I am Sam, better known as Knepala, and this is my story.

Since 2016, I have been deeply immersed in the world of cryptocurrency.
Blockchain and Crypto are not merely passions—they have reshaped my life in ways I could never have imagined.

Yet, with my presence and contributions to this space, I’ve also become the target of an online Hate group. Their relentless harassment and attacks have left a painful mark, also altering the course of my life in ways I never anticipated.
Sadly, this too has become a part of my story.

I write this not just for myself, but for every person out there who has been a victim of harassment, bullying, or stalking. I share this for those who need to know that reclaiming your power begins by speaking up—loudly and clearly—about the wrongs done to you.
This is my story.

Before we go further into this story, it’s important to pause and acknowledge my own responsibility and role in the creation of this Hate group.
In many ways, this evil is a co-creation, and I am certainly partly to blame for what unfolded.

Due to the events you’ll read about in more detail later, I have been diagnosed with severe Trauma and PTSD.

As part of my healing journey, I am now engaged in multiple forms of therapy, which have brought a great deal of clarity.
I’ve come to realize that my trauma didn’t exclusively start with this Hate group;
it stretches back to painful childhood experiences.

What I’ve been suffering from is more accurately known as Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD).

Throughout most of my childhood, I have been very badly bullied and shunned.

I coped with this childhood trauma by becoming a people-pleaser, and this would inadvertently set the stage for the Hate group to form and harass me.

Struggling with boundaries, I often prioritized others' needs over my own,
never saying ‘no’, leading to exploitation and unrealistic expectations from several individuals. This relentless pressure eventually led to burnout, and when I could no longer meet their demands, they started labeling me a fraud or swindler.

Although this escalation was mostly driven by the lies and deceit of the individual ultimately responsible for creating this Hate group.

“"Fawning" refers to a specific type of response to stress or trauma, especially in social contexts. It involves engaging in people-pleasing behaviors and excessive submission as a way to avoid conflict, gain approval, or maintain a sense of safety. It stands as one of the four major trauma responses, alongside fight, flight, and freeze.

When someone exhibits fawning behavior, they tend to prioritize others' needs and desires, often at the expense of their own well-being and boundaries. This excessive compliance is typically rooted in a deep-seated fear of rejection, disapproval, or potential harm. It is often a learned survival mechanism, arising from past situations where appeasing others was necessary for emotional or physical safety.”

In essence, fawning is a trauma response marked by people-pleasing and over-accommodation as a defense mechanism to minimize conflict and secure approval.”

A second point I would like to address is my awareness that much of what I am about to share involves deeply personal matters, which ideally should have been handled privately rather than aired and fought in the public eye.

This is my belief as well, but unfortunately, the Hate group has left me with no choice. They initiated this by publicly attacking me and going to great lengths to tarnish my name and reputation. As a result, I am forced to respond to these allegations in a public forum. My hope is that by doing so, I can begin to repair the damage they have caused and restore my good name.

I am also using real names, including mine, throughout this story because that’s exactly how the Hate group chose to handle things in the first place, when they started spreading slander and lies about me and the people close to me.

Everything you read here is 100% factual and nothing but the absolute truth.

With that said, let’s dive into the story of this Hate group. I promise you the full and uncensored truth.

At the start of 2021, I was working as a Strategy Manager on the ICONOMI platform. My strategies gained massive popularity in a short period, attracting thousands of copiers.

In January or February of that year, I was contacted online by Bart Roggen, someone I knew from school. He had invested a considerable amount in my ICONOMI strategies and was pleased with the results, but he wanted more.

During this time, he repeatedly reached out, pressuring me to reveal other ways to make quick and easy money with crypto.

I did my best to accommodate him, sharing various methods, strategies, and platforms I knew of to profit from crypto outside of ICONOMI. For instance, I mentioned a Binary Options Bot I had been using.

Yet, he always came back for more. Eventually, I felt pressured into reluctantly agreeing to take some of his money and trade it for him on leveraged futures using one of my personal accounts. After a while, we would split the profits equally.

Unfortunately, most of these early conversations were deleted by him on Telegram, leaving no evidence to back them up.

Before long, I grew increasingly uncomfortable with accepting Bart’s money. He began messaging me more frequently, contacting me more often than my own family and friends. I felt like I was being treated solely as a tool for making him money.

Over time, I’ve come to realize that Bart likely exhibits psychopathic tendencies, given how he seems to view people only in terms of their utility in helping him gain wealth and status.

During that same period, on February 17th, 2021, I took the first crucial step toward founding my own company.
This venture would encompass not only my cryptocurrency activities, including the income generated from ICONOMI, but also a few other non-crypto-related pursuits. My first course of action was to contact a fiscal lawyer to help me draft the articles of incorporation.

Over the next few months, I solidified plans with close friends—Nathalie Tachelet,
Jan Dello, and Jasper Boonen—who agreed to join me in my company and assist with various ventures.

Our goal was to diversify our activities, minimizing reliance solely on the volatile crypto markets.For example, we envisioned reinvesting profits from Crypto into hosting music events or exploring investments in collectibles, antiques, and art. On June 10th, 2021, I initiated contact with an accounting firm.

Although they had no prior experience with cryptocurrency cases, they assured me that navigating this aspect would not be an issue.

During the same period, around February or March 2021, I was approached by an individual named Athila Struys, who requested a personal favor.
He asked me for €5000 to help settle a court fine related to a drunk driving incident.

In return, he promised to volunteer his time to assist me in managing the Crypto Knowledge Pool community on Telegram, operating under the username @Thimbo86.

He expressed a strong desire to create guides and educational courses tailored for beginners in the crypto space. We also discussed the possibility of offering him a formal position once the company, fehu, was fully established, where he would oversee the community chat management on a full-time basis.

Out of my inclination to help, I found it difficult to refuse, and ultimately granted him the €5000 he requested.

In the end, he failed to fulfill any of the promises he made. Essentially, he deceived me and walked away with €5000, never honoring his commitments.

Around the same time, at the beginning of 2021, I was approached by Tom Herck, the Flemish artist, who proposed a collaboration with Crypto Knowledge Pool.

The goal was to create an art installation for Burning Man.
During one of our meetings, I suggested complementing the project with an NFT art series, with the proceeds being used to fund the installation and the project.
Tom enthusiastically agreed to this idea.

With everything happening during this period—people wanting different things from me, expecting me to change their lives, give them jobs, and more—on top of my responsibilities to the members of the Crypto Knowledge Pool and my copiers on ICONOMI,
it’s clear that I was already facing immense pressure.

In the first half of May 2021, I made the impulsive decision to use a significant portion of my first-quarter ICONOMI income—over €30,000—to treat some of my friends, future employees, and partners, including Jasper Boonen, Tom Herck, and Athila Struys, along with a group of their friends, to a musical event in Egypt hosted by a close friend of mine.

I envisioned this as a well-deserved break for everyone, especially after the strain of the COVID crisis, with restrictions easing and travel becoming more feasible.

In hindsight, this may have been yet another example of my tendency to please others. Unfortunately, several falsehoods about this trip were later circulated by the Hate group.

Sadly, during this period, my beloved grandmother was gravely ill. Her passing felt imminent, making it difficult for me to fully relax during the trip.

However, she had urged me to go, knowing that the arrangements had been made long before her diagnosis. Despite everything, I tried to honor her wishes and make the best of it.

Around the time we returned, the Crypto market began to crash.

I must admit, this downturn caught me completely off guard.
I had expected the bullish trend to last much longer, especially after enduring the 2018-2019 Bear Market and the challenges of the COVID crisis.

I couldn’t have been more wrong.

As a result, my income from ICONOMI quickly dwindled to a mere fraction of what it once was, adding even more pressure and stress to an already overwhelming situation.

To make matters even worse, in June or July, I received word from Jan Dello that both he and his wife, Femke Pinxten, who had also shown interest in joining the company, had already resigned from their jobs.
Without significant savings to fall back on, they urged me to move forward with the business as quickly as possible.

This news sent me into a panic, especially since progress with the accountant was moving at a snail’s pace. We didn’t even have a financial plan in place yet.

We can assist you. We would like to schedule an appointment to discuss everything and have an introductory conversation regarding startup, expectations, etc. When is convenient for you? This can be done for us via Microsoft Teams or under the prevailing corona conditions, at our office.

In fact, the initial meetings with the accountants didn’t even take place until after June 18th. Looking back, it would have been far more prudent to hold off on quitting any jobs until we had made more tangible progress in the process of starting the company.

During all of this, I was also dealing with the emotional weight of my grandmother's terminal illness, as she held on longer than anyone had expected.
I truly believe she kept fighting just to witness the birth of my sister’s first daughter.

The Crypto markets experienced a so-called "recovery" during the summer of 2021. However, it later became clear that this was a highly manipulated and unsustainable movement, driven by bad actors such as Alameda and Terra Luna.
In hindsight, it’s more accurate to view the Bear Market as having begun in May.

Unlike many other strategy managers on ICONOMI, we deliberately chose not to get swept up in the LUNA hype. This decision drew criticism and even some hostility, as our strategies didn’t seem to bounce back like others.
But in reality, we were protecting our copiers from becoming overly exposed to the risks of hype-driven market swings.

With the time constraints surrounding the establishment of the company and other projects, combined with the mounting pressure of the sudden Bear Market, I began to feel increasingly overwhelmed and anxious. In my desperation to fix the situation quickly, I resorted to trading recklessly on my personal accounts, hoping for an overnight solution.

Unfortunately, this only made matters worse.

By August 2021, I had lost both Bart’s money and €50,000 of my own in a series of panicked leveraged trades.

As things continued to spiral, my grandmother passed away in September.I tried to take some time off to grieve, but certain individuals showed little to no understanding.

It seemed that, unlike someone with a ‘normal’ job, I was expected to be available and working at all times, regardless of personal circumstances.

In November, I continued to push hard to get the company off the ground, despite the ongoing wait for the accountant to deliver a viable financial plan.

It became clear that they were struggling to handle the crypto side of our business. Typically, you wouldn’t expect an accounting firm to take nearly five months without even producing a first draft of a plan.

By mid-November, we concluded that the delay had gone on far too long, leading us to start searching for a new accounting firm.

At the same time, the pressure surrounding the NFT and Burning Man project with Tom Herck was also intensifying. My goal was to integrate this venture into the company, ensuring that everything was handled correctly and in full compliance with regulations. This added even more urgency to our timeline, as Tom was aiming to showcase the project at the Burning Man event in two summers.

In November 2021, while I was doing my best to meet all the expectations and responsibilities placed on me as quickly as possible, I was also still trying to recover the significant losses from both Bart's money and my own back in August.

However, in my haste to make things right, I rushed once again, resulting in another substantial loss on November 17th.

At this point, I finally came to the realization that I was severely burned out.There was no other choice but to force myself to take a break from trading and step away from the overwhelming pressure and stress of all my responsibilities.I decided to return to it later, refreshed and with renewed energy and focus.

So, on that same day, November 17th 2021, I made a clear announcement in the chat groups of my Telegram community, stating that I would be taking one or two weeks off to focus on my health.I kindly asked everyone to respect my need for rest during this period.

This, apparently, did not sit well with Bart Roggen at all.

The moment I announced my need for a break, explicitly asking everyone to respect my time off, he began harassing me yet AGAIN!By this point, I was completely fed up with his behavior and the relentless, unreasonable pressure he had been putting on me.

I informed him that I would reach out once my rest period was over,and promptly blocked him from messaging me on Telegram in the meantime.

Instead of taking the hint and respecting my boundaries, as any reasonable adult would, giving me the much-needed rest I had asked for, Bart Roggen became furious with me for not catering to his demands.

In response to my simple request, he immediately contacted several people who knew me or had business dealings with me, including Athila Struys, one of my chat admins at the time, and Tom Herck.

He spun an outrageous story about me being involved with the mafia, along with a few other ridiculous claims, all with the sole purpose of manipulating their perceptions and turning them against me.

The following day, on November 18th, 2021, I woke up to a barrage of hysterical and nonsensical messages from Athila Struys.
(Unfortunately, this conversation was deleted on Telegram before any screenshots could be taken as evidence.)

He was rambling about Albanian mobsters, expressing fear, and even threatening to go to the police if I didn’t respond immediately. Upon waking up, I replied to his messages, explaining that I had blocked Bart Roggen temporarily so I could enjoy my time off.
I assured him I had no idea what he was talking about and once again asked him as well to respect my need for a break. Shortly afterward, I began receiving messages from others, including Nathalie, informing me that Athila had reached out to them too, claiming they were in serious danger.

Exhausted from the ongoing drama, severely burned out, and just wanting to rest as I had clearly communicated the day before, I blocked Athila as well, as it became clear he wasn’t willing to listen to reason.

Almost immediately after, I received the following message from Athila Struys on Instagram.

You should be ashamed, dude. You live in a fantasy. And you're going to give me back my headphones or I'll break your frail ass. And if you think you'll get away with this and that you know ** or other people better than me. Then you're even more wrong than those blobs on your head. Autistic narcissistic piece of shit. GFY

You're transparent (literally)

And a fucking joke

Certainly. Then I can also get my 5000 euros back. You are relieved of your duties because you also involved ** in your madness instead of just disturbing my peace.

On November 22nd, Bart also began targeting Nathalie Tachelet directly, engaging in clear stalking behavior. He spun a completely different set of lies for her, crafting a manipulative sob story that cast him as the victim—a classic tactic used by abusers.

Nathalie was particularly upset to discover that Jan Dello had apparently shared her contact details with Bart without her consent, effectively enabling this harassment.

Nathalie,

My sincere apologies for contacting you. I am at my wit's end.

I helped Sam in difficult times and gave him a lot of money in exchange for repayment.

Now he is blocking me everywhere and has no intention of returning it anymore. I am truly desperate, Nathalie... I heard from Jan that you are a good person and hope to reason with Sam through this channel because this is no longer normal.

I am seen as the first person who will no longer receive a refund...

I am truly broken by this You are the only one I heard still has some contact

I only ask for a conversation

And the next Day, I received another message from Bart Roggen, this time through his wife Eugenia's Telegram account, calling me disgusting.
Once again, in the most diplomatic way possible, I politely asked for some personal space, as I was still feeling completely overwhelmed.

Normal, well-adjusted people don’t respond that way... especially to such a perfectly reasonable request.

These events, in the days following November 17th, 2021, when I merely tried to take a break from work due to burnout, were only the beginning of the damage Bart, and by extent the Hate group, would go on to inflict on numerous people's lives.

Apparently, being manipulated by Bart Roggen and sending outrageous threats via Instagram was not the end of it for Athila Struys.

Between November 18th and November 25th, 2021, Athila Struys took it a step further by creating a new chat group on Telegram.

He invited Bart himself, along with many people who knew me, some who barely knew me, and even a few complete strangers, including the Dutch internet troll, Emiel.
He also added several other Crypto Knowledge Pool admins, such as Stijn Crabbé,
and some members, to this new group chat.

Upon their arrival in this chat group, Athila shared the same false mafia narratives and other delusional lies about me that he had previously been fed.

In doing so, he recruited an entire organized online group, convincing them they had been betrayed, endangered, or victimized by my supposed schemes and scams.

From that point on, the group viewed me as some kind of criminal mastermind and scammer who needed to be stopped at all costs.

THIS IS HOW THE ONLINE HATE GROUP WAS CREATED!

On November 27th, 2021, Tom Herck posted the following message in the NFT Discord server.

At this point, I was still completely unaware of the newly formed Hate group or what exactly had transpired.
Naturally, I found it odd that 'criminals' were being mentioned yet again, alongside other strange allegations.

By now, I was seriously beginning to wonder what on earth was happening though.

I wanted to do this personally but time is money and a "possible" video call involves too much uncertainty, especially since you hardly ever respond in a timely manner. Therefore, an open message in this closed section.

As you know, there have been quite a few negative messages circulating about you in the past few days (week).

This includes claims that you don't pay your staff, make promises you can't keep to people, and individuals from a "criminal environment" are looking for you because you owe them money. About 10 days ago, I received 2 or 3 phone calls in one day from people I also know well, who have invested hundreds of thousands of euros in your fund, and you are not keeping your promise after making empty promises.

It was clear that Bart Roggen had reached out to him as well, likely on November 17th or 18th. Just as I had done earlier with Athila Struys, I calmly explained the truth:

I had been feeling pressured and harassed by Bart and simply needed some personal space and peace.
I had told Bart that I would contact him myself once I had the chance to rest and recover.

I can assure you that there is nothing wrong. Staff is always paid correctly, @nathachelet can confirm this.

I only resort to blocking if I am truly being extremely stalked by a member or contact, and by that I mean daily phone calls and messages that make me feel so pressured that it is impossible for me to concentrate on my responsibilities. Indeed, I recently blocked a major investor in the fund, but this is because that person refused to respect that I really need some space. However, I did inform this person beforehand that if I finally get some time and rest soon, I will contact them again myself. People who invest in the fund can also withdraw their money at any time

Nathalie Tachelet confirmed that I was telling the truth, sharing that she too had already been harassed by Bart.

Unfortunately, the damage caused by the newly formed Hate group—of which I was still unaware at the time—had already been done.
Despite both of us being honest, Tom Herck decided to leave the project at that time because of the slander he had heard about me.

When the time comes, we will make this announcement together. Until then, we'll discuss how and what. Indeed, I have been paid.

I can actually confirm everything Sam says.

The person he eventually blocked was even stalking me, someone who has nothing to do with the fund. It was excessive. Those accountants have wasted months of our time, not only I can attest to that but also Jasper.

During this same period, I was also contacted by Jan Dello on Telegram.
(This conversation has since been deleted before any screenshots could be taken for evidence.)

