Joey Essex is among a string of reality stars who have claimed they were ‘duped’ into advertising an alleged fraudulent cryptocurrency company.
The former The Only Way Is EssexStar promoted EATS Coin via his personal Instagram accounts from personal appearances and posts on his feed. The company was linked to food delivery app CryptoEat. The app was pitched as a rival to UberEats, where members could pay for food with cryptocurrency.
However, it was recently reported that the company have now removed all traces of CryptoEats online. Twitter users have now labelled the whole thing a ‘scam’ and have spoken out hoping others will avoid investing in the company. It is believed that the celebrities encouraged their followers to invest in this seemingly reputable company, and this racked up to £500,000.
Speaking to The Sun, Joey expressed his anger, ‘I’m fuming. This company used my name to dupe lots of people into investing money. It's disgusting and I feel bad for anybody in that situation.’
"I do tonnes of appearances. It's difficult to vet everybody and this seemed like a legit brand. It was all done in good faith, but I feel terrible for people who have lost out,’ he added.
His manager Dave Read spoke on his behalf stating, ‘Joey was half thinking of investing himself, it sounded genuine. He feels awful.’
Following the company’s online disappearance, CryptoEats is said to have told subscribers its site had been hacked.
Other stars who promoted CryptoEats included Love Island's Belle Hassan Hassan, sister of Love Islander Anna Vikili, Mandi Vikili and Radio 1 DJ Charlie Sloth. Sloth even produced a promotional video for CryptoEats and has now distanced himself from the company. His team are reportedly ‘investigating’ the situation. At a personal appearance at the Reign Club Joey posed in a CryptoEats cap and Love Island star Belle Hassan also posted an image of herself with branded gifts at the same party. A party coordinator commented on the event: 'All these celebrities and influencers turned up. The booze was flowing, and everyone had a good time. But from what I've seen unfold, it looks like it was all a big scam.'
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