Information and Alerts

Government Actions

Defendants in IM Mastery Academy Scheme to Pay $10.5 Million to Settle FTC Allegations

The following describes a government action that has been resolved by either a settlement or a decision by a court or administrative agency. If the matter is being appealed, it will be noted below.

Two defendants will pay a total of $10.5 million to settle Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and State of Nevada allegations that they used false or baseless earnings claims to persuade people to pay for financial training programs and a multi-level-marketing business venture as part of the IM Mastery scheme.



The proposed order against Alex Morton, IM Mastery’s executive vice president of sales, and the order against Brandon Boyd, who was an IM Mastery salesman, follow other recent FTC actions to halt the operation’s deceptive practices. Last month, the FTC and Nevada obtained a preliminary injunction against the three companies that executed the IM Mastery Academy scheme and the two individuals who have led it, and also obtained $2.5 million as part of a settlement with three other defendants involved in the scheme, which had been in operation since at least 2018.



In their complaint, the FTC and Nevada allege that the scheme—which operated most recently as IYOVIA, but has also branded itself as IM Mastery Academy, iMarketsLive, and IM Academy—used false or baseless earning claims to entice consumers to purchase training on investment in financial markets. The scheme has used similar claims to persuade consumers to buy into defendants’ multi-level-marketing business venture, which involves marketing defendants’ training services to others. The defendants focused their deceptive marketing on young people and used social media posts flaunting luxurious and expensive lifestyles, purportedly funded by trading profits and multi-level-marketing commissions.



The FTC alleges that Morton and Boyd, who were among the scheme’s highest earning salespeople, have used deceptive earnings claims to recruit new consumers to IML. Boyd, who earned nearly $6 million from the scheme, was featured in some of the training videos instructing salespeople how to recruit new members and advertised as a “Master Instructor”—despite having no trading expertise, investment industry licenses or accreditation. Morton advised top salespeople on how to post deceptive earnings claims online in ways that will evade the company’s compliance program and law enforcement, according to the complaint.



The proposed order against Morton imposes a $76.2 million judgment, which will be suspended after he pays $10 million. The total amount will be due if Morton is found to have lied about his finances. The proposed order permanently bans Morton from taking part in any multi-level marketing of trading-training services and from offering any good or service with a negative-option feature unless he clearly discloses the terms and obtains consumers’ consent to be charged.



The order against Boyd, which the court entered on August 20, 2025, imposes a $6.3 million judgment, which is suspended following Boyd’s payment of $500,000. Again, the total amount will be due if Boyd is found to have lied about his finances. The order permanently bans Boyd from providing, assisting others in providing, or representing that he can provide education or instruction relating to any trading-training services.

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On August 7, 2025, three of the defendants involved in the IM Mastery Academy scheme will pay $2.5 million to settle Federal Trade Commission (FTC) allegations that they used false or baseless earnings claims to persuade people to pay for financial training programs and a multi-level marketing business venture.
In their complaint, the FTC and the state of Nevada allege that the scheme—which operated most recently as IYOVIA, but has also branded itself as IM Mastery Academy, iMarketsLive, and IM Academy—used false or baseless earning claims to entice consumers to purchase training on investment in financial markets. The scheme has used similar claims to persuade consumers to buy into defendants’ multi-level-marketing business venture, which involves marketing defendants’ training services to others. The defendants focused their deceptive marketing on young people and used social media posts flaunting luxurious and expensive lifestyles, purportedly funded by trading profits and multi-level-marketing commissions.

The FTC alleged that, since 2018, the total harm to consumers exceeds $1.2 billion.
Three of the defendants named in the FTC’s complaint, Global Dynasty Network, LLC, Jason Brown, and Matthew Rosa, have agreed to settle the allegations. The FTC and Nevada charged in their complaint that Brown and Rosa were two of the most highly compensated salespeople for the IM Mastery Academy scheme, made deceptive earnings claims, and instructed salespeople on how to make such claims without being detected. As detailed in the complaint, Brown was also a corporate officer of IM Mastery Academy and hired a third party to post fake positive reviews about IM Mastery Academy under a pseudonym.

The FTC filed the proposed order in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada. Litigation with the other defendants is ongoing: https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/08/three-defendants-im-mastery-academy-scheme-agree-pay-25-million-settle-ftc-allegations

Pattern of Complaints

BBB files indicate a Pattern of Complaints concerning billing and customer service issues for International Markets Live, Inc. d/b/a iMarketsLive. Consumers are telling BBB about their experiences after signing up and paying for a subscription offering from the company. Many consumers tell BBB about the difficulties they encounter in trying to cancel the service with iMarketsLive. These consumers claim there are long delays in the processing of the requested refunds from the company. A number of consumers reportedly reach out multiple times to the company in an attempt to obtain an update on the status of an account cancellation or refund request.