Snopes Exclusive: An Investigation Into One Tech Investor's Deceptive Business Practices

The fact-checking website Snopes.com today released a, “The Grift Empire: How Max Polyakov Hides His Financial Interest in an International Web of Online Deception,” based on publicly available records in multiple countries. Meticulously reported and written over 18 months by journalist Alex Kasprak, this is the most complex project from Snopes’ investigations desk and a striking demonstration of the power of open-source investigative methods and web forensics.

The series will be highlighted in Snopes’ social feeds over five days, along with potential behind-the-reporting commentary. “The Grift Empire” will expose never-before-known truths about Max Polyakov, a British-Ukrainian tech investor. With his massive fortune, Polyakov has been compared to U.S. business titans Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos. Coincidentally, all three share a penchant for launching rockets into space. Snopes firston Polyakov in 2020, examining his venture capital firm Noosphere Ventures and its apparent ties to dating websites that use fake profiles to entice subscribers.

This follow-up series will reveal the enormous scale of the tycoon’s financial interest in questionable businesses. Evidence uncovered by Snopes suggests that everyday people are misled into signing up for expensive subscriptions that they didn’t want, which are deducted directly from their bank and credit card accounts. Some victims report that canceling the subscriptions is nearly impossible.

“This series will shine a light on a global network of shell companies that make their money tricking consumers — with vulnerable victims shocked to discover they were signed up for costly subscriptions,” said Snopes Executive Editor/Managing Editor Doreen Marchionni. “Our newsroom will be sharing best practices from our open-source reporting process with the journalism community in order to assist others in conducting similar efforts.

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