The white paper for World Liberty lists Donald Trump as the “chief crypto advocate” and his sons Eric and Donald Jr. each as “Web3 Ambassador.” A disclaimer says World Liberty is “not owned, managed, operated or sold” by the Trumps. It does note, however, that they may receive compensation.
The Times claims Trump’s "serial entrepreneurs" Chase Herro and Zachary Folkman have “checkered pasts. This includes "leaving behind a trail of lawsuits and unpaid debt and taxes" in their assorted ventures.
Herro colourfully describes himself as a "dirtbag of the internet" and an ace salesman, whereas Folkman once ran a pickup artist advice firm called Date Hotter Girls.
While none of this is bad on its own, the Times noted that Herro and Folkman have "a history of jumping from project to project" and that "together or separately, they have formed at least 17 companies, gravitating to the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, both tax havens."
Chase Herro has sold weed, weight-loss “colon cleanses.” A US$149-a-month get-rich-quick class. Now, despite calling Bitcoin a 'scam against the dollar', he and Folkman entered the business with a crypto project with which he was publicly affiliated, attracted only a few million dollars and suffered a devastating hack. A token he promoted on influencer Logan Paul’s podcast dropped 96 per cent afterwards.
They were also previously the subject of various lawsuits over claims including that they’d skipping out on rent, caused damage to properties where they’d stayed, and failed to pay $77,000 in credit card bills.
Despite their shady business histories, the two men have earned endorsements from Donald Trump Jr., who recently said, "You could put them in a boardroom at Goldman Sachs, and they're going to smoke the people in the room."
Some experts on the cryptocurrency industry who spoke with the Times, doubted the two men could "smoke" anyone.
Eswar Prasad, an economics professor at Cornell University, told the Times that Herro and Folkman "did not appear to have the technical or financial savvy to make the venture work."
And John Reed Stark, a former senior Securities and Exchange Commission official, told the Times that Herro and Folkman's pitch for their cryptocurrency brand is " nonsense and a terrible opportunity for investors."