Up until then, he had been one of my closest friends, and he was set to play a key role in the company we were creating together.

However, to my surprise, he suddenly called me an 'asshole' and stated that he wanted nothing more to do with me or with the company, fehu.

At the time, I found his reaction baffling. Later, I realized that he, too, had been pulled into the criminal Hate group formed by Athila and Bart, and had been misled with lies about me.

On December 1st, Jan Dello reiterated his stance in a formal letter sent by email. However, he offered no explanation for his abrupt change of heart;
he simply stated that he no longer wanted any involvement with me or the project.

He even declined payment for the work he had already completed, which struck me as completely irrational at the time.

It was only later that I realized he had likely been fed the same outlandish mafia allegations by either Athila, Bart, or both.
Presumably out of fear for his own safety, he had decided to sever all ties and distance himself from me entirely.

Dear Sam,

Subject: Termination of Collaboration

As I already informed you via Telegram, I want to definitively terminate any collaboration and connection between us.

Attached, you will find two credit notes for the invoices I have already provided you regarding the services I delivered for you.

I have placed the boxes with cards and such, as well as the PC, in safekeeping with someone and I want to return them to you. You did not respond to my Telegram message of November 22nd to arrange something.

Therefore, I suggest that I bring everything to your mother in **. She informed me that she agrees with this.

Please suggest some possible dates when you can also be there so that we can schedule an appointment.

You will understand that this arrangement is exceptionally favorable for you since I waive the compensation for the services I provided to you.

Just like many others, he had been misled into believing that I was involved in some kind of criminal organization!

On December 22nd, I finally summoned the strength and courage to respond to the email, expressing my surprise and confusion.

I had been going through a particularly challenging time, and progress had stalled due to both my grandmother’s passing and my own experience with burnout.

Still, none of these struggles felt like a justified reason for abandoning a close friend in such a manner.

fehu is now almost fully established at another accounting firm, the financial plan was ready just over two weeks after initial contact and in January, the appointment with the notary is scheduled.

Both Jasper and Nathalie are joining the team.

I never thought you would dare to stab one of your best friends in the back because of a tough period that nobody asked for. This isn't the person I know.

None of us had control over Fineko not wanting to help us properly or the fact that I had to prioritize myself and my grandmother for several months in between, and the market also turned against us at the same time.

In short, it was just a period where everything was going wrong. I would think that you, of all people, could understand that, given your experience with depression and sorrow..

I would truly be ashamed in your place if I ever dared to abandon someone in such a way at a time when they were already struggling so much. You are one of the last people from whom I would have expected such behavior, honestly.

You seriously let yourself be influenced by Athila after he was rightfully dismissed, or who knows who else, to suddenly behave like this.

But in any case, I want you to know that you will always be welcome to talk it out again when you realize in a few years what an opportunity from fehu you missed out on, and how wrong you were, because we all make mistakes, we are all just human.

I wish you all the best

In the very first weeks of the Hate group’s formation, they had already succeeded in destroying nearly everything around me...

Almost all my friendships, collaborations, and plans were attacked or sabotaged through a web of slanderous lies.

A few days after being removed from the Discord server, on November 29th, 2021,
Tom Herck also sent me the following message on Messenger:

He referenced me "engaging in dishonest dealings," likely yet another nod to these absurd Mafia stories about me.

At the time, however, I had no idea what he was talking about.

Furthermore, you completely abuse your illusory power over people and treat everyone like dirt. That's why you're Strategy has lost Millions in recent months and you're a very lonely person. Not because you're inherently bad, but because you misuse power and engage in dishonest dealings. It's unfortunate to see someone working towards their own downfall. I've worked with psychiatric patients before, and aside from having symptoms of narcissism, borderline, and suicidal thoughts, I would advise seeking help if I were you. We knew enough on the boat when you were crying for three days for narcissistic reasons that people were leaving your side.

Like the manipulative psychopath he is, Bart Roggen used fear and anger to his advantage. He spread rumors to several people, claiming I was being pursued by dangerous criminals who sought to harm me due to debts I supposedly owed them.

With the help of the hysterical Athila Struys, his first pawn in this scheme, they gathered an entire group of people who felt so betrayed or frightened that they didn’t just abandon me without a second thought, but even began to view me as their enemy.

Bart orchestrated an entire online Hate brigade, determined to destroy my life simply because I had the nerve to block him when I grew tired of being manipulated.
This is a classic example of the 'Flying Monkeys' effect, where others are manipulated into doing someone else's dirty work.

The term "flying monkeys" originates from the story The Wizard of Oz. In the tale, the Wicked Witch of the West sends her flying monkeys to do her dirty work, attacking Dorothy and her friends. In psychology, the term has taken on a more specific meaning. It is used to describe people who are manipulated or coerced into carrying out the harmful actions of a manipulator or abuser, often without fully realizing the damage they are causing. These "flying monkeys" spread lies, rumors, or harass others on behalf of the manipulator, acting as their extensions. By doing this, the manipulator avoids direct confrontation or accountability for their actions, using these individuals as shields to control the narrative.

About a year later, I came to the stark realization that Bart Roggen had not been entirely deceitful when talking about mafias and criminal organizations.
It turned out that the money he had pressured me into accepting was, in fact, criminal in origin. Bart Roggen himself was the true criminal, having initiated a situation where real criminals were now seeking retribution from me.

What Bart conveniently failed to disclose to these people in the group, was that he was the mastermind behind these criminal dealings.
He also neglected to mention that I was completely innocent and unaware of the illegal origins of his money, as he had never once revealed this to me.

Throughout this entire period, Bart Roggen also left a series of bizarre and unsettling comments on several of my Twitter posts. As of this writing, these comments are still visible on his account, a reminder of the troubling behavior he exhibited even in public.

On December 15th, Bart Roggen also harassed me on Twitter via a private message.

Still unaware of the organized Hate group conspiring against me at the time,
I chose to remain friendly and once again requested some personal space.
I explained that if he truly wanted me to rectify the situation, he needed to give me time.

Even though he had previously called me "disgusting" for asking for personal space,
I remained diplomatic and kind, as I always do.

Sam, can you just respond

This is absurd

You are running away with my money and act like I am stalking you

Just respond

I am fully working on it, let me do it in peace for a moment

I am going to need a few months to get everything sorted out and then I will contact you. If there is one thing I cannot do, it is work under constant pressure

In early January 2022, I reached out to Bart Roggen again on Telegram.
I told him I was aware that several people, including Tom Herck, Jan Dello, and
Athila Struys, were extremely angry with me after having spoken with him.

I explained to Bart that I expected him to clear up the misunderstandings he had caused back in November, and that I would only consider dealing with him again once this had been resolved.

I believe my request was entirely reasonable—if you create problems in someone’s life, you should also take responsibility for fixing them.

At this point, I was still unaware that Bart Roggen was a genuine criminal and that he had been terrifying these individuals with mafia stories.

There had been a few subtle clues about what was going on, but I missed them due to the severe burnout I was experiencing.

All I knew at the time was that he had caused a significant amount of trouble for me, and of course, I wanted it resolved as soon as possible.

He had manipulated these people into believing that I was the one entangled with criminal organizations...
when, in reality, that was the truth about himself.

On January 31st, 2022, I received an email from Tom Herck, informing me that Bart had indeed met with him in an attempt to resolve part of the situation.

However, from the content of the email, it became evident that Bart had once again completely misrepresented the facts.

I had been very clear with Bart: I would not engage with him until he had first addressed and rectified the issues he had caused with several people.
This was non-negotiable.

Once again, the term "Mafia" was brought up in this email, which made absolutely no sense to me at the time—I had no idea what Tom was referring to.

Moreover, I did not hear anything from the other people Bart had manipulated, making it all the more clear that Bart had no intention of doing what I had asked: to resolve the misunderstandings and problems he had set in motion months earlier.

Hey Sam,

I had an appointment with Bart on Sunday evening, where it turned out that you will fulfill the previously agreed commitment with him. Also, the whole mafia story seems less serious than expected.

I am a man of my word and I appreciate clear and direct communication. I am glad to see this from you now. Everyone can make mistakes due to various circumstances. So, it shows character on your part to seek reconciliation with Bart after all that has happened. That is why I am also setting aside my ego and doing what seems right, seeking reconciliation with you. The knife cuts both ways.

But, you must understand that when you make promises to people, you give them hope and play with their dreams. It is very painful when you have a vision that gets shattered. I have always believed that you are fundamentally a good person and mean well for others. That is why I was initially disappointed in you.

I envisioned everyone standing around that mega installation at Burning Man, doing something that no one else had ever done with their own resources and creating a movement. Realizing something next level that would inspire people. Making history. You are successful and come from a village, just like me, without losing authenticity. We both come from uneven paths.

When I heard from Bart that everything was in order as you had agreed, there was no reason for distrust on my part, and I am open to a conversation.

So, I hope that we have not burned our bridges, because if that is the only thing burned after all these Burning Man dreams, it would be a sad thing.

You can always call me or email me back at this email address.

At the beginning of January 2022, I also deposited 1,500 Euros worth of Bitcoin to Jasper Boonen’s ICONOMI deposit address (0.03620963 BTC).

A few months earlier, our accountant (the first one) had advised that both
Jasper Boonen and Jan Dello should register their own companies as Independent Contractors and provide their services to my company in that manner.

Since Jasper was going to work directly for me, he asked if I could cover the administrative costs for establishing his sole proprietorship (eenmanszaak).

I agreed and suggested paying him in Bitcoin, so he could convert it to fiat currency himself. Jasper provided me with his ICONOMI deposit address, as this was the only cryptocurrency platform he had an account on.

I sent him the Bitcoin, but shortly after, Jasper informed me that ICONOMI had placed the deposit on hold. As a result, I also reached out to ICONOMI Support.

I made it clear in my communication that if transferring crypto to someone else’s account was against their rules, I had not been aware of this, and that in such a case, it was an innocent mistake.

Notice how, in subsequent emails, I continuously request clarification regarding why the transaction was put on hold. My goal was to understand the reason behind this action so that I could avoid any similar issues in the future.

By January 24th, ICONOMI had still not returned my funds, nor had they provided any explanation or clarification as to why they were keeping them frozen.

Eventually, they approved the transaction, and Jasper finally received the Bitcoin in his account, albeit with significant delay.
To this day, the reason behind the initial freeze remains a mystery.

ICONOMI would later unfairly use this transaction against me.
We'll revisit this issue in more detail later in this post.

Additionally, in January, for over six months already, I had been enduring harassment from a specific internet troll on ICONOMI, going by the name Emiel.

His behavior had become so disruptive that it started bothering other copiers as well. At this point, we had all grown tired of his antics, so on January 10th, I reached out to ICONOMI, requesting that they take action against Emiel.

He would go on to become one of the most persistent and disruptive members of the Hate group, constantly causing annoyance and stirring up drama.

In January, CKP members occasionally started informing me that they were being harassed.

Is that Bart by any chance? It’s because of him that I gave up the challenge.

He was bothering me all day long.

Yes, and someone else too...

I deleted those messages.

Because I was like WTF.

I don’t know you.

And suddenly, you start messaging me.

Most of the harassment stemmed directly from Bart Roggen, though at times,
other members of the Hate group, like Vincent Vander Perre, were also involved.

What was the name of that second person? I find it quite remarkable that suddenly there are two of them.

First, it was that Bart

And then a few days later another one

I deleted those messages

But I think it was Vincent or something like that

As soon as the NFT is sold or there are a few good months for ICONOMI or trading, there will be money available again, and I will straighten out everything that needs to be addressed.

Except for people like Bart who caused me months of stress and pressure

I was just worried after those messages. It has been difficult months. I understand that. I still trust you and believe in a good outcome...

Also in January 2022, Jan Dello returned several of my belongings, including a laptop and items he had purchased using my money for the future business, to
Jasper Boonen’s place.

Since he no longer wanted any contact with me...

And then, also midway through January, while already dealing with all this stress and the other ongoing problems, I suddenly received an official letter summoning me to court just a week later.

This came as a complete shock to me, as it was the very first time I had even heard about any legal proceedings, and now I was expected to appear there in like just one week… So, how did it all begin?

In December 2017, I was approached by Cynthia Kok, someone I knew personally. She was aware that I had been actively investing in cryptocurrencies. Like many others at that time, she was swept up in the frenzy and hype, feeling the fear of missing out (FOMO) as Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies experienced explosive growth. Cynthia was eager to start investing in Bitcoin as quickly as possible and sought my help.

Unfortunately, since this was my first market cycle, I didn't yet have the experience or foresight to recognize that we were likely nearing the market peak, and I failed to caution her against getting in so late.

Being the people-pleaser that I was, I wanted to help, as I usually did.

Naturally, I agreed to assist her. Back then, Kraken was one of the few fiat on-ramps available, so I explained that it could take some time to complete her first Bitcoin purchase. Due to the massive influx of new investors and the overwhelming demand to get into crypto, it could take several weeks just to get her Kraken account verified with KYC (Know Your Customer) protocols.

Now, in the lawsuit, the opposing party claims that I manipulated and pressured them into investing in Bitcoin. This is simply untrue—they approached me, not the other way around. During that period, countless people contacted me for advice about crypto. Unsurprisingly, they have provided no evidence to support this accusation in court because such evidence simply does not exist.

So at the time, I informed Cynthia that it might take a while to get her Kraken account verified for transfers. However, driven by FOMO, she didn't want to miss out on the potential "profits." That's how we agreed that she would transfer the money to my bank account, from which I would deposit it into my already-verified exchange account and purchase the equivalent amount of Bitcoin for her. As soon as she had her own account or wallet set up, I would transfer the Bitcoin to her.

It was a kind gesture and a friendly favor.

On either January 18th or 19th, 2018, I received €5,000 into my bank account from Melanie Kok, the sister.
As agreed upon, I immediately transferred these funds to my Kraken account,and they were credited on January 24th, 2018.On January 24th at 21:52 Belgian time, I used the entire amount of €5,000 to purchase Bitcoin.

The data from this image comes from a transaction and transfer history export from my Kraken account.
I executed the purchase in one step. The reason why there are two lines in the buy orders is because the order was filled in two parts.

In total, this was a purchase of 0.549956620 $BTC at a market price of €9,091.62618 per Bitcoin.
As you can see in the very last column of this image, this brought the total XBT (Bitcoin) balance on my account to 0.8621256271 Bitcoin.

This means I had 0.3121690071 $BTC of my own on the account at that point, and 0.549956620 $BTC which I owed to the K. sisters.

Before anyone might suggest that the data and numbers in this spreadsheet could be faked or manipulated:

Don't worry—I have also provided a 'read-only' API key for my Kraken account to both my lawyers and the court, allowing them to easily verify the accuracy of this information themselves.

Everything was fine up to this point, but this is where things began to go wrong.

As I said, it was my very first cycle in the market, and because of that, I had no idea that the Bitcoin market had just entered a severe Bear phase.
In fact, I thought I had secured a great price for the Bitcoin I purchased for the two sisters.

However, within just a week or two after the purchase was completed, Bitcoin's price plummeted another 50%, and meanwhile, I still hadn’t received an address to transfer the Bitcoin to.(Black arrow indicates the moment of purchase: January 24th, 2018)

In less than two weeks, their initial €5000 had lost almost half its value.And throughout all this, all I wanted was to do them a kind favor...

This is when I really started to panic, as my own portfolio (which had grown to more than half a million at its peak, simply from buying throughout 2017) was also taking a massive hit.

I’m naturally an anxious and empathetic person, so I was terrified that they might think I had deceived them or taken advantage of them.

I was consumed with guilt that their investment had lost half its value in such a short time, even though I now understand it wasn’t my responsibility.

But back then, I felt an overwhelming guilt for their loss and desperately wanted to make things right.

Having never lived through a Bear Market before, I was used to seeing every crash recover almost immediately. In my inexperience and naïveté, I was convinced that this time would be no different and that the market would continue to rally.

I thought that opening a quick Long position with leverage would recover both their losses and mine in no time.

So, I asked the sisters for their permission to trade with their Bitcoin in an attempt to recover the value back to or above the original €5000.

They agreed and gave me their consent to proceed.

On January 30th, 2018, between 07:15 and 08:59 Belgian time, I opened and added twice to a Long trade position using the 0.8621256271 $BTC currently in my Kraken account as collateral.

I was wrong, of course. We were no longer in a bull market—there were no more strong rallies, only a steady decline, down, down, down...

As a result, those positions were liquidated on February 1st, 2018, wiping out the entire amount in my Kraken account (both their Bitcoin and some of mine).

After the liquidation event, where I lost all of their Bitcoin along with some of my own, my panic and despair only deepened.

Between February 2nd and February 13th, 2018, I made several new deposits into my Kraken account using my personal funds.

Each time, I frantically tried to open new Long positions in a desperate attempt to recover the previous losses.

But unfortunately, every attempt ended badly, as I continued burning through more and more funds in my frantic effort to correct earlier mistakes.

They are now accusing me in court of manipulating and defrauding them, despite all the evidence and data clearly indicating that it was an unfortunate and accidental situation.

So during this time back in 2018, I was overwhelmed with panic and desperately tried to recover the initial loss by repeatedly entering Long trades in a Bear Market.

This reckless approach resulted in a total loss of nearly €120,000 for the entire year of 2018, which included their €5,000 and almost €115,000 of my own savings.

Immediately after this happened, Cynthia Kok began relentlessly pressuring, stalking, and harassing me about the money.

Even though my own losses were far greater, I felt an immense sense of guilt for losing their funds.

I was fully committed to doing everything in my power to make things right for them.

However, I simply needed time to find a way to compensate for the losses without making the situation worse.

It didn’t take long before the pressure from Cynthia to return their money became completely overwhelming.I was already trying to manage my panic and avoid making the situation worse.

