How Digital Susu Scams Target African American Trust
By Darius Spearman (africanelements)
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On June 10, 2026, the Department of Justice announced a major ruling against predatory financial crime (justice.gov). Marlon Moore and LaShonda Moore of Frisco, Texas, received prison sentences of 40 years each (justice.gov, inforney.com). They operated a massive, 30 million dollar illegal pyramid scheme known as “Blessings in No Time” (justice.gov).
The Moores operated this fraudulent business during the height of the global pandemic (justice.gov). They leveraged their public profile as reality television stars to target financially vulnerable African Americans (justice.gov, washingtonpost.com). The couple promised guaranteed wealth and cultural empowerment during a time of extreme economic distress (justice.gov). However, federal investigators revealed that this operation was a high-tech exploitation of a deeply rooted cultural tradition (justice.gov, ftc.gov).
The Anatomy of the “Blessings in No Time” Scheme
Marlon Moore and LaShonda Moore began operating BINT Operations LLC in June 2020 (justice.gov, inforney.com). They launched this venture during a period of massive economic uncertainty. Millions of citizens lost jobs due to the global pandemic (justice.gov). The Moores chose this moment of vulnerability to target African Americans seeking financial security (justice.gov).
To build immediate trust, the couple leveraged their national television appearance. They had appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Network reality show Family or Fiancé (washingtonpost.com). Marlon Moore also performed as a prominent celebrity figure under the name “DJ ASAP” (youtube.com). He used this public platform to project an image of immense wealth (youtube.com). The couple hosted weekly live-streamed broadcasts (ftc.gov). During these streams, they prayed with viewers and promised them a reliable path to generational wealth (ftc.gov).
The operation structured itself as a circular playing board (ftc.gov). This board was often called a “blessing loom” (ftc.gov). It consisted of four tiers named after classical elements: Fire, Wind, Earth, and Water (ftc.gov, ftc.gov). New recruits entered at the Fire level (ftc.gov). Each participant paid an upfront blessing fee of $1,400 to $1,425 (ftc.gov, behindmlm.com). This cash went directly to the person at the center of the board, who occupied the Water slot (ftc.gov).
When the Water slot was fully paid, that person retired from the board with a payout of up to $11,400 (ftc.gov). The board then split, and everyone moved up one tier (ftc.gov). To keep the money flowing, participants had to recruit more individuals (ftc.gov).
Cash flows from the outer Fire tier to the center Water collector, requiring continuous recruitment to prevent total collapse.
Susu vs. Blessing Loom: The Bastardization of a 500-Year-Old Tradition
The most tragic aspect of the “Blessings in No Time” scheme was how it disguised its true nature. The Moores claimed their platform was a “digital susu” (ftc.gov). This claim allowed them to exploit a deeply respected cooperative tradition. In reality, their model was a predatory system designed to enrich themselves (justice.gov, ftc.gov).
A genuine susu is a traditional Rotating Savings and Credit Association (joinsusu.co). This practice originated over five hundred years ago in West Africa (joinsusu.co). The term comes from the Yoruba language of modern-day Nigeria (joinsusu.co). It translates to “saving money little by little” (joinsusu.co). During the Middle Passage, West Africans carried this economic practice to the Caribbean (joinsusu.co). It became known as “Partner” in Jamaica and “Sou-Sou” in Trinidad (joinsusu.co).
In the twentieth century, Caribbean and African immigrants brought this system to metropolitan areas like New York (joinsusu.co). They faced widespread discrimination from commercial banking institutions (joinsusu.co). Mainstream bank accounts and home mortgages were often completely inaccessible (joinsusu.co). To survive, these communities relied heavily on the susu network (joinsusu.co). By the 1980s, approximately 75 percent of Caribbean immigrants in New York participated in these groups (joinsusu.co). This mutual support reflects how the historical strength and resilience of Black families adapted to overcome systemic economic barriers.
The Mathematical Reality of the Blessing Loom
A traditional susu operates on strict rules of social accountability (joinsusu.co). A small group of trusted friends or family members forms a closed circle (joinsusu.co). Each person contributes a fixed amount of money at regular intervals (joinsusu.co). For example, ten members may contribute $100 every week. Each week, one member receives the entire collective pot of $1,000. By the end of the ten-week cycle, every member has contributed and received the exact same amount. No interest is charged, and no profit is made (joinsusu.co). Most importantly, the group does not need to recruit new members (joinsusu.co).
In contrast, a blessing loom is mathematically identical to the “Airplane Game” pyramid scheme of the 1980s (ftc.gov, wikipedia.org). That historic scam used aviation terms like passenger, crew, co-pilot, and pilot (wikipedia.org). New recruits joined as passengers and paid a cash fee to the pilot at the top (wikipedia.org). Once eight passengers paid, the pilot retired, and the plane split into two new planes (wikipedia.org).
This structure is a mathematical impossibility for long-term survival (ftc.gov). Because every split requires twice as many participants, the system quickly runs out of human beings (ftc.gov). Exactly 88 percent of participants in a blessing loom are guaranteed to lose their money (ftc.gov, ftc.gov). By the twelfth level of recruitment, a scheme requires over four billion active participants to avoid collapse. The Moores worsened this reality by placing themselves and their family members in the lucrative Water positions (ftc.gov, ftc.gov).
- Yes 100% Legal & Non-Profit
- Zero Interest Charged
- None No Recruitment Required
- Fixed Closed Circle of Trust
- Safe 100% Payout Rate
- No Illegal Gifting Scheme
- 800% Promised Return Rate
- High Requires Infinite Recruits
- Split Ever-expanding Boards
- 88% Mathematical Loss Rate
The Legacy of Mutual Aid and the Trap of Affinity Fraud
The success of the “Blessings in No Time” scam was not an accident. It relied on a long history of self-reliance and mutual aid within the Black community (justice.gov). Because African Americans were systematically excluded from white financial and medical institutions, they built parallel support structures.
