Federal authorities are reviewing complaints filed against Mario Nawfal, an entrepreneur who has emerged in recent months as one of Twitter’s biggest audio stars, according to two people who said they spoke with FBI and SEC officials this week.
Chet Long, a retired U.S Air Force analyst who worked with Nawfal as an adviser, and Sigmund Holtz, a former contractor for Nawfal, said that they had each spoken with federal authorities in recent days.
Long said that he reported Nawfal to the U.S. consulate in Calgary, the FBI and the Securities and Exchange Commission in December. He said that the entrepreneur embezzled funds from a company where he previously was a CEO and openly discussed tax evasion in conversations with him.
Long said that on Tuesday, he was instructed by the FBI in a phone call to preserve a cellphone as potential evidence in relation to his initial report to the agency. He also alleged that International Blockchain Consulting, a company in which Nawfal is the majority shareholder, owes him $27,000.
Nawfal said that “there is no outstanding debt owed” to Long and that “this accusation is the first of its kind made by him.” He said he “has maintained a positive and amicable relationship” with Long. Nawfal did not address numerous tweets from Long published over the last several days alleging that he “caused emotional harm” to Long’s family.
Holtz, in response to a request for comment, confirmed that he was contacted and spoke to SEC employees who requested specific information about Nawfal.
Nawfal has not addressed the SEC or FBI reports publicly, but in a response to a message on WhatsApp, he said, “Throughout my extensive business career spanning over a decade, I have maintained an impeccable record devoid of any legal proceedings, whether civil or criminal. Furthermore, I have never been contacted by any law enforcement agencies, as there is no legitimate grounds for investigation. Thus, any assertions indicating the involvement of law enforcement appear to be blatantly false.”
The SEC and FBI declined to comment to NBC News.
Nawfal, who has rapidly gained online fame by hosting some of the largest Twitter Spaces on the platform, has been boosted by his public association with Elon Musk. Musk has participated in his discussion groups on the platform and in the last several days endorsed his discussion groups numerous times. On Saturday, Musk shared one of Nawfal’s tweets about the Russian mercenary rebellion, praising Nawfal’s content.
“Best coverage of the situation I’ve seen so far is from Mario,” Musk tweeted.
Nawfal has more than 913,000 followers on Twitter, where he frequently tweets out news and hosts discussions on the Spaces feature, which allows large group audio chats. When Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced his candidacy for president using the platform, Nawfal led an adjacent space that at times hosted more listeners than the announcement did.
But as Nawfal’s star has risen, he has also faced growing scrutiny including public allegations of fraud and business wrongdoings from former employees, contractors and clients.
In December, Frank Heijdenrijk, former chief marketing officer of Nawfal’s company, International Blockchain Consulting Group, tweeted that Nawfal owed him $60,000 in back pay. Heijdenrijk has also publicly said that Nawfal embezzled money and artificially inflated the number of people who appear to listen to his spaces with low-quality, paid accounts.
Heijdenrijk said in a phone interview that he reported Nawfal to the Dutch police, the SEC, the German stock exchange and Germany’s financial supervisory organization.
Over the weekend, a series of Heijdenrijk’s tweets about Nawfal went viral, and Nawfal responded, writing, “The guy is trying to extort me and has caused me significant harm in the process. I’m contemplating sharing the story openly, to show how far he’s gone to hurt me and my company/team, but instead of airing my laundry on social media, I do things properly through the courts of law.”
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Musk also replied to Heijdenrijk’s posts, writing, “well, he seems to create some good content. That said, use of this platform for any scams will result in account suspension.” Musk continued to engage with Nawfal’s content the next day.
Nawfal said that he was “presently in the process of initiating legal proceedings against Frank” and that his “allegations are devoid of factual accuracy and lack any substantiating basis or evidence.”
He added, however, that his company agreed at one point to pay Heijdenrijk money for hours worked only after a funding round was complete. He said Heijdenrijk “unexpectedly demanded immediate payment, which contradicted our agreed-upon arrangement.” He said the company then refused to pay Heijdenrijk.
When asked to provide evidence of extortion, Nawfal provided a series of screenshots between himself and Heijdenrijk in which Heijdenrijk repeatedly asked him for payment. The screenshots did not appear to contain direct threats. Nawfal said Heijdenrijk “vowed to destroy me and my company,” but said he could not immediately provide evidence of the claim.
Heijdenrijk says that in December, he received an arbitration request from Nawfal’s company, which claimed that he breached a nondisclosure agreement he’d signed. On Wednesday morning, after NBC News first asked Nawfal for comment, Heijdenrijk said he received notice that the hearing had been initiated by the arbitration service and International Blockchain Consulting Group, the company that Nawfal founded and runs as CEO.
Nawfal said Heijdenrijk and Long were “disgruntled” and “outliers in an otherwise harmonious professional trajectory.”
The news of the inquiries by U.S. authorities comes after initial reporting by YouTube personality Chris Zakrzewski. In a series of videos on his Upper Echelon channel, the YouTuber discussed the fraud allegations made against Nawfal.
Nawfal threatened to sue Zakrzewski and denied the allegations. Zakrzewski said that he never received notice of a formal suit, and a review of court records for this article failed to locate a suit filed by Nawfal against Zakrzewski.
Nawfal said that Zakrzewski’s video relied “solely on assumptions derived from false or incomplete information” and that he is “currently considering the possibility of initiating legal proceedings.”
CORRECTION (Aug. 2, 2023, 7:31 p.m. ET): A previous version of this article stated that Chet Long said Mario Nawfal personally owed him money. After publication, Long clarified that he believes he is owed $27,000 by International Blockchain Consulting, a company in which Nawfal is the majority shareholder.