In my desperation, I made a mistake.
I promised the sisters I would compensate them with 1 whole Bitcoin instead of their initial 0.55 Bitcoin.

But this promise was made on one condition: that they leave me and my family alone for the time it would take me to find a way to recover the losses.

It was on the condition that they stop pressuring me entirely.
So with this, I made them an unreasonable promise, hoping to buy myself some time to find a solution.

Just to get them off my back…

Hey Melanie,

Just a quick update.

In July and August, I ultimately didn’t get anywhere. I let myself get too worked up by impatient people, and by rushing, I had more bad than productive days.

I've put myself on a new, much less intense trading schedule—day 4 of 100 now. And only when I’m there, and have rebuilt my portfolio after two years of waiting for the bear market to end, will I release the necessary Bitcoin from my safety margin for family, you, and myself.

I’m possibly willing to round up your 0.55 BTC to 1 BTC as compensation for the wait, and I’m still willing to put something in writing about this.

But I’m certainly not going to let myself be pushed and stressed anymore to make things go faster than is possible. Managing a portfolio is hard enough as it is.

Greetings,Sam

Thanks for reaching out to me! As long as I get an update from time to time, everything’s fine with me. And a compensation really isn’t necessary. I’m grateful you’re doing this for us. Sometimes Cynt might be a little scared, or I might be a little scared. That has more to do with ignorance. But I do trust you! Xx Mel

Please note how, in the above conversation, the proposal I made was explicitly refused. This will later become a very crucial point in the current legal proceedings.

I was under immense pressure and stress, desperately trying to find ways to buy myself more time from them in order to resolve the situation.

Please try to understand me. I've had to start trading almost completely from scratch several times in the past year just because people are on my back and I start making big mistakes and huge losses as a result. This time, I am working through my schedule with caution and patience and once I have made satisfactory progress to take off some bitcoin and still maintain more than enough margin for safety, it will come. I have promised you guys to double your btc and that without having to do any of the work or deal with the leaden stress I'm under. So just a little more patience I'm almost there, but don't push me to start making fuckups again because then I'll never get there!

The reason you don't hear me is because I'm working very hard, 14 hours a day

But Sam, I understand. We have been understanding, even in difficult times. But you have been saying for 2

"But keeping me on hold for so long and lying, that's just not acceptable.

Or at least tell me how long it will take. Even if it's another year. And I don't need a doubling. I just want the cryptocurrency that you bought with Melanie's money.

Because I don't trust you with it. For this reason. The way you react. Always angry and blaming me every time I ask a simple question.

I asked you one thing, and that is to leave my mother alone. Since then, you have done it three more times.

You asked me one thing?

What a joke. I asked you one thing.

'you all'

I send you [messages], my sister doesn't know.

And you punish her too.

You have our money and you're holding on to it, which is stealing.

You keep postponing it.

Just give that bitcoin.

I don't have it at the moment. I make mistakes when I am under pressure and stress. Just last week, I lost 20,000 euros because of the pressure coming at me from all sides.

Don't stress me out, or I'll never [be able to manage it].

I literally ask once or twice a year how things are going...

I don't think that's putting pressure...

Unfortunately, making this agreement did nothing to ease the situation. The pressure and harassment from Cynthia continued relentlessly. It reached a point where even Melanie Kok felt compelled to apologize for her sister's behavior.

I’m glad to hear from you again. I understand, and I can imagine this isn't an easy time for you. I'm not Cynthia, though. Unfortunately, I don’t always have control over what she says and does. I still hope that one day I will get the money back from you.

Hey Sam. Cynthia apologizes. But this shouldn't affect the money. The 5000 euros are from me. I have rarely contacted you. You often contacted me first (which I always appreciated). Can you provide me (not Cynthia) with some perspective? By the way, you never let me know how I can contact you. Is Facebook good, or do you prefer email? And how often can I message you for an update? Every week, month, or quarter? I just want this to be resolved without conflict.

For years, I genuinely tried to fulfill my proposal, but between the Bear Market and the onset of COVID, setbacks made it nearly impossible to recover from the losses of January and February 2018. Eventually, my ICONOMI strategies provided a solution, but by the time I saw progress, the sisters had already lost patience and sued me. Had they waited, I would have gladly compensated them from my initial ICONOMI revenue, as that’s the kind of person I am—I keep my promises.

Here’s the key point: I made the promise to compensate them with 1 Bitcoin under duress, with the clear condition that they wait and stop pressuring me. Filing a lawsuit doesn’t count as "waiting"—in fact, it broke the one condition under which I had made the agreement, making it void.

They’re now suing me, demanding 1 Bitcoin, claiming I robbed them and deceived them with false promises.

I launched my strategies on ICONOMI in late 2020, after years of struggle. Finally, my hard work paid off, and I began earning substantial referral and copy fees. Anyone who knows me knows that I value integrity and always keep my word, despite what the Hate group claims. I was fully prepared to honor my promise and even go beyond it to make up for the delay.

However, before I could act, a lawyer contacted me, threatening legal action—directly violating our agreement. The lawyer’s approach was so unprofessional that I didn’t even bother to respond. Instead, I reached out to Melanie Kok directly, expressing my disappointment that they had chosen to escalate things with more pressure and stress.

Hi Mel,

Today, I am catching up on my emails,

and I see a message from some lawyer.

I have requested so many times to not be put under pressure for long enough to resolve everything, and this is the opposite of that.

I can very simply show with my accounting that I did not run away with your money, but that due to the bear market, the corona crisis, and the constant repeated pressure on me, it actually was an unfortunate loss.

Until now, I have been doing my absolute best to recover the loss for you as quickly as possible and return it, but after the accusations last time and now this, I don’t see why I should still be of such good will.

In fact, I found this lawyer's email so outrageous that I immediately deleted it upon reading.

I should have kept it as evidence, as it was practically an attempt at intimidation and threats. This is not how a lawyer should behave ethically.

However, to give you a better idea of the unprofessional behavior we're dealing with, here's an example from January 2022:

At the request of my lawyer, I am contacting you to ask for all available documents for the upcoming hearing. We would like to make conclusions. Sam Brans

Dear Sir, then your lawyer can go ahead and ask me that.

“The tone implies a dismissive attitude, suggesting the speaker is unwilling to engage or assist unless formally required to by the other party's lawyer, which comes across as somewhat curt and uncooperative.”

So with that, In December 2020, just as I was finally in a position to fulfill my part of the agreement, I was unpleasantly surprised to discover that they had again broken their commitment to resolve the matter without pressure, stress, or complications.

Regardless, on February 15th, 2021, after receiving additional revenue from ICONOMI,
I decided to demonstrate my goodwill and reached out to Melanie Kok once again.

I promptly offered to honor the proposal that was made by sending her one Bitcoin, provided that she would withdraw the lawyer and halt the legal proceedings.

I didn’t receive any response from Melanie to that email, but I did get a reply from the same rude lawyer
(which I once again deleted in disgust as soon as I read it).

The proposal dated February 4, 2020 (EXHIBIT 9 from the opposing party) is clear and leaves no room for further interpretation:

"Either I send you the 0.55 BTC ... Or I send a full bitcoin."

Note again that this proposal was never accepted by the opposing party. The fact that they are now filing an incidental appeal underscores this.

The proposal dated February 15, 2021, is also clear (EXHIBIT):

"Now that I have finally had some time to work undisturbed and with the necessary calm, I can easily, as promised, afford to send a full bitcoin."

Note that an explicit request for a bitcoin address was even made as late as February 17, 2021, during email correspondence with Ms. K.'s lawyer, while the latter had already made a counteroffer on behalf of Ms. K. (EXHIBIT 14 from the opposing party)! This further emphasizes that there was never any agreement.

Moreover, there is a logical explanation as to why Mr. Brans would never want to pay out in euros. When bitcoin is converted into euros and these earnings are consequently transferred to a bank account, it has tax implications for the recipient (see point 5.3 B). That Mr. Brans was aware of this is evident from EXHIBIT 9 of the opposing party.

Therefore, this argument should be dismissed as unfounded.

SECOND DEFENSE ARGUMENT: THE PAYMENT OF 1 BITCOIN

As extensively detailed in points 5.3 and 5.4, there is no obligation based on which Mr. Brans would owe one bitcoin. If the court should find that there is indeed an obligation, the invalidity due to incapacity is invoked.

So by mid-January 2022, I suddenly found myself being summoned to court with barely a week's notice.

At a time when I was already struggling immensely—due to the new Bear Market, the overwhelming pressure on my shoulders, and Bart Roggen along with his Hate group—
I was blindsided by this additional legal stress.

To make matters worse, I had just used up my last available funds to pay
Jasper Boonen, as mentioned earlier, leaving me even more vulnerable during this period.

Because of this, I had no funds left to hire legal help for the hearing.

At the very last minute, I did the only thing I could: apply for a pro bono lawyer to represent me in the upcoming case.

With only a few days to spare, a random lawyer was assigned to me.

I spoke with the lawyer over the phone (we never met in person), and I prepared a file, which I sent to him via email, outlining all the details of the case for him to use in building a defense.

Statement

I am also a victim in this entire matter. Since 2018, I have experienced one crisis and setback after another, which has led me to this situation despite having the best intentions towards any party involved.

I am currently willing to pay 5000 euros + interest.It is true that initially, I promised to attempt to increase the original amount in BTC through trading activities. However, I underestimated how little experience I had at that time with BTC trading, resulting in the loss of the entire amount.

I am not the kind of individual to let others bear the consequences of my own mistakes, so I have always been willing to reach an agreement and rectify this as quickly as possible in a fair and honest manner.

In December 2020, I received an initial letter from the opposing counsel threatening legal action. The situation had actually improved rapidly in the past months, and I was already on the verge of voluntarily settling the outstanding debt.

On February 15, 2021, I therefore proposed to Melanie K. via email to immediately and directly (i.e., without the involvement of the counsel's third-party account) transfer a full Bitcoin to settle the matter amicably, without judicial intervention (see attached email).In other words, on that day, February 15, I extended an overly generous proposal to the opposing party to rectify their discomfort once and for all. There was no response to this proposal.

For reasons unclear to me, they chose to refuse my outstretched hand and escalate the situation further.Naturally, I do not appreciate this, and therefore, proposals previously made by me are no longer on the table as far as I am concerned.

Currently, my best proposal is to compensate them for their incurred fiduciary loss of €5000 (plus applicable interest).

I also do not wish to bear any legal costs because if it had been up to me, this would have been settled on February 15, and all of this would have long been forgotten.

In my written communication with the lawyer, I made it clear that I acknowledged, in my opinion, owing them some money for what had happened.

However, the agreement we may have made regarding me providing them with 1 full Bitcoin had a very clear condition—to give me time and space—which they did not honor. As such, the agreement no longer stood.

I instructed my lawyer to advocate, quite generously, for repayment of the initial €5,000, considering the circumstances.

However, the lawyer made a major professional mistake by completely ignoring my instructions and entering a judicial confession during the hearing, without any mandate or authorization from me.

5.2 STATEMENT OF FORMER COUNSEL: LACK OF VALID MANDATE 6. Based on the judgment a quo, Mr. Brans' former counsel acknowledged that Mr. Brans would have committed to transferring one full bitcoin. 5.2.1. General Principles 7. The following general principles are relevant in the context of assessing this confession:

An attorney cannot make a judicial confession on behalf of his client unless specifically authorized to do so. (Supreme Court, September 18, 1964, Pas. 1965, r, p. 61.);

An attorney is not authorized to make a confession on behalf of his client unless the client has given him a specific mandate. (Supreme Court, June 15, 1990, Arr. Cass. 1989-90, 1315.);

Confession by an attorney requires a specific mandate. (Bergen, December 6, 2004, P&B 2005, 155.); Consistent with: Ghent, November 12, 2003, RDJP 2004, 79; Brussels, October 16, 2008, JT 2009, 182. 5.2.2. Former Counsel Did Not Have a Specific Mandate The fact that Mr. Brans' former counsel did not have a valid mandate to make a judicial confession is explicitly evident from correspondence between Mr. Brans and his former counsel (ATTACHMENT). It follows from this that Mr. Brans' interests in the first instance were not properly represented. Furthermore, it remains entirely unclear what motivated Mr. Brans' former counsel to state that Mr. Brans had 'committed' to transferring one full bitcoin. As set out below, it will become clear that there is no agreement regarding the transfer of one bitcoin. Based on the specific circumstances, it is evident that there was a factual mistake on the part of Mr. Brans' former counsel. The judicial confession cannot be considered 'genuine' given the specific facts of the dispute. In addition, Mr. Brans was obliged to file an appeal himself as his former counsel failed to do so. Accordingly, the judicial confession of the former counsel must be declared invalid.

And because of this, along with the lack of time and preparation, I ended up losing the lawsuit initially.

I was absent during the hearing, and my own lawyer, rather foolishly, complied with the argumentation of the plaintiffs. As a result, the judge sided with them by default, and it was ruled that I should honor their claim for 1 Bitcoin.

They had not respected the condition under which I made this proposal, but even if I still wanted to, at this point, I could not afford to send them one full Bitcoin. The events of the past six months, as detailed above, had already left me almost completely broke.

So I had no choice but to file for a higher appeal against this decision. My lawyer refused to comply to this, and in the end, I was forced to write the appeal letter to the court myself.

Since I clearly could not rely on the lawyer that had been assigned to me, I started reaching out to different law firms in search of help.

Eventually, I found a law firm that reassured me I hadn’t done anything wrong in this case and that I was actually in the right. They were confident that there was a strong chance of winning the appeal. However, they were unable to handle the case pro bono, and securing their services required a rather expensive provisional fee.

At this point, due to the immense legal pressure and the relentless stress I had been under for the past few months, I felt completely burned out, broken, and on the verge of despair. In a desperate attempt to raise the necessary funds for my legal defense,
I turned to my online community, the Crypto Knowledge Pool, for help.

I set up a donation page where people could contribute Bitcoin, hoping to gather enough support to cover the legal fees.

When people are pushed to their limits, they often resort to desperate measures.

Unfortunately, this didn’t work out, so I applied for another pro bono lawyer to assist with the case. Thankfully, the new lawyer assigned to me has proven to be far more competent, understanding, and helpful than the first.

According to my new lawyer, there is now a strong likelihood of winning the case on appeal. It is clear that I have never acted in bad faith and have even gone to great lengths to correct the situation for them, even though I was never legally obligated to do so.

Our main argument is that there was never a valid agreement in the first place, as the plaintiffs failed to provide a legally binding acceptance of my proposal (as shown in the response from the screenshot above).

Alternatively, if the court finds that an agreement does exist, we are seeking to have it nullified because it was made under duress and immense pressure. Additionally, the plaintiffs did not respect the terms of not stalking or harassing me in any way.

My lawyer is quite confident that we can win this case,
clearing me of both their claim and any responsibility for legal costs related to these proceedings.

So, how exactly is this situation tied to the Hate group?

Well, it’s because both Cynthia and Melanie Kok were added to the group's chat by Athila Struys right from the very beginning when he created it in November 2021.
Both have been active members of this Hate group since day one.

For example, Cynthia participated in several coordinated raids by the Hate group on our NFT Discord server.

Another example of Cynthia's involvement in the Hate group's efforts is her filing multiple police charges against me over the past few years.
Several members of the Hate group have lodged various slanderous police complaints in an attempt to entangle me in legal trouble.

As recently as May 2024, I was interrogated due to a charge filed against me by Cynthia Kok.
Of course, all I had to do is simply be truthful, explaining that I am, in fact, the victim of this group, who have been bullying and harassing me.

I wish to express myself in the Dutch language and wish to use this language in the proceedings. I have received the written statement of my rights and I understand them.

Regarding the facts, I can tell you that these facts are partially true. In 2011, there were several issues between me and the complainant. At that time, I filed multiple complaints regarding stalking and harassment as she accused me of rape. We did have a brief relationship during the period 2010-2011. In 2015-2016, we both lived in Brussels where I ran into her again. Initially, I did not want to have new contact with her. She repeatedly asked to go out for a drink. I decided to give her another chance. We became friends again. The part about me convincing her to invest is not true. At the end of 2017, I was involved in bitcoins. The complainant then asked me to facilitate a bitcoin purchase through my exchange account. It is not true that I asked her to invest. The complainant's sister transferred €5000 to my bank account. I deposited this into my exchange account. I bought €5000 worth of bitcoins as requested. As soon as they had an account, I would transfer these bitcoins to them. However, I had bought bitcoins at their peak, causing their value to only decrease. They couldn't believe that their investment yielded less than expected. They allowed me to trade the bitcoins to try to get back to the initial value. However, I made it worse. I intended to pay them back. After a few years, they hired a lawyer to recover their money. This case was brought to court in 2021. They won the case. I have appealed this decision. This lawsuit is still ongoing.

Since 2021, the complainant and her sister have been members of an online Hate group. This hate group has been making my life miserable through stalking, harassment, and cyber bullying. I used to provide educational information about bitcoins and cryptocurrencies on my social media channels. After the value of bitcoin decreased, this hate group emerged, holding me responsible for their losses. In April 2022, I attempted suicide due to this harassment and was forcibly hospitalized. Most people in this hate group stopped the harassment, but a significant number of followers continued. In September and October 2023, the harassment got out of hand again, and they even began stalking my sister and mother. They find them on Facebook and send them messages. In response to this harassment, I contacted the employers of some members of this hate group, including the complainant's employer. I should not have done this, but I reacted emotionally. I hoped that by doing so, the hate group would fall apart and the harassment would stop. I acknowledge that you are urging me not to send such messages again.

The interrogation ended on 21/05/2024 at 13:45.

