Hunter Lee Soik is a Fraud

Red Flags and Patterns

1. 01

   Serial venture launcher, serial failure. Shadow raised $82K and died. TRADE X raised $35M and died. Quantum Temple rode the NFT wave and the market collapsed.

2. 02

   Anna Delvey connection. He introduced a convicted fraudster to the social circles she exploited. The Netflix show portrays his character unfavorably.

3. 03

   Title inflation. "Founder and Executive Chairman" of a 4-person Hong Kong office. "Head of Innovation" in Dubai. "Council Member" at GLG. Heavy on titles, light on demonstrable outcomes.

4. 04

   Constant geographic movement. Wisconsin to California to NYC to Dubai to Hong Kong to NYC to 100+ countries per year. This pattern makes it difficult to pursue legal action or accountability.

5. 05

   TRADE X is the biggest red flag. $35M raised from 8 investors and the company is now inactive. Where did the money go? Who were the investors? What happened to the obligations?

6. 06

   Education claims unclear. Lists MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics on LinkedIn. Originally attended Brooks Institute briefly. No clear degree completion from either institution.

7. 07

   Quantum Temple and NFTs. Promoting NFT projects during the 2022 bubble, partnering with blockchain companies. Timing suggests riding hype cycles rather than building lasting businesses.

8. 08

   Instagram lifestyle vs. business reality. Claims to have visited 100+ countries in a single year while running a "family office" with 4 employees. The travel-heavy lifestyle raises questions about how actual business operations are managed.

1. 01

   Three Ripoff Reports document a pattern of nonpayment. Reports #919379, #978684, and #918158 -- all naming Hunter Lee Soik and Wardenclyffe (34 Desbrosses St, Suite 12, NYC 10013) -- describe the same behavior: hiring contractors, freelancers, and vendors and refusing to pay them. This conduct predates Shadow, TRADE X, and every subsequent venture.

2. 02

   Zero SEC filings, ever. A full EDGAR search across 2010-2026 returns no filings for Hunter Lee Soik or any associated entity. If TRADE X actually raised $35M from US investors, a Form D under Reg D would normally be on file. The absence means either the raises were structured offshore, the obligations were never properly disclosed, or the $35M figure itself needs independent verification.

3. 03

   TRADE X is dead. Co-founded by Soik (COO). $35M reportedly raised over 3 rounds from 8 investors per Tracxn. Company status: INACTIVE. The 8 investor identities are not publicly indexed and Crunchbase sits behind paywalls -- a convenient information asymmetry for whoever lost money.

4. 04

   ensō group looks like a shell. LinkedIn calls it a Hong Kong family office investing in "frontier technology." Reality: 4 employees on RocketReach, dead company website (confirmed by Page Six in 2022), zero visible portfolio companies, zero investment announcements, zero co-investor mentions, no SEC investment-adviser registration, and no surfaceable Hong Kong Companies Registry record. It functions, in practice, as a LinkedIn title.

5. 05

   Public record of the Shadow Kickstarter scam. Multiple Kickstarter backers publicly called Shadow a scam on Twitter (2015-2017): non-functional app, missing physical reward cards, no updates from Hunter. A Reddit r/InventingAnna thread confirms users describing him as having "ghosted his investors and Kickstarter backers" and "scammed all the donors." 3,700+ backers were affected.

6. 06

   Current positioning: government advisor in emerging markets. After Twitter went dark in 2022, the next visible chapter is government-adjacent advisory: speaking at Saudi Arabia's DeepFest/LEAP 2023 representing "Enso Group," and presenting GDP growth strategies to President Prabowo's incoming Indonesian ministers in 2024 alongside Ray Dalio. The pattern continues -- proximity to power, no verifiable accountability for prior obligations.

The Pattern

Documented total raised or owed across publicly-known ventures: $35.08M+

Open Questions for Further Research

1. 01

   TRADE X investor identities -- requires PitchBook or Tracxn paid access.

2. 02

   Hong Kong Companies Registry -- is ensō group actually registered?

3. 03

   NY State court records -- NYSCEF search for any civil lawsuits.

4. 04

   CA state court records -- equivalent search in California.

5. 05

   Dubai/UAE business registry -- were his Dubai roles actual employment or just advisory titles?

6. 06

   Kickstarter accountability -- did any backers file formal complaints with the FTC or a state AG?

7. 07

   TRADE X dissolution -- what happened to assets and was there any investor litigation?

8. 08

   Quantum Temple current status and what happened to investor capital.

9. 09

   MIT affiliation -- degree, certificate, or attendance?

Sources

• The Cinemaholic
• South China Morning Post
• Heightline
• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Crunchbase
• Tracxn (TRADE X)
• X / Twitter
• RocketReach (ensō group)