David Imonitie, Matthew Thayer, and a cast of unqualified instructors collected millions while deceiving consumers about their trading expertise in Christopher Terry’s iMarketsLive fraud scheme. The Federal Trade Commission documented that Imonitie received over $30 million while deliberately being featured in marketing targeting Black consumers; Thayer fabricated a $15 million trading account before IML covered up his fraud; and instructors Lisaldo Tavarez and Gustavo Alaniz admitted they knew nothing about trading despite being marketed as experts.
These promoters and fake educators helped Chris and Isis Terry generate $1.242 billion in fraudulent sales while internal data showed 90 percent of consumers stopped paying within six months. The FTC alleges IML’s instructors typically had “little experience or meaningful training, and no accreditation,” with many being salespeople masquerading as investment professionals to build their downlines.
David Imonitie: The $30 Million Face of Black Targeting
David Imonitie received over $30 million while serving as IML’s primary tool for targeting Black consumers according to FTC filings. When Vice President Jason Brown was asked why IML should send Imonitie to a St. Louis event, a salesperson responded: “Because the demographic is blacks bro[.] They need to see a [Black person] come up… Avg income is like 30-40k a year… Promote ‘highest paid African American in industry.'”
Brown responded “Lol” and IML promoted Imonitie as a highly-paid Black entrepreneur targeting Black consumers. In mid-2022, Imonitie left to launch Nvisionu, his own IM Mastery Academy clone.
David Imonitie, self-described author, co-founded Nvisionu with Ivan Tapia in October 2022, calling it “The Health & Wealth Company.” The company combines wellness supplements (sprays sold for $199-$1,499) with digital education courses, using the identical MLM structure that made them millions at iMarketsLive. Nvisionu generated $10 million during its 3-month pre-launch and claimed to be on pace for $100 million in year one.
As of December 2025, the company receives only ~10,000 monthly website visits, suggesting the fraud has failed to gain traction. IM Mastery Academy sued Imonitie and Tapia in June 2022 alleging they stole business plans, then mysteriously dropped the lawsuit four days later. Imonitie was never named as a defendant in the FTC’s May 2025 lawsuit despite extracting $30 million.
Matthew Thayer: The Fake Trading Account Scandal
Matthew Thayer served as celebrated instructor between 2018 and 2021. Brandon Boyd urged salesforce to post Thayer’s results weekly because that would “attract[] people to USE our services,” according to FTC documents.
IML discovered “he was doctoring his trading results” and his “‘$15 million trading account’ was fake.” When IML terminated Thayer, Jason Brown implored salesmen: “please DO NOT screen shot and do not blast this in public.” Director of Education Anita “Ari” Barton believed disclosure would be “a public reputation nightmare.”
The FTC served Thayer with a civil investigative demand in March 2023 seeking documents about IM Mastery Academy. Thayer petitioned to quash the demand but the FTC denied his petition on June 5, 2023, noting he was a “third-party” not a “target” of the investigation. By 2023, Thayer had moved to My Daily Choice’s Akashx offering, continuing the same trading education fraud. His Instagram (@matthewthayer) identifies him as “Co Founder” of something called “1M” with over 1 million followers. Despite documented evidence he faked a $15 million trading account, Thayer was never named as a defendant in the May 2025 FTC lawsuit and continues operating in the MLM space.
The Instructors Who Admitted Incompetence
Lisaldo Tavarez was marketed as a “Top Educator” despite having no formal investment training, no licenses, and no accreditation. In September 2021, Tavarez admitted to senior salespeople: “Yeah thats why I be honest and tell people im [sic] not a guru trader I actually really suck,” according to FTC filings.
Gustavo Alaniz was touted as a “Top Trader” to consumers purchasing expensive training. When communicating with senior salespeople, Alaniz stated: “Yea I don’t even go back and forth with [racial epithet deleted] when it comes to trading. I don’t know shit about trading.” Despite these admissions, both continued as IML instructors teaching paying customers.
The FTC documented that “most IML instructors are salespeople masquerading as top-notch investment professionals, looking to leverage their position as an instructor to build their downlines.” IML provided sworn testimony that instructors wanted the position “because it gives them more exposure as an IBO.” Chris Terry testified instructors would have “instant credibility” that would “help them grow their business.”
The Compliance Failures
Anita “Ari” Barton served as Director of Compliance but prioritized protecting the fraud. Barton prepared reports detailing deceptive practices by Jaylin Goss, who faced allegations of soliciting minors and engaging in PPP loan fraud.
Despite five complaints against Goss, Chris Terry’s response was to tell Bryce Thompson to have Goss “clean up income claims and minors.” Thompson’s team engaged in “predatory marketing [to] [m]inors[,] 14-16 year olds” with success “all based on bullshit claims,” yet Terry authorized continued payments.
Austin Godsey enrolled his five-year-old son as a distributor, violating policies requiring distributors be 18 or older.
None of these compliance enablers—Barton, Goss, Thompson, or Godsey—were named as defendants in the FTC’s May 2025 lawsuit despite documented evidence of their roles facilitating fraud. Godsey was featured in TINA.org’s 2018 and 2019 investigations for making deceptive earnings claims, removing them temporarily, then making new ones on a different Instagram account. IML’s then-COO Frank Gomez promised in June 2018 that Godsey “now understands the gravity of posting ‘out of this world’ claims”—but Godsey only became more emboldened afterward.
Conclusion
The FTC documented that 90 percent of consumers stopped paying for IML’s training within six months. Despite this evidence the training was worthless, Imonitie, Thayer, and dozens of fake instructors continued collecting millions while deceiving victims about their expertise.
The real fraud wasn’t just the worthless training—it was the systematic deployment of fake credentials. Imonitie escaped prosecution despite $30 million extracted and is now running Nvisionu. Thayer faked a $15 million trading account, got caught, and moved to Akashx. None of the compliance enablers who allowed minors to be recruited or covered up PPP fraud faced any consequences.
When instructors admit “I actually really suck” at trading while marketed as “Top Educators,” the fraud is complete. Yet only the corporate entities and top promoters settled with the FTC—the fake instructors who directly deceived consumers about their non-existent expertise remain free to launch new schemes.
If everyone involved has either settled or escaped prosecutions, why is this article being published? There’s nothing to talk about