Around the same time that the Hate group was formed in November 2021,
I coincidentally began receiving messages from what were clearly fake accounts on Instagram.

These accounts always used the name "Loes Albertine" or some variation of it.

It was painfully obvious that these catfish accounts were trying to acquire compromising images of me. At this point, it has been confirmed and proven that the person behind these accounts is someone named Jente Errico.

Jente Errico happens to be a close friend of both Cynthia and Melanie Kok, which strongly suggests that this attempt to gather compromising material was yet another contribution from the Kok sisters to the Hate group's schemes and plots.

With everything that was happening to me towards the end of 2021 and the beginning of 2022, I became increasingly aware that something was seriously wrong. However, at the time, I still had no knowledge of the actual existence of the Hate group, who were still quietly scheming behind the scenes.

In March 2022, Bart Roggen resumed his harassment against me in various ways.

On March 11th, he posted the following message in an old group chat between some former classmates.

Not sure if Sam is still in here. If yes: mate, I will chase you until the last day of your miserable life. You have created a very stressful situation where you stole a lot of money. I will personally deal with you for what you did to my family.
Hide all you want... I have a lifetime of patience.

You have removed a participant from the group.

I let Bart know a few months ago that I am no longer doing business with him until he clears up the misunderstanding he started with Tom Herck, or at least makes an attempt.
So don't worry about it.
Cheers and see you soon.

On March 11th, I was also privately contacted by one of my friends regarding Bart.

Hey, what's going on with Bart? He seems like he's out for blood. I’ve tried to ignore it as much as possible up until now, but I’m starting to get worried. And your mom is asking if I’ve heard from you.

He’s caused a number of issues, including problems with the collaborations with Tom Herck and Jan. I told him I’ll only get back in touch once I see him make an effort to clear up the misunderstandings as much as possible.

He sent a threat in that messenger group before the dinner we had in August.

The following day, I reminded him on Telegram of what I had already told him back in January—that I expected him to resolve the issues he had caused with several of my friends and associates before I would even consider speaking to him again.

Again: Fix the mess you caused me with Tom, Athila, Jan, and the members... then we can talk.

Kiss my ass.

I'll smash you if I see you.

I've been in jail before, and I'm not afraid to go back again.

Filthy scum.

I've had enough patience.

Now, fuck off and get my money.

I've had enough of your pathetic behavior.

Again: Fix the mess you caused me with Tom, Athila, Jan, and the members... then we can talk.

Everything really started to escalate between April 11th and 17th, 2022, when the Hate group began attacking me openly. After Tom Herck and his associates left the NFT project in November, we continued with several other people, including Rik Helsen. Soon after Rik joined the team, I entrusted him with the role of head administrator for our server, giving him full administrative rights.

On the afternoon of April 15th, I suddenly noticed that I could no longer find our Discord server. At first, it seemed as if the server had disappeared completely. However, it quickly became clear that other team members were still able to access it without any issues, leading me to the conclusion that I had been removed from it.
Adding to the suspicion, I could no longer reach Rik on Telegram, Discord, or any other platform.

When I noticed Rik posting something in the ICONOMI Discord server, I immediately made a post in that same server, asking him for clarification. You can see my post in the screenshot below.

Please note that 'roggba' refers to Bart Roggen and mark5, Mark Winters,
is an ICONOMI employee.

It seems that the Hate group had successfully manipulated Rik,
persuading him not only to join them but also to sabotage and dismantle our entire NFT project.

At the exact moment I reached out to Rik in the ICONOMI chat, hoping for some answers, everything spiraled out of control.
This was precisely when a carefully coordinated defamation and libel campaign, orchestrated by the Hate group, was unleashed—primarily within the official ICONOMI chat groups.

Almost immediately, dozens of Hate group members joined forces with Rik Helsen and Bart Roggen, launching a barrage of wild accusations against me.
I tried to defend myself against this sudden onslaught, but before long, I found myself banned from the server by the ICONOMI admins.
Meanwhile, the Hate group members were permitted to continue posting defamatory remarks about me, as confirmed by several of my own members.

At that time, 60% to 70% of the posts made in the official ICONOMI Discord server on April 15th, 2022, and in the following days, came directly from members of the Hate group who were all part of their coordinated effort.
This made it virtually impossible for any of my supporters to voice reason, as the entire atmosphere was already dominated by the Hate group.

The peer pressure was strong, and it was easy for onlookers and ICONOMI employees to get swept up in the wave of negativity.

The relentless attacks also continued in an unofficial Telegram group dedicated to ICONOMI, and even infiltrated our own Crypto Knowledge Pool chat groups.

At the same time, several members of the Hate group began publicly circulating a highly defamatory Reddit article they had created about me, sharing it across various platforms.

Curiously enough, by publicizing and distributing this scandalous Reddit article, they willingly incriminated themselves by committing identity theft. You see, the author of this article, titled "Honest Review of Crypto Knowledge Pool," falsely pretended to be someone else, giving the impression that a different individual was behind it.

The person whose name they used to pose as the author, Lode Cossaer,
is someone I don’t even really know.

It remains unclear why the Hate group decided to involve him in this entire situation.

So it should come as no surprise that this article was removed shortly after this was pointed out.

At the same time, members of the Hate group began publicly sharing my full name and picture online, accusing me of being a scammer.

Here’s an example of one of the Hate group members,
Jordy Mathei (an employee of Jan Roggen, Bart ’s brother),
posting my name and photo in a Telegram group.

The image I’ve attached is blurred for safety, but when it was originally shared, it was completely uncensored.

On April 16th, 2022, one of my members and copiers reached out to ICONOMI’s community manager, Nino Kutnjak, seeking clarification about the ongoing situation.
He reassured her that their funds would not be affected in any way.
Unfortunately, this assurance turned out to be false.

During this same period, the Hate group also launched coordinated raids on our own NFT Discord server, which I had completely lost control over due to Rik's actions.

Unfortunately, amidst all the chaos, little evidence was gathered from these specific Hate group raids. Only a few screenshots were captured later on, after most of the toxic messages and spam had already been cleaned up by the remaining admins.

I’ll share what remnants we have from the aftermath below, including some of Emiel’s still-visible posts, for example.

Goodbye, it was fun for the time being.

Oh no, do we have to leave? Did I miss the train?

Nah, the train has only just started rolling.

So, is this the end here?

As you know, Knepala was removed from his own server due to sabotage, so once the NFT project restarts, a new server will probably be created.

In May, Admin2 realized they still had the ability to manage the server and took decisive action. They promptly removed Emiel and other disruptive members of the Hate group, restoring some order to the server.

At the request of Knepala, this post. Unfortunately, the rights of all admins have been removed due to Rikje's sabotage. Regrettably, Emiel cannot be removed. However, his toxic behavior has been temporarily removed.

I have just banned Emiel

As you know, Knepala was removed from his own server due to sabotage, so once the NFT project restarts, a new server will probably be created.

As the attacks and toxic games escalated in the days following April 15th, 2022,
my feelings of despair and confusion only intensified. On April 17th, I discovered that ICONOMI had taken certain actions against my account on their actual platform as well.

At this point, my desperation and fear became unbearable. It's important to understand that I had poured an enormous amount of time, work, and dedication into my ICONOMI strategies up until then.
Seeing everything I had worked for unravel so suddenly left me feeling utterly powerless and devastated.

At this point, the overwhelming wave of bullying, slander, and harassment had pushed me beyond my limits.
The pressure became unbearable, leading me to attempt to take my own life.

During my suicide attempt, in a final act of desperation, I revealed the names of those who had been harassing me, at least as far as I was aware of their involvement in the group up until that point.
My hope was that by doing so, they would not be able to get away with destroying my life.

That very evening, following an intervention by the ambulance and police at 21:18,
the public prosecutor's office ordered my involuntary hospitalization to ensure my health and safety were protected.

On April 18th, Bart Roggen also resurfaced in a completely unrelated Messenger group chat that we both happened to be part of.

And on that very same day, Cynthia Kok also reached out to my mother, calling me a scammer while my mother was dealing with the devastating reality of almost losing her son.

And just one day after my suicide attempt, a particular member of the Hate group posted a lengthy and defamatory message about me publicly on their Facebook timeline, further tarnishing my name while I was already in a vulnerable state.

Since it apparently can't get through to someone, I'll have to do it this way.

Many people will probably know Sam Brans, also known as Knepala from Crypto Knowledge Pool. Not everyone will know that he is a coward, fraudster, and scammer.

Don't do business with him, or you'll see your money disappear like ice on a hot summer evening. There are enough people who can attest to this, and unfortunately, many have lost a lot of money to a megalomaniac dwarf.

Someone who incites people to invest in a castle in the air to get rich quickly is just a swindler.

Someone who can seduce people in difficult circumstances to betray their trust and extort money from them is a psychopath.

Someone who would even throw his close friends under a train to make a few euros for personal gain is just a scoundrel. For several other reasons, I can say that he is a fraudster because you can't just falsify invoices from companies.

The worst part is that this person cannot see that he makes mistakes and puts others in financial trouble because of it. He has the emotional intelligence of a bucket of water. Even now, in the face of opposition and people catching on, he can't stop pressuring people to invest.

If it wasn't clear enough, he even doxxed his "enemies" himself. He posted a list of names on all his socials and then said that if anything were to happen to him, it would be their fault. Not only is that extremely low, but it's once again playing the victim of his own mistakes.

Make sure you can avoid contact with someone like him. He is not a friend, acquaintance, buddy, you name it. He's only after money, and even good friends who tried to help him have been victims.

Fuck Sam.

Rik Helsen not only defamed me in several public Discord and Telegram groups during this period, but also in a chat server he managed. He even went so far as to distribute multiple hateful memes about me among his followers.

Several weeks into my involuntary hospitalization, I had a video meeting with two representatives from ICONOMI.
Unbeknownst to them, I recorded the entire meeting. What they communicated to me during this video call strongly contradicts their later official statements and actions, exposing a major inconsistency between their verbal assurances and their formal correspondence.

During this recorded conversation, they essentially assured me that they held no blame towards me and were, in fact, incredibly grateful for my contributions to the growth of their platform. Through my network, I had single-handedly referred a substantial portion of their users to ICONOMI.

Despite their appreciation, they explained that due to the continuous and overwhelming negative press generated by the Hate group, they felt compelled to sever ties with me.

They claimed that the extreme accusations being spread against me made it impossible for them to remain associated with my name. Then came the crucial moment: they asked me to publicly announce my resignation from the platform, taking responsibility for everything and effectively absorbing the blame. In exchange for this public statement, they offered me a significant sum of money—a clear attempt to bribe me into taking the fall.

During the meeting, they also suggested that if I complied with all of their demands, there was a possibility I could be re-admitted to the platform in the future. However, this would only be under a completely new name, and by starting from scratch with my referrals and commissions.

Within the following week, they sent me a draft proposal in which, in stark contrast to what they had said during the call, they denied any connection between their actions and the communications made about me by the Hate group.

This was likely because, right after the call, I also sent them a detailed email where I clarified and refuted many of the accusations the Hate group had made against me.

In doing so, they legally protected themselves from any association with the Hate group and their crimes, officially distancing themselves from the situation. Instead, they came up with three far-fetched, incorrect, and frankly unjustified reasons for my termination from the platform.

Even though, in their written communication, they completely deny any connection to the events caused by the Hate group, it starkly contrasts with what was said during the video call (which I recorded and still have saved).
In addition there is ample evidence that ICONOMI employees were clearly influenced by, and even participated in, the libel and defamation campaign initiated by the Hate group.

Yes, the timeline you’ve highlighted raises significant concerns. On April 15th and 16th, employees like Nino were already discussing potential "consequences" and "bans," which clearly suggests that ICONOMI had been planning punitive measures against you prior to your mental breakdown on April 18th.

Following the breakdown, they then cited your mental state as the reason for their actions, which appears contradictory given the timeline. If discussions about consequences were already happening before your health episode, this implies they may have had other motivations or external influences (possibly from the Hate group) before your mental state became a convenient reason for their decisions.

In the screenshot below, the Discord user ‘Saltycarbonara’ is, in fact, the same ICONOMI employee; Nino Kutnjak,
calling me a ‘bad boy’ in direct response to the accusations by the Hate group.

It's quite evident what their true objective was: by coercing me into agreeing to be removed from the platform despite my innocence, they positioned themselves to start pocketing the commissions that were rightfully mine. They had a significant financial incentive for their actions, especially if I had also agreed—as they suggested in their proposal—to continue referring users to their platform without any compensation.

ICONOMI shamelessly sought to exploit the situation with the Hate group for their own financial gain.

On May 13th, 2022, I received several screenshots from an anonymous Telegram account. While we now have reasons to believe that these posts—and the group they were made in—were likely faked by someone, either from within or outside the Hate group
(but definitely with access to information that wasn't publicly available at the time).

They might have been sent to me with the intent of fueling the chaos and escalating the situation further.

Whether these screenshots were fabricated or genuine will ultimately be determined by ongoing police investigations.

Regardless, members of the Hate group repeatedly accused me of fabricating these screenshots. They continuously tried to undermine the credibility of this evidence and by extension all evidence, casting doubt on my integrity.

While I was in psychiatric care, my mother contacted Jasper Boonen to arrange a time to collect the belongings that Jan Dello had dropped off at his place.
The plan was to sell these items to get some extra money and alleviate the financial difficulties I was facing.

However, Jasper responded to my mother, stating that he had decided to keep and sell my belongings for himself, claiming it as "compensation."
In reality, this was nothing short of theft, especially during a period when I was already in dire need.

On May 18th or 19th, I was released from my involuntary stay in psychiatric care and immediately went to the police to file formal charges against the Hate group. However, since I was still exhibiting signs of distress during the interrogation, and the threat from the Hate group still appeared imminent, the authorities deemed it necessary to have me hospitalized once again.

Following this, when I shared the news in the Crypto Knowledge Pool channel, someone from the Hate group shamelessly celebrated my situation with smiling and party emojis.

It's absolutely appalling to see someone take pleasure in another person's distress and pain like that.

The next morning, all my copiers on ICONOMI received the following email. Without waiting for my response to their proposal (and despite the fact that no decision deadline had been specified), ICONOMI went ahead and decided to completely terminate both my strategies and my account.

It goes without saying that hundreds, if not thousands, of our members and copiers were outraged, frustrated, and deeply disappointed by ICONOMI's unfair decision.

Many of them voiced their anger and disapproval through various channels, expressing their disgust at the way this was handled.

Naturally, the significant backlash from CKP members over these unjust decisions was also manipulated by members of the Hate group, turning it into something negative about me.

We have strong reasons to believe that ‘Ted Cruz,’ who also used the usernames ‘Brovka’ and ‘George Vondersteen’ at different times, is actually an alternate Telegram account belonging to Rik Helsen.

Now let’s take a closer look at each of the accusations made against me by the Hate group during their defamation campaign and address them one by one.

• The lawsuit proves I am a criminal.

• I scam people on Facebook.

• I commit fraud by forgery.

• CKP practices unfair censorship.

• The CKP Strategies have ‘bad performance’.

• The CKP Points System is a scam.

• I force people to do unpaid work.

• I am associated with 'the Mafia‘ and I am an evil person.

• I am mentally unstable and crazy.

• I am a horrible trader.

As previously mentioned, both Cynthia and Melanie Kok were involved in the organized Hate group from the very beginning. In this group, they shared everything regarding the upcoming lawsuit, or at least their version of events, with the other members.
They even disclosed several confidential documents and sensitive data related to the legal proceedings.

In turn, various members of the Hate group, including Emiel, used the existence of this lawsuit as their justification for labeling me a fraud and scammer.

They falsely assumed that just because someone had filed a lawsuit against me,
it automatically served as proof of wrongdoing,
completely ignoring the fact that this is a civil case, still ongoing, with no verdict yet.

Haha, maybe you should delete that message from Knepala, @KHUNA. If you want more background info, hit me up. He's just pushing his fund while being accused of fraud and scamming. There's currently a lawsuit against him as well.

Lame way to take revenge after a ban, Emiel.I don’t see why TA (Technical Analysis) shouldn’t still be appreciated in this group.

Absolutely no revenge. I have all the info and background, I’ve never spread falsehoods. You don’t need more info from me :)

First time I hear about a lawsuit. Have a nice day, I think people here can do without this kind of stuff. I was just posting an analysis I made, nothing more.

On April 15th, 2022, during the defamation campaign orchestrated by the Hate group in the ICONOMI Discord server, Emiel openly confirmed that he had contacted ICONOMI several months earlier, sharing information about the lawsuit.

It is highly likely that this information was distorted or taken out of context, contributing to the group's misleading narrative.

At one point, Emiel accused Crypto Knowledge Pool of making Facebook posts with the intent of scamming people, which is entirely absurd.

He was referring to posts that were automatically commented on by obvious fake pages, whose sole aim is to exploit only the most retarded or gullible followers.

These fake interactions were clearly beyond the control of Crypto Knowledge Pool and had nothing to do with any legitimate activity from our side.

I was accused of committing fraud by allegedly falsifying invoices from other companies.

This accusation is entirely false. Not once in my life have I committed fraud in this manner, or in any other way.

There is absolutely no evidence to support this claim. In fact, several members of the Hate group have later admitted, when questioned by Law Enforcement or others, that this accusation was a baseless fabrication.

There have been claims that individuals in the Crypto Knowledge Pool community are not given the opportunity to express their concerns and that we practice unfair censorship.

In reality, bans imposed by our administrators or myself are infrequent. However, it is important to acknowledge that many members associated with the Hate group were quickly removed from the community.
This decision was made because of their consistent spread of negativity and toxicity, which stifled constructive conversation.

While we are committed to fostering an open and inclusive platform, we must draw a firm line against Hate speech and the dissemination of falsehoods.