In 1787, Absalom Jones and Richard Allen founded the Free African Society in Philadelphia (wikipedia.org). This society provided critical support to widows and orphans through collective monthly dues (wikipedia.org). Following the Civil War, Black farmers were barred from southern agricultural alliances (wikipedia.org). In response, they formed the Colored Farmers’ National Alliance and Cooperative Union in 1886 (wikipedia.org). These organizations showed how early pioneers fought for economic justice through collective pooling of resources.
Scammers exploit this legacy of cooperative survival through a method known as affinity fraud (fbi.gov). This occurs when a fraudster targets members of a specific, identifiable demographic group (fbi.gov). The perpetrators are often members of the group themselves (fbi.gov). They leverage shared cultural symbols, common struggles, and religious faith to bypass natural skepticism (fbi.gov).
Historically, several major affinity frauds have targeted the Black community. In 2011, Roy Fluker Jr. defrauded over 2,000 victims of 10.7 million dollars in Chicago (fbi.gov). In 2009, Jeanetta Standefor ran an 18 million dollar foreclosure scam in Southern California (fbi.gov). More recently, Eddy Alexandre solicited 262.5 million dollars from Haitian-American investors through a fraudulent platform (justice.gov, justice.gov). By presenting BINT as a faith-based initiative, the Moores tapped directly into this deep reservoir of cultural trust (justice.gov).
Systemic Exclusion: How Banking Deserts Drive Predatory Alternatives
Modern financial exclusion continues to isolate Black communities from traditional banking systems. High barriers to entry and systemic biases leave many households without access to fair credit. Scammers quickly step in to exploit these systemic gaps.
According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, 10.6 percent of Black households in the United States are unbanked (fdic.gov). This rate is more than five times higher than the rate for White households, which stands at 1.9 percent (fdic.gov). This lack of mainstream banking access forces many families to rely on alternative financial systems.
Furthermore, many majority-Black neighborhoods have become banking deserts. Between 2010 and 2021, the United States lost more than 15,500 physical bank branches (americanbanker.com, fedcommunities.org). These closures disproportionately affected Black census tracts (brookings.edu). In the absence of traditional banks, predatory non-bank lenders proliferate. Payday lenders, pawn shops, and check cashers often charge interest rates as high as 300 percent to 400 percent (buildblackwealth.info). This systemic exclusion reminds historians of how reconstruction failed to provide long-term economic security.
With limited access to fair credit, many underbanked individuals rely on digital payment applications. Scammers exploit these habits. They present illegal gifting circles as modern wealth-building tools, filling the void left by traditional financial institutions.
The Secret Service and the Defense of Financial Integrity
The investigation into “Blessings in No Time” involved a coordinated effort by multiple federal agencies. Notably, the United States Secret Service played a central role in dismantling the Moores’ operation (secretservice.gov, ftc.gov). While the public associates this agency with presidential protection, its historical mandate is financial.
President Abraham Lincoln established the Secret Service in 1865 (secretservice.gov). Its original purpose was to combat the widespread counterfeiting of United States currency (secretservice.gov, secretservice.gov). At the time, counterfeit bills made up a massive portion of the national money supply (secretservice.gov). Over the years, Congress expanded this protective mandate to safeguard the entire financial infrastructure of the country.
In the 1980s and 1990s, new federal laws formally authorized the agency to investigate access device fraud and identity theft (secretservice.gov, secretservice.gov). Today, the agency operates specialized Cyber Fraud Task Forces (secretservice.gov). These units merge financial and electronic crimes divisions to investigate complex online fraud (secretservice.gov).
Under Title 18, Section 3056 of the United States Code, the Secret Service possesses broad federal authority to investigate financial crimes (secretservice.gov, secretservice.gov). Their involvement in the BINT case highlights the modern threat that digital pyramid schemes pose to the financial system.
The Grim Reality of Victim Restitution
Following the criminal conviction of Marlon and LaShonda Moore, many victims wondered if they would recover their lost funds. Federal and state authorities pursued both criminal and civil actions against BINT Operations LLC (ftc.gov, texasattorneygeneral.gov). However, actual financial recovery has been incredibly limited.
In July 2023, the Federal Trade Commission and the State of Arkansas secured a civil settlement with the Moores (ftc.gov, arkansasag.gov). This agreement included a victim restitution payment of $450,000 (ftc.gov). Additionally, the Texas Attorney General secured a civil judgment of 10.76 million dollars against the company (texasattorneygeneral.gov). The Moores were ordered to contribute up to 2.5 million dollars to a victim reimbursement fund (texasattorneygeneral.gov).
Unfortunately, these large judgments rarely result in full financial recovery for victims. The Moores admitted in court filings that they had spent the majority of the 30 million dollars before their arrest (ftc.gov, ftc.gov). They used the stolen funds to maintain a lavish celebrity lifestyle. Because the money was already gone, the cash recovered represents only a tiny fraction of what was stolen.
This outcome underscores the complex challenges of protecting vulnerable communities. It also highlights the ongoing debate surrounding state protection and community self-reliance within anti-black politics. The Moores were sentenced to 40 years in prison on June 10, 2026, but the financial scars they left behind will remain for generations (justice.gov).
About the Author
Darius Spearman is a professor of Black Studies at San Diego City College, where he has been teaching for over 20 years. He is the founder of African Elements, a media platform dedicated to providing educational resources on the history and culture of the African diaspora. Through his work, Spearman aims to empower and educate by bringing historical context to contemporary issues affecting the Black community.
