Fish Club, remain susceptible to manipulation and fraud. Including every case would result in an excessively lengthy piece, but these examples serve as representative illustrations of a much larger problem. Gary’s resume is filled with instances of insider trading, market manipulation, price anchoring, pumping and dumping schemes, artificial demand, fraud and more.
Few founders come forward to expose Gary Vee since he assisted them in generating six to seven figures in profits, allowing Gary to further capitalize on the backend through investments, consulting fees, commissions and more. I do empathize with holders, as they were manipulated and deceived into spending over $100,000 on some of his NFTs.
The Elephant at 130 WETH was approximately $500,000 USD
The Elf at 80 WETH was approximately $240,000 USD
The Goat at 55 WETH was approximately $150,000 USD
Gary Vaynerchuk preys on the vulnerable, exploiting them psychologically in a manner reminiscent of cult recruitment tactics. Exploring this behaviour further could merit a separate article.
Bonus: Others Responses’ Outside Web3
x.com Search, “Gary Vaynerchuk Fraud”, top tab
If the content resonated with you, feel free to subscribe, I appreciate all and any feedback!