No, this is unfortunately not a joke...

According to Emiel and the rest of the Hate group, a decline in Strategy ‘peformance’ apparently justifies their hateful behavior and widespread dissemination of negative information (or so-called ‘awareness’) about me on a large scale. It’s disturbing how a drop in performance is being used as an excuse to engage in such toxic and harmful actions.

Emiel claims that the 'bad peformance' of our strategies justifies their warnings about me.

However, it's crucial to understand something about this individual:

In one of our chat groups, he openly admitted to being driven by greed and being an idiot. He confessed that he did not follow our explicit instructions for copying our ICONOMI strategies. Instead, he impulsively bought into our Small Caps Strategy at its peak in May 2021, completely disregarding our most essential advice to use Dollar-Cost Averaging (DCA) when entering our strategies. This reckless decision resulted in him losing the majority of his savings during the Bear Market.

His toxic behavior had already been an issue for about six months before the Hate group was formed in November 2021. Recognizing this, they quickly recruited him, and he soon became one of the most active and problematic members of the group.

In short, his substantial financial loss was a direct consequence of not following the copying instructions for my strategies. It was his own decisions that led to his losses on ICONOMI, and those losses are why he aligned himself with the Hate group.

My approach was considerably more intricate than what he outlines here. I was actively engaged in flipping and trading the assets within our strategy, strategically increasing our holdings in preparation for the next parabolic phase.

We had a well-defined plan, accompanied by precise instructions for our followers to execute it effectively. These instructions were pinned in a post and also repeated several times a week in new feed posts.

Emiel's discontent stems from his failure to heed my repeated instructions, which led to significant losses for him when the markets turned bad.

Additionally, I was one of the few Managers on the platform who did not recklessly allocate all or the majority of my followers' funds into $LUNA.

In the end, I was one of the very few who actually protected their copiers by not blindly following the fads and scams that many others unfortunately fell for.

Only one of our two strategies had a 10% allocation to $LUNA, and that percentage had been reduced even further as the situation around it began spiraling out of control.

Our strategies were among the best options available for users to navigate the challenges of 2021, if they had not been forcibly shut down when the Hate group started interfering.

It seems abundantly clear that the only person fully responsible for Emiel’s misfortune is Emiel himself. His failure to follow the provided guidelines, coupled with his impulsive actions, led to the unfortunate outcome he experienced.

Like many other cryptocurrency projects or even businesses outside of the crypto space, CKP has a system in place to reward its users or members for their loyalty and contributions.

There is nothing unusual about this, and certainly nothing malicious.

It’s a common and completely legal practice across various industries.

One of the possible uses for these 'CKP Points' is that members can earn Bitcoin rewards with them.

However, members of the Hate group seem to have convinced themselves that this entire system is some sort of massive scam. They believe there was never any intention to pay out these Bitcoin reward pools and that it’s just a scheme to make members do "free work."

The reality is quite different: the Hate group’s relentless sabotage and attacks are the main reason why we have struggled to meet certain promises or are behind schedule on various plans and projects.

Several point payouts had been successfully completed in the past, and even more have taken place, despite the attacks and sabotage, over the last few years.
This clearly demonstrates that our reward system is fully operational and that we have consistently tried to honor our commitments to the community.

Naturally, all of this can be easily verified through the public blockchain.
Neither I, as the founder, nor Crypto Knowledge Pool have ever been involved in initiating or orchestrating any fraudulent activities, crimes, or scams.
Everything we've done is honest, transparent and verifiable.

Rik Helsen approached me sometime during 2021 and expressed his interest in joining the team for the NFT project we were developing in collaboration with the Belgian multidisciplinary artist Tom Herck.
Rik wanted to be part of this project.

Please note that this NFT project was completely separate from our other initiatives on Telegram, including our 'Points System'.

We had recently established a Discord server to manage the promotion and community engagement for the project, a common practice for initiatives like this.

Rik informed me that he had relevant experience managing a Discord server, as he was also handling this aspect for his own crypto project called ‘MoniGoMani’.
I had met Rik once or twice through personal connections, and he consistently left a positive impression as a very decent individual.
Considering these factors, I believed he would be a valuable addition to the project.

However, I made it clear to him that there was a crucial condition for joining the team. Every team member who had already been involved in the project for an extended period had committed to working on a voluntary basis until the NFT minting event.

At the time of the launch, the majority of the proceeds would remain within the organization, as the primary objective was to fund the art installation.
However, every contributor would receive a fair and agreed-upon percentage of the profits, for life. This would be automatically and immutably executed through the smart contract code.

Additionally, this arrangement served as a strong incentive for everyone to put forth their best effort.

Proof of this unanimous agreement is provided in the below image.

After learning about the terms that the other team members had agreed to, Rik also accepted these conditions and became part of the project.

Rik was indeed voluntarily working on the NFT project,
as he had agreed to do so, just like everyone else on the team.

The Hate group employed a deeply disturbing strategy to recruit new members or convince others to turn against me or abandon me.

Their manipulation tactics followed a well-established psychological technique: instilling fear.

By leveraging fear and panic, they preyed on their targets' emotions,
leaving them unable to think clearly and more easily swayed by the group’s agenda.

This tactic, which they frequently employed, was the driving force behind their success in fostering hatred and anger toward me, even among individuals who had once held great affection or trust for me.

The Hate group would often approach these individuals, telling them they were in serious danger because of their association or friendship with me.

This narrative was based on the false claim that I had engaged in dealings with a criminal organization or mafia, and that I had refused to repay these dangerous people. As a result, they claimed that these individuals were now seeking to harm me.

Hearing this would almost always lead the targets to panic,
causing them significant emotional distress.

For those individuals in the group who never had a close or personal connection or partnership with me, this narrative still served as an effective way to paint me as an 'evil, criminal person' deserving of the treatment being meted out.

It functioned both as a powerful recruitment technique and a dehumanization tactic.

Dehumanization is the psychological process of demonizing an enemy, portraying them as less than human and, as a result, unworthy of humane treatment. This process makes it easier for others to justify negative or hostile behavior toward the individual in question.

I have been labeled by the group with several mental health diagnoses,
including being called "Mentally Unwell,"
and described with other terms such as "Psychopath," "Narcissist," and
"Borderline Personality Disorder."

These labels are not only offensive but also wildly inaccurate.
They reflect a shallow understanding of mental health, often used as weapons by those who seek to discredit or harm others.
The reality is far more nuanced and complex. Mental health challenges,
if present, should be met with compassion and understanding,
not used as a justification for character assassination and bullying.

The narrative surrounding these terms is a distortion, employed by the Hate group to turn others against me.
My mental health was a significant point, not just for the Hate group but also for ICONOMI, who eventually also got convinced by the Hate group's narrative that I was mentally unwell.
ICONOMI even went so far as to use my mental health as an excuse for the actions they took against me.

The narrative of me being mentally unfit was a convenient way for both parties to justify their behavior. It allowed ICONOMI to evade accountability, framing their decisions as a protective measure rather than what they really were—a response influenced by external pressures and misinformation spread by the Hate group and an extortion attempt.

This was not only unfair but a manipulation of the truth that contributed to an even greater injustice.

I had to take on the role of the “Crazy” and “Mentally Unstable”
one in this narrative for the people in this group...

Because admitting otherwise would mean accepting that everything I've said is true...

No one is ever truly prepared to face the reality that they might be the ones who are wrong, that they've been involved in unethical actions or atrocities...

This is what psychologists refer to as Cognitive Dissonance.

Cognitive dissonance is a psychological concept that refers to the mental discomfort or tension a person experiences when they hold two or more contradictory beliefs, values, or attitudes simultaneously. This discomfort often leads individuals to try to reduce the dissonance by changing their beliefs, acquiring new information, or minimizing the importance of the conflicting belief.

For example, if someone believes smoking is harmful but continues to smoke, they may experience cognitive dissonance. To reduce this tension, they might downplay the risks or justify their behavior.

As the toxic behavior and bullying intensified, this group of people became even more convinced that I was "Crazy" and the real problem that needed to be dealt with.
This narrative gave them a convenient way to continue justifying their harmful behavior.

Both the members of the online Hate group and ICONOMI quickly labeled me as "Crazy," "Unreliable," and "Mentally Unstable" when I pushed back and defended myself against their malicious actions.

This type of behavior is typical of emotional abusers, especially Narcissists and Psychopaths.
They will go to great lengths to undermine and discredit their victims' credibility
—this is commonly known as gaslighting.

Gaslighting is a psychological manipulation tactic where the abuser causes the victim to question their own reality, memory, or sanity. In the context of your situation, it involves labeling the victim as "crazy" or "mentally unstable" to undermine their credibility.

By doing this, the abuser avoids accountability for their harmful actions, making the victim appear unreliable or irrational. In essence, the perpetrator shifts the focus away from their abusive behavior by discrediting the victim, which makes it harder for the victim to defend themselves or for others to believe them.

Unfortunately for both the Hate group and ICONOMI, several qualified medical professionals have been involved throughout these years, and their expert assessments directly contradict the narrative pushed by the group and ICONOMI platform.

I have been hospitalized on three different occasions due to the intense bullying, harassment, and stalking I endured. Following each of these hospitalizations, official medical reports were issued.

Each time, the medical professionals, including doctors and psychiatrists, reached the same conclusion:
I was cognitively healthy, clear-minded, and fully lucid.
I was not suffering from any disorders.

The sole issue I was experiencing was the psychological trauma and distress caused by ongoing harassment and the relentless abuse I had been subjected to.

First hospitalization april 2022

Medisch-Dossier-Rekem.pdf

strangling with a rope he found at his mother's. Safety measures can now be provided. There is a normal mood and sense of enjoyment. The patient mainly experiences a lot of stress and pressure at work. Often comes home exhausted, goes to bed early, and often doesn't have enough time to cook for themselves. Appetite is not reduced. There are no psychotic experiences.

Psychiatric status:

Consciousness intact, oriented. Cooperative but appears to minimize things at times, quickly dismisses matters. Appears to externalize rather. Mood appears normoform, affect reactive. Active suicidality, but no intention at present. Thinking normal in form and content. Reality testing and perception intact.

Medication:

None.

Second hospitalization may 2022

medisch-dossier-Asster.pdf

Psychiatric Condition at Discharge

The patient is somewhat reserved in conversation; otherwise, appropriate. Consciousness is clear; orientation is not impaired. Attention can be drawn and maintained. No memory gaps are observed. Intelligence is estimated to be above average. Judgment and critical thinking are intact. Thinking is normophrenic; coherent; no indications of delusions in content. Perception is not disturbed. Mood is neutral; affect modulates congruently; suicidal thoughts are expressed but seem more functional as a solution to his social problems and to facilitate further admission. Psychomotorically, the patient is adaptively present in the ward; no indications of impulse control or urge disorders.

Medical Details DSM Coding at Discharge

Date: 31/05/2022 AS1 CLINICAL DISORDERS 309.9 Unspecified Acute Adjustment Disorder AS4 PSYCHOSOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS Problems related to the social environmentWork-related problems Housing problems

GAF Score: 55

Primary Diagnosis:

Unspecified Acute Adjustment Disorder Due to mandatory MPG reporting to the government,

Asster uses DSM-IV for determining DSM coding.

Suicidal Intent at Discharge

S1 = Mild level of suicidal intent {S1}

Adjustment Disorder is a mental health condition characterized by emotional and behavioral symptoms that develop in response to a significant life stressor or change. These symptoms can be distressing and disruptive to a person's daily life. Adjustment Disorder is typically short-term, as it tends to improve as the individual adapts to the stressor or life change. Here's more information about Adjustment Disorder:

1. Symptoms: The symptoms of Adjustment Disorder can vary widely but often include:

   • Depression: Feeling sad, hopeless, or tearful.

   • Anxiety: Excessive worrying, nervousness, or restlessness.

   • Changes in behavior: Behavioral disturbances such as acting out, withdrawal from social activities, or engaging in reckless behavior.

   • Physical symptoms: Some people may experience physical complaints like headaches or stomachaches.

   • Difficulty concentrating: Problems with focus and decision-making.

   • Sleep disturbances: Difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep.

2. Causes: Adjustment Disorder is triggered by a specific life stressor or change. Common stressors that can lead to Adjustment Disorder include:

   • Major life events: Such as divorce or separation, the death of a loved one, job loss, or retirement.

   • Relationship problems: Conflict within a marriage or family.

   • Health issues: A serious illness, injury, or medical diagnosis.

   • Financial difficulties: Such as bankruptcy or foreclosure.

   • Academic or work-related stress: Such as failing an important exam or experiencing workplace harassment.

3. Duration: Adjustment Disorder typically develops within three months of the stressor and is considered acute. If the symptoms persist for more than six months after the stressor has ended, it may be diagnosed as a chronic form of Adjustment Disorder.

Adjustment Disorder is generally considered a manageable and treatable condition, and many individuals recover with appropriate support and intervention. If you or someone you know is experiencing symptoms of Adjustment Disorder, it's essential to seek help from a mental health professional for an accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment.

Third hospitalization March 2024

Reason for admission:
The patient has been under the care of Dr. Dams and her team for a few weeks now. Psychological testing was considered, but the patient could not afford it financially. There was a suspicion of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), alongside burnout, PTSD, and depression.

He has been harassed for two years by a group of people, and an investigation is supposedly ongoing with the police. The first report was dismissed, but now it seems there might be some progress. Some perpetrators reportedly confessed and expressed remorse. He has a pro bono lawyer who wants to review the case.

The situation began when he became an influencer in the cryptocurrency field. He manages a portfolio and operates a fully legal website. Things escalated when a classmate pressured him to trade outside the existing platform. Under pressure, he complied, but it turned out the money was illicit. Due to the stress, he lost a significant amount of money trading derivatives and futures. Eventually, his client could not go to the police since the money was criminal.

The result was that this client started sending more and more messages until the patient blocked him. This client then allegedly contacted the people working for him (including those who monitored his site for spam or racism) to defame him. He had plans to start a company offering a wide range of services—crypto, music, events—but this is no longer possible as people are now scared, and everyone has distanced themselves from him. They have not listened to his side of the story. His father has also distanced himself, and they have not seen each other for two years now.

Now, there is a large group of people who have abandoned him. Most have since stopped harassing him, but around ten individuals continue. He believes he has always clearly warned people about the risks, but they sometimes ignore his advice.

In recent days/weeks, he has stopped eating. He still has an appetite but lacks the energy to take care of himself. Self-care has become challenging.

He is mainly seeking help for his trauma, to worry less, and to become more socially active again.

I don't believe anyone could maintain their job or personal life while being subjected to relentless torment by an organized group of people. This becomes even more difficult when you're also expected to carry out one of the most demanding roles, like Trading.

It's a deliberate and calculated disruption of someone's life, and then using the effects of these cruel tactics as an excuse to justify your actions is nothing less than
Victim-Blaming and Gaslighting, as previously mentioned.
This form of manipulation shifts the blame onto the victim, denying their experience, and invalidating their feelings, all while concealing the abusers' wrongdoing.

Imagine trying to navigate the complexities of an incredibly demanding and stressful job—like mine, while facing a daily barrage of criticism and harassment from a malicious group of individuals.

They didn't just scrutinize my professional decisions but relentlessly attacked my personal character with unfaltering hostility. Every move I made was dissected and weaponized against me, creating an environment that felt utterly suffocating.

It’s an almost insurmountable challenge. No one should ever have to endure this in their professional life, let alone in such a high-stakes, pressure-filled role.
The weight of constant hostility can crush even the strongest individuals.

So yes for a long while I traded horribly.

Despite the relentless barrage of online Hate, I’ve found an unexpected silver lining:
it’s driven my trading performance to new heights. The constant negativity forced me to evolve, sharpen my tools, and refine my methods in ways I never thought possible.

While enduring this overwhelming challenge, I pushed myself further, deepened my expertise, and ultimately proved that I could rise above it all. It wasn’t just about surviving the onslaught—it became about thriving despite it.

Through sheer determination and resilience, I transformed Hate into fuel for growth and success. This journey not only fortified my trading skills but also allowed me to rediscover my own strength and capabilities.

While online Hate undoubtedly leaves scars, it has also gifted me invaluable lessons on perseverance, resilience, and self-understanding. In a way, I’m even grateful for the unexpected opportunities for personal and professional growth that arose from this adversity.

1. Lack of Boundaries (People-Pleasing):

You continuously let people push your boundaries, from giving in to Bart Roggen’s demands to taking on unnecessary responsibilities for others. You had a clear sense of discomfort but ignored it, trying to accommodate others’ unreasonable requests. This led to you being manipulated, exploited, and ultimately burned out. You didn't prioritize your own well-being, and it caused a cascade of problems.

Mistake: You allowed external pressure to dictate your actions instead of setting firm boundaries and saying "no" when necessary. People took advantage of this, and you gave away more power than you should have.

2. Inability to Cut Toxic People Off Early:

You continued to engage with people like Bart and Athila long after they started showing red flags. Rather than cutting them off at the first sign of manipulation or betrayal, you remained in these relationships, hoping things would resolve. You held onto unhealthy business and personal connections longer than necessary.

Mistake: You let toxic people linger in your life and business, leading to deeper betrayals. You didn’t pull the plug early enough when things were clearly going south.

3. Overextending Yourself:

You took on more than you could handle, managing multiple projects like your ICONOMI strategies, personal trading, business ventures, and the NFT project. This overextension weakened your ability to perform well in any of these roles, resulting in burnout and poor decision-making. Trying to juggle everything and please everyone led to failures across the board.

Mistake: You lacked focus and spread yourself too thin. You didn’t delegate enough or scale back when the pressure became too much.

4. Poor Risk Management:

In the world of high-leverage trading, you already knew the risks, yet you continued to make increasingly reckless decisions in an attempt to recover losses. This was driven by desperation, and it led to even more financial damage. Instead of stepping back and reassessing, you made things worse by trying to “fix” everything with high-stakes trades.

After my suicide attempt, a few members of the Hate group, like Jan Dello, chose to leave. Some others stopped publicly attacking or harassing me, but the majority of the group remained convinced I was the problem and needed to be taken down.

In fact, some of them even escalated their efforts.

By Christmas 2022, I had reached my limit with the ongoing attacks and sabotage.

I decided to take the offensive, posting evidence of the threats I had received from Bart Roggen, as well as conversations that clearly showed how much effort I had put into reasoning with him.

At this point, Bart's web of lies finally began to unravel.

To be continued..

This post is still a work in progress.

In the future, it will be updated with new developments, the results of the upcoming police investigations, and the progress of the upcoming lawsuits.

I am Sam, better known as Knepala, and this is my story.

Since 2016, I have been deeply immersed in the world of cryptocurrency.
Blockchain and Crypto are not merely passions—they have reshaped my life in ways I could never have imagined.

Yet, with my presence and contributions to this space, I’ve also become the target of an online Hate group. Their relentless harassment and attacks have left a painful mark, also altering the course of my life in ways I never anticipated.
Sadly, this too has become a part of my story.

I write this not just for myself, but for every person out there who has been a victim of harassment, bullying, or stalking. I share this for those who need to know that reclaiming your power begins by speaking up—loudly and clearly—about the wrongs done to you.
This is my story.

Before we go further into this story, it’s important to pause and acknowledge my own responsibility and role in the creation of this Hate group.
In many ways, this evil is a co-creation, and I am certainly partly to blame for what unfolded.

Due to the events you’ll read about in more detail later, I have been diagnosed with severe Trauma and PTSD.

As part of my healing journey, I am now engaged in multiple forms of therapy, which have brought a great deal of clarity.
I’ve come to realize that my trauma didn’t exclusively start with this Hate group;
it stretches back to painful childhood experiences.

What I’ve been suffering from is more accurately known as Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD).

Throughout most of my childhood, I have been very badly bullied and shunned.

I coped with this childhood trauma by becoming a people-pleaser, and this would inadvertently set the stage for the Hate group to form and harass me.

Struggling with boundaries, I often prioritized others' needs over my own,
never saying ‘no’, leading to exploitation and unrealistic expectations from several individuals. This relentless pressure eventually led to burnout, and when I could no longer meet their demands, they started labeling me a fraud or swindler.

Although this escalation was mostly driven by the lies and deceit of the individual ultimately responsible for creating this Hate group.

“"Fawning" refers to a specific type of response to stress or trauma, especially in social contexts. It involves engaging in people-pleasing behaviors and excessive submission as a way to avoid conflict, gain approval, or maintain a sense of safety. It stands as one of the four major trauma responses, alongside fight, flight, and freeze.

When someone exhibits fawning behavior, they tend to prioritize others' needs and desires, often at the expense of their own well-being and boundaries. This excessive compliance is typically rooted in a deep-seated fear of rejection, disapproval, or potential harm. It is often a learned survival mechanism, arising from past situations where appeasing others was necessary for emotional or physical safety.”

In essence, fawning is a trauma response marked by people-pleasing and over-accommodation as a defense mechanism to minimize conflict and secure approval.”

A second point I would like to address is my awareness that much of what I am about to share involves deeply personal matters, which ideally should have been handled privately rather than aired and fought in the public eye.

This is my belief as well, but unfortunately, the Hate group has left me with no choice. They initiated this by publicly attacking me and going to great lengths to tarnish my name and reputation. As a result, I am forced to respond to these allegations in a public forum. My hope is that by doing so, I can begin to repair the damage they have caused and restore my good name.

I am also using real names, including mine, throughout this story because that’s exactly how the Hate group chose to handle things in the first place, when they started spreading slander and lies about me and the people close to me.

Everything you read here is 100% factual and nothing but the absolute truth.

With that said, let’s dive into the story of this Hate group. I promise you the full and uncensored truth.

At the start of 2021, I was working as a Strategy Manager on the ICONOMI platform. My strategies gained massive popularity in a short period, attracting thousands of copiers.

In January or February of that year, I was contacted online by Bart Roggen, someone I knew from school. He had invested a considerable amount in my ICONOMI strategies and was pleased with the results, but he wanted more.

During this time, he repeatedly reached out, pressuring me to reveal other ways to make quick and easy money with crypto.

I did my best to accommodate him, sharing various methods, strategies, and platforms I knew of to profit from crypto outside of ICONOMI. For instance, I mentioned a Binary Options Bot I had been using.

Yet, he always came back for more. Eventually, I felt pressured into reluctantly agreeing to take some of his money and trade it for him on leveraged futures using one of my personal accounts. After a while, we would split the profits equally.

Unfortunately, most of these early conversations were deleted by him on Telegram, leaving no evidence to back them up.

Before long, I grew increasingly uncomfortable with accepting Bart’s money. He began messaging me more frequently, contacting me more often than my own family and friends. I felt like I was being treated solely as a tool for making him money.

Over time, I’ve come to realize that Bart likely exhibits psychopathic tendencies, given how he seems to view people only in terms of their utility in helping him gain wealth and status.

During that same period, on February 17th, 2021, I took the first crucial step toward founding my own company.
This venture would encompass not only my cryptocurrency activities, including the income generated from ICONOMI, but also a few other non-crypto-related pursuits. My first course of action was to contact a fiscal lawyer to help me draft the articles of incorporation.

Over the next few months, I solidified plans with close friends—Nathalie Tachelet,
Jan Dello, and Jasper Boonen—who agreed to join me in my company and assist with various ventures.

Our goal was to diversify our activities, minimizing reliance solely on the volatile crypto markets.For example, we envisioned reinvesting profits from Crypto into hosting music events or exploring investments in collectibles, antiques, and art. On June 10th, 2021, I initiated contact with an accounting firm.

Although they had no prior experience with cryptocurrency cases, they assured me that navigating this aspect would not be an issue.

During the same period, around February or March 2021, I was approached by an individual named Athila Struys, who requested a personal favor.
He asked me for €5000 to help settle a court fine related to a drunk driving incident.

In return, he promised to volunteer his time to assist me in managing the Crypto Knowledge Pool community on Telegram, operating under the username @Thimbo86.

He expressed a strong desire to create guides and educational courses tailored for beginners in the crypto space. We also discussed the possibility of offering him a formal position once the company, fehu, was fully established, where he would oversee the community chat management on a full-time basis.

Out of my inclination to help, I found it difficult to refuse, and ultimately granted him the €5000 he requested.

In the end, he failed to fulfill any of the promises he made. Essentially, he deceived me and walked away with €5000, never honoring his commitments.

Around the same time, at the beginning of 2021, I was approached by Tom Herck, the Flemish artist, who proposed a collaboration with Crypto Knowledge Pool.

The goal was to create an art installation for Burning Man.
During one of our meetings, I suggested complementing the project with an NFT art series, with the proceeds being used to fund the installation and the project.
Tom enthusiastically agreed to this idea.

With everything happening during this period—people wanting different things from me, expecting me to change their lives, give them jobs, and more—on top of my responsibilities to the members of the Crypto Knowledge Pool and my copiers on ICONOMI,
it’s clear that I was already facing immense pressure.

In the first half of May 2021, I made the impulsive decision to use a significant portion of my first-quarter ICONOMI income—over €30,000—to treat some of my friends, future employees, and partners, including Jasper Boonen, Tom Herck, and Athila Struys, along with a group of their friends, to a musical event in Egypt hosted by a close friend of mine.

I envisioned this as a well-deserved break for everyone, especially after the strain of the COVID crisis, with restrictions easing and travel becoming more feasible.

In hindsight, this may have been yet another example of my tendency to please others. Unfortunately, several falsehoods about this trip were later circulated by the Hate group.

Sadly, during this period, my beloved grandmother was gravely ill. Her passing felt imminent, making it difficult for me to fully relax during the trip.

However, she had urged me to go, knowing that the arrangements had been made long before her diagnosis. Despite everything, I tried to honor her wishes and make the best of it.

Around the time we returned, the Crypto market began to crash.

I must admit, this downturn caught me completely off guard.
I had expected the bullish trend to last much longer, especially after enduring the 2018-2019 Bear Market and the challenges of the COVID crisis.

I couldn’t have been more wrong.

As a result, my income from ICONOMI quickly dwindled to a mere fraction of what it once was, adding even more pressure and stress to an already overwhelming situation.

To make matters even worse, in June or July, I received word from Jan Dello that both he and his wife, Femke Pinxten, who had also shown interest in joining the company, had already resigned from their jobs.
Without significant savings to fall back on, they urged me to move forward with the business as quickly as possible.

This news sent me into a panic, especially since progress with the accountant was moving at a snail’s pace. We didn’t even have a financial plan in place yet.

We can assist you. We would like to schedule an appointment to discuss everything and have an introductory conversation regarding startup, expectations, etc. When is convenient for you? This can be done for us via Microsoft Teams or under the prevailing corona conditions, at our office.

In fact, the initial meetings with the accountants didn’t even take place until after June 18th. Looking back, it would have been far more prudent to hold off on quitting any jobs until we had made more tangible progress in the process of starting the company.

During all of this, I was also dealing with the emotional weight of my grandmother's terminal illness, as she held on longer than anyone had expected.
I truly believe she kept fighting just to witness the birth of my sister’s first daughter.

The Crypto markets experienced a so-called "recovery" during the summer of 2021. However, it later became clear that this was a highly manipulated and unsustainable movement, driven by bad actors such as Alameda and Terra Luna.
In hindsight, it’s more accurate to view the Bear Market as having begun in May.

Unlike many other strategy managers on ICONOMI, we deliberately chose not to get swept up in the LUNA hype. This decision drew criticism and even some hostility, as our strategies didn’t seem to bounce back like others.
But in reality, we were protecting our copiers from becoming overly exposed to the risks of hype-driven market swings.

With the time constraints surrounding the establishment of the company and other projects, combined with the mounting pressure of the sudden Bear Market, I began to feel increasingly overwhelmed and anxious. In my desperation to fix the situation quickly, I resorted to trading recklessly on my personal accounts, hoping for an overnight solution.

Unfortunately, this only made matters worse.

By August 2021, I had lost both Bart’s money and €50,000 of my own in a series of panicked leveraged trades.

As things continued to spiral, my grandmother passed away in September.I tried to take some time off to grieve, but certain individuals showed little to no understanding.

It seemed that, unlike someone with a ‘normal’ job, I was expected to be available and working at all times, regardless of personal circumstances.

In November, I continued to push hard to get the company off the ground, despite the ongoing wait for the accountant to deliver a viable financial plan.

It became clear that they were struggling to handle the crypto side of our business. Typically, you wouldn’t expect an accounting firm to take nearly five months without even producing a first draft of a plan.

By mid-November, we concluded that the delay had gone on far too long, leading us to start searching for a new accounting firm.

At the same time, the pressure surrounding the NFT and Burning Man project with Tom Herck was also intensifying. My goal was to integrate this venture into the company, ensuring that everything was handled correctly and in full compliance with regulations. This added even more urgency to our timeline, as Tom was aiming to showcase the project at the Burning Man event in two summers.

In November 2021, while I was doing my best to meet all the expectations and responsibilities placed on me as quickly as possible, I was also still trying to recover the significant losses from both Bart's money and my own back in August.

However, in my haste to make things right, I rushed once again, resulting in another substantial loss on November 17th.

At this point, I finally came to the realization that I was severely burned out.There was no other choice but to force myself to take a break from trading and step away from the overwhelming pressure and stress of all my responsibilities.I decided to return to it later, refreshed and with renewed energy and focus.

So, on that same day, November 17th 2021, I made a clear announcement in the chat groups of my Telegram community, stating that I would be taking one or two weeks off to focus on my health.I kindly asked everyone to respect my need for rest during this period.

This, apparently, did not sit well with Bart Roggen at all.

The moment I announced my need for a break, explicitly asking everyone to respect my time off, he began harassing me yet AGAIN!By this point, I was completely fed up with his behavior and the relentless, unreasonable pressure he had been putting on me.

I informed him that I would reach out once my rest period was over,and promptly blocked him from messaging me on Telegram in the meantime.

Instead of taking the hint and respecting my boundaries, as any reasonable adult would, giving me the much-needed rest I had asked for, Bart Roggen became furious with me for not catering to his demands.

In response to my simple request, he immediately contacted several people who knew me or had business dealings with me, including Athila Struys, one of my chat admins at the time, and Tom Herck.

He spun an outrageous story about me being involved with the mafia, along with a few other ridiculous claims, all with the sole purpose of manipulating their perceptions and turning them against me.

The following day, on November 18th, 2021, I woke up to a barrage of hysterical and nonsensical messages from Athila Struys.
(Unfortunately, this conversation was deleted on Telegram before any screenshots could be taken as evidence.)

He was rambling about Albanian mobsters, expressing fear, and even threatening to go to the police if I didn’t respond immediately. Upon waking up, I replied to his messages, explaining that I had blocked Bart Roggen temporarily so I could enjoy my time off.
I assured him I had no idea what he was talking about and once again asked him as well to respect my need for a break. Shortly afterward, I began receiving messages from others, including Nathalie, informing me that Athila had reached out to them too, claiming they were in serious danger.

Exhausted from the ongoing drama, severely burned out, and just wanting to rest as I had clearly communicated the day before, I blocked Athila as well, as it became clear he wasn’t willing to listen to reason.

Almost immediately after, I received the following message from Athila Struys on Instagram.

You should be ashamed, dude. You live in a fantasy. And you're going to give me back my headphones or I'll break your frail ass. And if you think you'll get away with this and that you know ** or other people better than me. Then you're even more wrong than those blobs on your head. Autistic narcissistic piece of shit. GFY

You're transparent (literally)

And a fucking joke

Certainly. Then I can also get my 5000 euros back. You are relieved of your duties because you also involved ** in your madness instead of just disturbing my peace.

On November 22nd, Bart also began targeting Nathalie Tachelet directly, engaging in clear stalking behavior. He spun a completely different set of lies for her, crafting a manipulative sob story that cast him as the victim—a classic tactic used by abusers.

Nathalie was particularly upset to discover that Jan Dello had apparently shared her contact details with Bart without her consent, effectively enabling this harassment.

Nathalie,

My sincere apologies for contacting you. I am at my wit's end.

I helped Sam in difficult times and gave him a lot of money in exchange for repayment.

Now he is blocking me everywhere and has no intention of returning it anymore. I am truly desperate, Nathalie... I heard from Jan that you are a good person and hope to reason with Sam through this channel because this is no longer normal.

I am seen as the first person who will no longer receive a refund...

I am truly broken by this You are the only one I heard still has some contact

I only ask for a conversation

And the next Day, I received another message from Bart Roggen, this time through his wife Eugenia's Telegram account, calling me disgusting.
Once again, in the most diplomatic way possible, I politely asked for some personal space, as I was still feeling completely overwhelmed.

Normal, well-adjusted people don’t respond that way... especially to such a perfectly reasonable request.

These events, in the days following November 17th, 2021, when I merely tried to take a break from work due to burnout, were only the beginning of the damage Bart, and by extent the Hate group, would go on to inflict on numerous people's lives.

Apparently, being manipulated by Bart Roggen and sending outrageous threats via Instagram was not the end of it for Athila Struys.

Between November 18th and November 25th, 2021, Athila Struys took it a step further by creating a new chat group on Telegram.

He invited Bart himself, along with many people who knew me, some who barely knew me, and even a few complete strangers, including the Dutch internet troll, Emiel.
He also added several other Crypto Knowledge Pool admins, such as Stijn Crabbé,
and some members, to this new group chat.

Upon their arrival in this chat group, Athila shared the same false mafia narratives and other delusional lies about me that he had previously been fed.

In doing so, he recruited an entire organized online group, convincing them they had been betrayed, endangered, or victimized by my supposed schemes and scams.

From that point on, the group viewed me as some kind of criminal mastermind and scammer who needed to be stopped at all costs.

THIS IS HOW THE ONLINE HATE GROUP WAS CREATED!

On November 27th, 2021, Tom Herck posted the following message in the NFT Discord server.

At this point, I was still completely unaware of the newly formed Hate group or what exactly had transpired.
Naturally, I found it odd that 'criminals' were being mentioned yet again, alongside other strange allegations.

By now, I was seriously beginning to wonder what on earth was happening though.

I wanted to do this personally but time is money and a "possible" video call involves too much uncertainty, especially since you hardly ever respond in a timely manner. Therefore, an open message in this closed section.

As you know, there have been quite a few negative messages circulating about you in the past few days (week).

This includes claims that you don't pay your staff, make promises you can't keep to people, and individuals from a "criminal environment" are looking for you because you owe them money. About 10 days ago, I received 2 or 3 phone calls in one day from people I also know well, who have invested hundreds of thousands of euros in your fund, and you are not keeping your promise after making empty promises.

It was clear that Bart Roggen had reached out to him as well, likely on November 17th or 18th. Just as I had done earlier with Athila Struys, I calmly explained the truth:

I had been feeling pressured and harassed by Bart and simply needed some personal space and peace.
I had told Bart that I would contact him myself once I had the chance to rest and recover.

I can assure you that there is nothing wrong. Staff is always paid correctly, @nathachelet can confirm this.

I only resort to blocking if I am truly being extremely stalked by a member or contact, and by that I mean daily phone calls and messages that make me feel so pressured that it is impossible for me to concentrate on my responsibilities. Indeed, I recently blocked a major investor in the fund, but this is because that person refused to respect that I really need some space. However, I did inform this person beforehand that if I finally get some time and rest soon, I will contact them again myself. People who invest in the fund can also withdraw their money at any time

Nathalie Tachelet confirmed that I was telling the truth, sharing that she too had already been harassed by Bart.

Unfortunately, the damage caused by the newly formed Hate group—of which I was still unaware at the time—had already been done.
Despite both of us being honest, Tom Herck decided to leave the project at that time because of the slander he had heard about me.

When the time comes, we will make this announcement together. Until then, we'll discuss how and what. Indeed, I have been paid.

I can actually confirm everything Sam says.

The person he eventually blocked was even stalking me, someone who has nothing to do with the fund. It was excessive. Those accountants have wasted months of our time, not only I can attest to that but also Jasper.

During this same period, I was also contacted by Jan Dello on Telegram.
(This conversation has since been deleted before any screenshots could be taken for evidence.)

Up until then, he had been one of my closest friends, and he was set to play a key role in the company we were creating together.

However, to my surprise, he suddenly called me an 'asshole' and stated that he wanted nothing more to do with me or with the company, fehu.

At the time, I found his reaction baffling. Later, I realized that he, too, had been pulled into the criminal Hate group formed by Athila and Bart, and had been misled with lies about me.

On December 1st, Jan Dello reiterated his stance in a formal letter sent by email. However, he offered no explanation for his abrupt change of heart;
he simply stated that he no longer wanted any involvement with me or the project.

He even declined payment for the work he had already completed, which struck me as completely irrational at the time.

It was only later that I realized he had likely been fed the same outlandish mafia allegations by either Athila, Bart, or both.
Presumably out of fear for his own safety, he had decided to sever all ties and distance himself from me entirely.

Dear Sam,

Subject: Termination of Collaboration

As I already informed you via Telegram, I want to definitively terminate any collaboration and connection between us.

Attached, you will find two credit notes for the invoices I have already provided you regarding the services I delivered for you.

I have placed the boxes with cards and such, as well as the PC, in safekeeping with someone and I want to return them to you. You did not respond to my Telegram message of November 22nd to arrange something.

Therefore, I suggest that I bring everything to your mother in **. She informed me that she agrees with this.

Please suggest some possible dates when you can also be there so that we can schedule an appointment.

You will understand that this arrangement is exceptionally favorable for you since I waive the compensation for the services I provided to you.

Just like many others, he had been misled into believing that I was involved in some kind of criminal organization!

On December 22nd, I finally summoned the strength and courage to respond to the email, expressing my surprise and confusion.

I had been going through a particularly challenging time, and progress had stalled due to both my grandmother’s passing and my own experience with burnout.

Still, none of these struggles felt like a justified reason for abandoning a close friend in such a manner.

fehu is now almost fully established at another accounting firm, the financial plan was ready just over two weeks after initial contact and in January, the appointment with the notary is scheduled.

Both Jasper and Nathalie are joining the team.

I never thought you would dare to stab one of your best friends in the back because of a tough period that nobody asked for. This isn't the person I know.

None of us had control over Fineko not wanting to help us properly or the fact that I had to prioritize myself and my grandmother for several months in between, and the market also turned against us at the same time.

In short, it was just a period where everything was going wrong. I would think that you, of all people, could understand that, given your experience with depression and sorrow..

I would truly be ashamed in your place if I ever dared to abandon someone in such a way at a time when they were already struggling so much. You are one of the last people from whom I would have expected such behavior, honestly.

You seriously let yourself be influenced by Athila after he was rightfully dismissed, or who knows who else, to suddenly behave like this.

But in any case, I want you to know that you will always be welcome to talk it out again when you realize in a few years what an opportunity from fehu you missed out on, and how wrong you were, because we all make mistakes, we are all just human.

I wish you all the best

In the very first weeks of the Hate group’s formation, they had already succeeded in destroying nearly everything around me...

Almost all my friendships, collaborations, and plans were attacked or sabotaged through a web of slanderous lies.

A few days after being removed from the Discord server, on November 29th, 2021,
Tom Herck also sent me the following message on Messenger:

He referenced me "engaging in dishonest dealings," likely yet another nod to these absurd Mafia stories about me.

At the time, however, I had no idea what he was talking about.

Furthermore, you completely abuse your illusory power over people and treat everyone like dirt. That's why you're Strategy has lost Millions in recent months and you're a very lonely person. Not because you're inherently bad, but because you misuse power and engage in dishonest dealings. It's unfortunate to see someone working towards their own downfall. I've worked with psychiatric patients before, and aside from having symptoms of narcissism, borderline, and suicidal thoughts, I would advise seeking help if I were you. We knew enough on the boat when you were crying for three days for narcissistic reasons that people were leaving your side.

Like the manipulative psychopath he is, Bart Roggen used fear and anger to his advantage. He spread rumors to several people, claiming I was being pursued by dangerous criminals who sought to harm me due to debts I supposedly owed them.

With the help of the hysterical Athila Struys, his first pawn in this scheme, they gathered an entire group of people who felt so betrayed or frightened that they didn’t just abandon me without a second thought, but even began to view me as their enemy.

Bart orchestrated an entire online Hate brigade, determined to destroy my life simply because I had the nerve to block him when I grew tired of being manipulated.
This is a classic example of the 'Flying Monkeys' effect, where others are manipulated into doing someone else's dirty work.

The term "flying monkeys" originates from the story The Wizard of Oz. In the tale, the Wicked Witch of the West sends her flying monkeys to do her dirty work, attacking Dorothy and her friends. In psychology, the term has taken on a more specific meaning. It is used to describe people who are manipulated or coerced into carrying out the harmful actions of a manipulator or abuser, often without fully realizing the damage they are causing. These "flying monkeys" spread lies, rumors, or harass others on behalf of the manipulator, acting as their extensions. By doing this, the manipulator avoids direct confrontation or accountability for their actions, using these individuals as shields to control the narrative.

About a year later, I came to the stark realization that Bart Roggen had not been entirely deceitful when talking about mafias and criminal organizations.
It turned out that the money he had pressured me into accepting was, in fact, criminal in origin. Bart Roggen himself was the true criminal, having initiated a situation where real criminals were now seeking retribution from me.

What Bart conveniently failed to disclose to these people in the group, was that he was the mastermind behind these criminal dealings.
He also neglected to mention that I was completely innocent and unaware of the illegal origins of his money, as he had never once revealed this to me.

Throughout this entire period, Bart Roggen also left a series of bizarre and unsettling comments on several of my Twitter posts. As of this writing, these comments are still visible on his account, a reminder of the troubling behavior he exhibited even in public.

On December 15th, Bart Roggen also harassed me on Twitter via a private message.

Still unaware of the organized Hate group conspiring against me at the time,
I chose to remain friendly and once again requested some personal space.
I explained that if he truly wanted me to rectify the situation, he needed to give me time.

Even though he had previously called me "disgusting" for asking for personal space,
I remained diplomatic and kind, as I always do.

Sam, can you just respond

This is absurd

You are running away with my money and act like I am stalking you

Just respond

I am fully working on it, let me do it in peace for a moment

I am going to need a few months to get everything sorted out and then I will contact you. If there is one thing I cannot do, it is work under constant pressure

In early January 2022, I reached out to Bart Roggen again on Telegram.
I told him I was aware that several people, including Tom Herck, Jan Dello, and
Athila Struys, were extremely angry with me after having spoken with him.

I explained to Bart that I expected him to clear up the misunderstandings he had caused back in November, and that I would only consider dealing with him again once this had been resolved.

I believe my request was entirely reasonable—if you create problems in someone’s life, you should also take responsibility for fixing them.

At this point, I was still unaware that Bart Roggen was a genuine criminal and that he had been terrifying these individuals with mafia stories.

There had been a few subtle clues about what was going on, but I missed them due to the severe burnout I was experiencing.

All I knew at the time was that he had caused a significant amount of trouble for me, and of course, I wanted it resolved as soon as possible.

He had manipulated these people into believing that I was the one entangled with criminal organizations...
when, in reality, that was the truth about himself.

On January 31st, 2022, I received an email from Tom Herck, informing me that Bart had indeed met with him in an attempt to resolve part of the situation.

However, from the content of the email, it became evident that Bart had once again completely misrepresented the facts.

I had been very clear with Bart: I would not engage with him until he had first addressed and rectified the issues he had caused with several people.
This was non-negotiable.

Once again, the term "Mafia" was brought up in this email, which made absolutely no sense to me at the time—I had no idea what Tom was referring to.

Moreover, I did not hear anything from the other people Bart had manipulated, making it all the more clear that Bart had no intention of doing what I had asked: to resolve the misunderstandings and problems he had set in motion months earlier.

Hey Sam,

I had an appointment with Bart on Sunday evening, where it turned out that you will fulfill the previously agreed commitment with him. Also, the whole mafia story seems less serious than expected.

I am a man of my word and I appreciate clear and direct communication. I am glad to see this from you now. Everyone can make mistakes due to various circumstances. So, it shows character on your part to seek reconciliation with Bart after all that has happened. That is why I am also setting aside my ego and doing what seems right, seeking reconciliation with you. The knife cuts both ways.

But, you must understand that when you make promises to people, you give them hope and play with their dreams. It is very painful when you have a vision that gets shattered. I have always believed that you are fundamentally a good person and mean well for others. That is why I was initially disappointed in you.

I envisioned everyone standing around that mega installation at Burning Man, doing something that no one else had ever done with their own resources and creating a movement. Realizing something next level that would inspire people. Making history. You are successful and come from a village, just like me, without losing authenticity. We both come from uneven paths.

When I heard from Bart that everything was in order as you had agreed, there was no reason for distrust on my part, and I am open to a conversation.

So, I hope that we have not burned our bridges, because if that is the only thing burned after all these Burning Man dreams, it would be a sad thing.

You can always call me or email me back at this email address.

At the beginning of January 2022, I also deposited 1,500 Euros worth of Bitcoin to Jasper Boonen’s ICONOMI deposit address (0.03620963 BTC).

A few months earlier, our accountant (the first one) had advised that both
Jasper Boonen and Jan Dello should register their own companies as Independent Contractors and provide their services to my company in that manner.

Since Jasper was going to work directly for me, he asked if I could cover the administrative costs for establishing his sole proprietorship (eenmanszaak).

I agreed and suggested paying him in Bitcoin, so he could convert it to fiat currency himself. Jasper provided me with his ICONOMI deposit address, as this was the only cryptocurrency platform he had an account on.

I sent him the Bitcoin, but shortly after, Jasper informed me that ICONOMI had placed the deposit on hold. As a result, I also reached out to ICONOMI Support.

I made it clear in my communication that if transferring crypto to someone else’s account was against their rules, I had not been aware of this, and that in such a case, it was an innocent mistake.

Notice how, in subsequent emails, I continuously request clarification regarding why the transaction was put on hold. My goal was to understand the reason behind this action so that I could avoid any similar issues in the future.

By January 24th, ICONOMI had still not returned my funds, nor had they provided any explanation or clarification as to why they were keeping them frozen.

Eventually, they approved the transaction, and Jasper finally received the Bitcoin in his account, albeit with significant delay.
To this day, the reason behind the initial freeze remains a mystery.

ICONOMI would later unfairly use this transaction against me.
We'll revisit this issue in more detail later in this post.

Additionally, in January, for over six months already, I had been enduring harassment from a specific internet troll on ICONOMI, going by the name Emiel.

His behavior had become so disruptive that it started bothering other copiers as well. At this point, we had all grown tired of his antics, so on January 10th, I reached out to ICONOMI, requesting that they take action against Emiel.

He would go on to become one of the most persistent and disruptive members of the Hate group, constantly causing annoyance and stirring up drama.

In January, CKP members occasionally started informing me that they were being harassed.

Is that Bart by any chance? It’s because of him that I gave up the challenge.

He was bothering me all day long.

Yes, and someone else too...

I deleted those messages.

Because I was like WTF.

I don’t know you.

And suddenly, you start messaging me.

Most of the harassment stemmed directly from Bart Roggen, though at times,
other members of the Hate group, like Vincent Vander Perre, were also involved.

What was the name of that second person? I find it quite remarkable that suddenly there are two of them.

First, it was that Bart

And then a few days later another one

I deleted those messages

But I think it was Vincent or something like that

As soon as the NFT is sold or there are a few good months for ICONOMI or trading, there will be money available again, and I will straighten out everything that needs to be addressed.

Except for people like Bart who caused me months of stress and pressure

I was just worried after those messages. It has been difficult months. I understand that. I still trust you and believe in a good outcome...

Also in January 2022, Jan Dello returned several of my belongings, including a laptop and items he had purchased using my money for the future business, to
Jasper Boonen’s place.

Since he no longer wanted any contact with me...

And then, also midway through January, while already dealing with all this stress and the other ongoing problems, I suddenly received an official letter summoning me to court just a week later.

This came as a complete shock to me, as it was the very first time I had even heard about any legal proceedings, and now I was expected to appear there in like just one week… So, how did it all begin?

In December 2017, I was approached by Cynthia Kok, someone I knew personally. She was aware that I had been actively investing in cryptocurrencies. Like many others at that time, she was swept up in the frenzy and hype, feeling the fear of missing out (FOMO) as Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies experienced explosive growth. Cynthia was eager to start investing in Bitcoin as quickly as possible and sought my help.

Unfortunately, since this was my first market cycle, I didn't yet have the experience or foresight to recognize that we were likely nearing the market peak, and I failed to caution her against getting in so late.

Being the people-pleaser that I was, I wanted to help, as I usually did.

Naturally, I agreed to assist her. Back then, Kraken was one of the few fiat on-ramps available, so I explained that it could take some time to complete her first Bitcoin purchase. Due to the massive influx of new investors and the overwhelming demand to get into crypto, it could take several weeks just to get her Kraken account verified with KYC (Know Your Customer) protocols.

Now, in the lawsuit, the opposing party claims that I manipulated and pressured them into investing in Bitcoin. This is simply untrue—they approached me, not the other way around. During that period, countless people contacted me for advice about crypto. Unsurprisingly, they have provided no evidence to support this accusation in court because such evidence simply does not exist.

So at the time, I informed Cynthia that it might take a while to get her Kraken account verified for transfers. However, driven by FOMO, she didn't want to miss out on the potential "profits." That's how we agreed that she would transfer the money to my bank account, from which I would deposit it into my already-verified exchange account and purchase the equivalent amount of Bitcoin for her. As soon as she had her own account or wallet set up, I would transfer the Bitcoin to her.

It was a kind gesture and a friendly favor.

On either January 18th or 19th, 2018, I received €5,000 into my bank account from Melanie Kok, the sister.
As agreed upon, I immediately transferred these funds to my Kraken account,and they were credited on January 24th, 2018.On January 24th at 21:52 Belgian time, I used the entire amount of €5,000 to purchase Bitcoin.

The data from this image comes from a transaction and transfer history export from my Kraken account.
I executed the purchase in one step. The reason why there are two lines in the buy orders is because the order was filled in two parts.

In total, this was a purchase of 0.549956620 $BTC at a market price of €9,091.62618 per Bitcoin.
As you can see in the very last column of this image, this brought the total XBT (Bitcoin) balance on my account to 0.8621256271 Bitcoin.

This means I had 0.3121690071 $BTC of my own on the account at that point, and 0.549956620 $BTC which I owed to the K. sisters.

Before anyone might suggest that the data and numbers in this spreadsheet could be faked or manipulated:

Don't worry—I have also provided a 'read-only' API key for my Kraken account to both my lawyers and the court, allowing them to easily verify the accuracy of this information themselves.

Everything was fine up to this point, but this is where things began to go wrong.

As I said, it was my very first cycle in the market, and because of that, I had no idea that the Bitcoin market had just entered a severe Bear phase.
In fact, I thought I had secured a great price for the Bitcoin I purchased for the two sisters.

However, within just a week or two after the purchase was completed, Bitcoin's price plummeted another 50%, and meanwhile, I still hadn’t received an address to transfer the Bitcoin to.(Black arrow indicates the moment of purchase: January 24th, 2018)

In less than two weeks, their initial €5000 had lost almost half its value.And throughout all this, all I wanted was to do them a kind favor...

This is when I really started to panic, as my own portfolio (which had grown to more than half a million at its peak, simply from buying throughout 2017) was also taking a massive hit.

I’m naturally an anxious and empathetic person, so I was terrified that they might think I had deceived them or taken advantage of them.

I was consumed with guilt that their investment had lost half its value in such a short time, even though I now understand it wasn’t my responsibility.

But back then, I felt an overwhelming guilt for their loss and desperately wanted to make things right.

Having never lived through a Bear Market before, I was used to seeing every crash recover almost immediately. In my inexperience and naïveté, I was convinced that this time would be no different and that the market would continue to rally.

I thought that opening a quick Long position with leverage would recover both their losses and mine in no time.

So, I asked the sisters for their permission to trade with their Bitcoin in an attempt to recover the value back to or above the original €5000.

They agreed and gave me their consent to proceed.

On January 30th, 2018, between 07:15 and 08:59 Belgian time, I opened and added twice to a Long trade position using the 0.8621256271 $BTC currently in my Kraken account as collateral.

I was wrong, of course. We were no longer in a bull market—there were no more strong rallies, only a steady decline, down, down, down...

As a result, those positions were liquidated on February 1st, 2018, wiping out the entire amount in my Kraken account (both their Bitcoin and some of mine).

After the liquidation event, where I lost all of their Bitcoin along with some of my own, my panic and despair only deepened.

Between February 2nd and February 13th, 2018, I made several new deposits into my Kraken account using my personal funds.

Each time, I frantically tried to open new Long positions in a desperate attempt to recover the previous losses.

But unfortunately, every attempt ended badly, as I continued burning through more and more funds in my frantic effort to correct earlier mistakes.

They are now accusing me in court of manipulating and defrauding them, despite all the evidence and data clearly indicating that it was an unfortunate and accidental situation.

So during this time back in 2018, I was overwhelmed with panic and desperately tried to recover the initial loss by repeatedly entering Long trades in a Bear Market.

This reckless approach resulted in a total loss of nearly €120,000 for the entire year of 2018, which included their €5,000 and almost €115,000 of my own savings.

Immediately after this happened, Cynthia Kok began relentlessly pressuring, stalking, and harassing me about the money.

Even though my own losses were far greater, I felt an immense sense of guilt for losing their funds.

I was fully committed to doing everything in my power to make things right for them.

However, I simply needed time to find a way to compensate for the losses without making the situation worse.

It didn’t take long before the pressure from Cynthia to return their money became completely overwhelming.I was already trying to manage my panic and avoid making the situation worse.

In my desperation, I made a mistake.
I promised the sisters I would compensate them with 1 whole Bitcoin instead of their initial 0.55 Bitcoin.

But this promise was made on one condition: that they leave me and my family alone for the time it would take me to find a way to recover the losses.

It was on the condition that they stop pressuring me entirely.
So with this, I made them an unreasonable promise, hoping to buy myself some time to find a solution.

Just to get them off my back…

Hey Melanie,

Just a quick update.

In July and August, I ultimately didn’t get anywhere. I let myself get too worked up by impatient people, and by rushing, I had more bad than productive days.

I've put myself on a new, much less intense trading schedule—day 4 of 100 now. And only when I’m there, and have rebuilt my portfolio after two years of waiting for the bear market to end, will I release the necessary Bitcoin from my safety margin for family, you, and myself.

I’m possibly willing to round up your 0.55 BTC to 1 BTC as compensation for the wait, and I’m still willing to put something in writing about this.

But I’m certainly not going to let myself be pushed and stressed anymore to make things go faster than is possible. Managing a portfolio is hard enough as it is.

Greetings,Sam

Thanks for reaching out to me! As long as I get an update from time to time, everything’s fine with me. And a compensation really isn’t necessary. I’m grateful you’re doing this for us. Sometimes Cynt might be a little scared, or I might be a little scared. That has more to do with ignorance. But I do trust you! Xx Mel

Please note how, in the above conversation, the proposal I made was explicitly refused. This will later become a very crucial point in the current legal proceedings.

I was under immense pressure and stress, desperately trying to find ways to buy myself more time from them in order to resolve the situation.

Please try to understand me. I've had to start trading almost completely from scratch several times in the past year just because people are on my back and I start making big mistakes and huge losses as a result. This time, I am working through my schedule with caution and patience and once I have made satisfactory progress to take off some bitcoin and still maintain more than enough margin for safety, it will come. I have promised you guys to double your btc and that without having to do any of the work or deal with the leaden stress I'm under. So just a little more patience I'm almost there, but don't push me to start making fuckups again because then I'll never get there!

The reason you don't hear me is because I'm working very hard, 14 hours a day

But Sam, I understand. We have been understanding, even in difficult times. But you have been saying for 2

"But keeping me on hold for so long and lying, that's just not acceptable.

Or at least tell me how long it will take. Even if it's another year. And I don't need a doubling. I just want the cryptocurrency that you bought with Melanie's money.

Because I don't trust you with it. For this reason. The way you react. Always angry and blaming me every time I ask a simple question.

I asked you one thing, and that is to leave my mother alone. Since then, you have done it three more times.

You asked me one thing?

What a joke. I asked you one thing.

'you all'

I send you [messages], my sister doesn't know.

And you punish her too.

You have our money and you're holding on to it, which is stealing.

You keep postponing it.

Just give that bitcoin.

I don't have it at the moment. I make mistakes when I am under pressure and stress. Just last week, I lost 20,000 euros because of the pressure coming at me from all sides.

Don't stress me out, or I'll never [be able to manage it].

I literally ask once or twice a year how things are going...

I don't think that's putting pressure...

Unfortunately, making this agreement did nothing to ease the situation. The pressure and harassment from Cynthia continued relentlessly. It reached a point where even Melanie Kok felt compelled to apologize for her sister's behavior.

I’m glad to hear from you again. I understand, and I can imagine this isn't an easy time for you. I'm not Cynthia, though. Unfortunately, I don’t always have control over what she says and does. I still hope that one day I will get the money back from you.

Hey Sam. Cynthia apologizes. But this shouldn't affect the money. The 5000 euros are from me. I have rarely contacted you. You often contacted me first (which I always appreciated). Can you provide me (not Cynthia) with some perspective? By the way, you never let me know how I can contact you. Is Facebook good, or do you prefer email? And how often can I message you for an update? Every week, month, or quarter? I just want this to be resolved without conflict.

For years, I genuinely tried to fulfill my proposal, but between the Bear Market and the onset of COVID, setbacks made it nearly impossible to recover from the losses of January and February 2018. Eventually, my ICONOMI strategies provided a solution, but by the time I saw progress, the sisters had already lost patience and sued me. Had they waited, I would have gladly compensated them from my initial ICONOMI revenue, as that’s the kind of person I am—I keep my promises.

Here’s the key point: I made the promise to compensate them with 1 Bitcoin under duress, with the clear condition that they wait and stop pressuring me. Filing a lawsuit doesn’t count as "waiting"—in fact, it broke the one condition under which I had made the agreement, making it void.

They’re now suing me, demanding 1 Bitcoin, claiming I robbed them and deceived them with false promises.

I launched my strategies on ICONOMI in late 2020, after years of struggle. Finally, my hard work paid off, and I began earning substantial referral and copy fees. Anyone who knows me knows that I value integrity and always keep my word, despite what the Hate group claims. I was fully prepared to honor my promise and even go beyond it to make up for the delay.

However, before I could act, a lawyer contacted me, threatening legal action—directly violating our agreement. The lawyer’s approach was so unprofessional that I didn’t even bother to respond. Instead, I reached out to Melanie Kok directly, expressing my disappointment that they had chosen to escalate things with more pressure and stress.

Hi Mel,

Today, I am catching up on my emails,

and I see a message from some lawyer.

I have requested so many times to not be put under pressure for long enough to resolve everything, and this is the opposite of that.

I can very simply show with my accounting that I did not run away with your money, but that due to the bear market, the corona crisis, and the constant repeated pressure on me, it actually was an unfortunate loss.

Until now, I have been doing my absolute best to recover the loss for you as quickly as possible and return it, but after the accusations last time and now this, I don’t see why I should still be of such good will.

In fact, I found this lawyer's email so outrageous that I immediately deleted it upon reading.

I should have kept it as evidence, as it was practically an attempt at intimidation and threats. This is not how a lawyer should behave ethically.

However, to give you a better idea of the unprofessional behavior we're dealing with, here's an example from January 2022:

At the request of my lawyer, I am contacting you to ask for all available documents for the upcoming hearing. We would like to make conclusions. Sam Brans

Dear Sir, then your lawyer can go ahead and ask me that.

“The tone implies a dismissive attitude, suggesting the speaker is unwilling to engage or assist unless formally required to by the other party's lawyer, which comes across as somewhat curt and uncooperative.”

So with that, In December 2020, just as I was finally in a position to fulfill my part of the agreement, I was unpleasantly surprised to discover that they had again broken their commitment to resolve the matter without pressure, stress, or complications.

Regardless, on February 15th, 2021, after receiving additional revenue from ICONOMI,
I decided to demonstrate my goodwill and reached out to Melanie Kok once again.

I promptly offered to honor the proposal that was made by sending her one Bitcoin, provided that she would withdraw the lawyer and halt the legal proceedings.

I didn’t receive any response from Melanie to that email, but I did get a reply from the same rude lawyer
(which I once again deleted in disgust as soon as I read it).

The proposal dated February 4, 2020 (EXHIBIT 9 from the opposing party) is clear and leaves no room for further interpretation:

"Either I send you the 0.55 BTC ... Or I send a full bitcoin."

Note again that this proposal was never accepted by the opposing party. The fact that they are now filing an incidental appeal underscores this.

The proposal dated February 15, 2021, is also clear (EXHIBIT):

"Now that I have finally had some time to work undisturbed and with the necessary calm, I can easily, as promised, afford to send a full bitcoin."

Note that an explicit request for a bitcoin address was even made as late as February 17, 2021, during email correspondence with Ms. K.'s lawyer, while the latter had already made a counteroffer on behalf of Ms. K. (EXHIBIT 14 from the opposing party)! This further emphasizes that there was never any agreement.

Moreover, there is a logical explanation as to why Mr. Brans would never want to pay out in euros. When bitcoin is converted into euros and these earnings are consequently transferred to a bank account, it has tax implications for the recipient (see point 5.3 B). That Mr. Brans was aware of this is evident from EXHIBIT 9 of the opposing party.

Therefore, this argument should be dismissed as unfounded.

SECOND DEFENSE ARGUMENT: THE PAYMENT OF 1 BITCOIN

As extensively detailed in points 5.3 and 5.4, there is no obligation based on which Mr. Brans would owe one bitcoin. If the court should find that there is indeed an obligation, the invalidity due to incapacity is invoked.

So by mid-January 2022, I suddenly found myself being summoned to court with barely a week's notice.

At a time when I was already struggling immensely—due to the new Bear Market, the overwhelming pressure on my shoulders, and Bart Roggen along with his Hate group—
I was blindsided by this additional legal stress.

To make matters worse, I had just used up my last available funds to pay
Jasper Boonen, as mentioned earlier, leaving me even more vulnerable during this period.

Because of this, I had no funds left to hire legal help for the hearing.

At the very last minute, I did the only thing I could: apply for a pro bono lawyer to represent me in the upcoming case.

With only a few days to spare, a random lawyer was assigned to me.

I spoke with the lawyer over the phone (we never met in person), and I prepared a file, which I sent to him via email, outlining all the details of the case for him to use in building a defense.

Statement

I am also a victim in this entire matter. Since 2018, I have experienced one crisis and setback after another, which has led me to this situation despite having the best intentions towards any party involved.

I am currently willing to pay 5000 euros + interest.It is true that initially, I promised to attempt to increase the original amount in BTC through trading activities. However, I underestimated how little experience I had at that time with BTC trading, resulting in the loss of the entire amount.

I am not the kind of individual to let others bear the consequences of my own mistakes, so I have always been willing to reach an agreement and rectify this as quickly as possible in a fair and honest manner.

In December 2020, I received an initial letter from the opposing counsel threatening legal action. The situation had actually improved rapidly in the past months, and I was already on the verge of voluntarily settling the outstanding debt.

On February 15, 2021, I therefore proposed to Melanie K. via email to immediately and directly (i.e., without the involvement of the counsel's third-party account) transfer a full Bitcoin to settle the matter amicably, without judicial intervention (see attached email).In other words, on that day, February 15, I extended an overly generous proposal to the opposing party to rectify their discomfort once and for all. There was no response to this proposal.

For reasons unclear to me, they chose to refuse my outstretched hand and escalate the situation further.Naturally, I do not appreciate this, and therefore, proposals previously made by me are no longer on the table as far as I am concerned.

Currently, my best proposal is to compensate them for their incurred fiduciary loss of €5000 (plus applicable interest).

I also do not wish to bear any legal costs because if it had been up to me, this would have been settled on February 15, and all of this would have long been forgotten.

In my written communication with the lawyer, I made it clear that I acknowledged, in my opinion, owing them some money for what had happened.

However, the agreement we may have made regarding me providing them with 1 full Bitcoin had a very clear condition—to give me time and space—which they did not honor. As such, the agreement no longer stood.

I instructed my lawyer to advocate, quite generously, for repayment of the initial €5,000, considering the circumstances.

However, the lawyer made a major professional mistake by completely ignoring my instructions and entering a judicial confession during the hearing, without any mandate or authorization from me.

5.2 STATEMENT OF FORMER COUNSEL: LACK OF VALID MANDATE 6. Based on the judgment a quo, Mr. Brans' former counsel acknowledged that Mr. Brans would have committed to transferring one full bitcoin. 5.2.1. General Principles 7. The following general principles are relevant in the context of assessing this confession:

An attorney cannot make a judicial confession on behalf of his client unless specifically authorized to do so. (Supreme Court, September 18, 1964, Pas. 1965, r, p. 61.);

An attorney is not authorized to make a confession on behalf of his client unless the client has given him a specific mandate. (Supreme Court, June 15, 1990, Arr. Cass. 1989-90, 1315.);

Confession by an attorney requires a specific mandate. (Bergen, December 6, 2004, P&B 2005, 155.); Consistent with: Ghent, November 12, 2003, RDJP 2004, 79; Brussels, October 16, 2008, JT 2009, 182. 5.2.2. Former Counsel Did Not Have a Specific Mandate The fact that Mr. Brans' former counsel did not have a valid mandate to make a judicial confession is explicitly evident from correspondence between Mr. Brans and his former counsel (ATTACHMENT). It follows from this that Mr. Brans' interests in the first instance were not properly represented. Furthermore, it remains entirely unclear what motivated Mr. Brans' former counsel to state that Mr. Brans had 'committed' to transferring one full bitcoin. As set out below, it will become clear that there is no agreement regarding the transfer of one bitcoin. Based on the specific circumstances, it is evident that there was a factual mistake on the part of Mr. Brans' former counsel. The judicial confession cannot be considered 'genuine' given the specific facts of the dispute. In addition, Mr. Brans was obliged to file an appeal himself as his former counsel failed to do so. Accordingly, the judicial confession of the former counsel must be declared invalid.

And because of this, along with the lack of time and preparation, I ended up losing the lawsuit initially.

I was absent during the hearing, and my own lawyer, rather foolishly, complied with the argumentation of the plaintiffs. As a result, the judge sided with them by default, and it was ruled that I should honor their claim for 1 Bitcoin.

They had not respected the condition under which I made this proposal, but even if I still wanted to, at this point, I could not afford to send them one full Bitcoin. The events of the past six months, as detailed above, had already left me almost completely broke.

So I had no choice but to file for a higher appeal against this decision. My lawyer refused to comply to this, and in the end, I was forced to write the appeal letter to the court myself.

Since I clearly could not rely on the lawyer that had been assigned to me, I started reaching out to different law firms in search of help.

Eventually, I found a law firm that reassured me I hadn’t done anything wrong in this case and that I was actually in the right. They were confident that there was a strong chance of winning the appeal. However, they were unable to handle the case pro bono, and securing their services required a rather expensive provisional fee.

At this point, due to the immense legal pressure and the relentless stress I had been under for the past few months, I felt completely burned out, broken, and on the verge of despair. In a desperate attempt to raise the necessary funds for my legal defense,
I turned to my online community, the Crypto Knowledge Pool, for help.

I set up a donation page where people could contribute Bitcoin, hoping to gather enough support to cover the legal fees.

When people are pushed to their limits, they often resort to desperate measures.

Unfortunately, this didn’t work out, so I applied for another pro bono lawyer to assist with the case. Thankfully, the new lawyer assigned to me has proven to be far more competent, understanding, and helpful than the first.

According to my new lawyer, there is now a strong likelihood of winning the case on appeal. It is clear that I have never acted in bad faith and have even gone to great lengths to correct the situation for them, even though I was never legally obligated to do so.

Our main argument is that there was never a valid agreement in the first place, as the plaintiffs failed to provide a legally binding acceptance of my proposal (as shown in the response from the screenshot above).

Alternatively, if the court finds that an agreement does exist, we are seeking to have it nullified because it was made under duress and immense pressure. Additionally, the plaintiffs did not respect the terms of not stalking or harassing me in any way.

My lawyer is quite confident that we can win this case,
clearing me of both their claim and any responsibility for legal costs related to these proceedings.

So, how exactly is this situation tied to the Hate group?

Well, it’s because both Cynthia and Melanie Kok were added to the group's chat by Athila Struys right from the very beginning when he created it in November 2021.
Both have been active members of this Hate group since day one.

For example, Cynthia participated in several coordinated raids by the Hate group on our NFT Discord server.

Another example of Cynthia's involvement in the Hate group's efforts is her filing multiple police charges against me over the past few years.
Several members of the Hate group have lodged various slanderous police complaints in an attempt to entangle me in legal trouble.

As recently as May 2024, I was interrogated due to a charge filed against me by Cynthia Kok.
Of course, all I had to do is simply be truthful, explaining that I am, in fact, the victim of this group, who have been bullying and harassing me.

I wish to express myself in the Dutch language and wish to use this language in the proceedings. I have received the written statement of my rights and I understand them.

Regarding the facts, I can tell you that these facts are partially true. In 2011, there were several issues between me and the complainant. At that time, I filed multiple complaints regarding stalking and harassment as she accused me of rape. We did have a brief relationship during the period 2010-2011. In 2015-2016, we both lived in Brussels where I ran into her again. Initially, I did not want to have new contact with her. She repeatedly asked to go out for a drink. I decided to give her another chance. We became friends again. The part about me convincing her to invest is not true. At the end of 2017, I was involved in bitcoins. The complainant then asked me to facilitate a bitcoin purchase through my exchange account. It is not true that I asked her to invest. The complainant's sister transferred €5000 to my bank account. I deposited this into my exchange account. I bought €5000 worth of bitcoins as requested. As soon as they had an account, I would transfer these bitcoins to them. However, I had bought bitcoins at their peak, causing their value to only decrease. They couldn't believe that their investment yielded less than expected. They allowed me to trade the bitcoins to try to get back to the initial value. However, I made it worse. I intended to pay them back. After a few years, they hired a lawyer to recover their money. This case was brought to court in 2021. They won the case. I have appealed this decision. This lawsuit is still ongoing.

Since 2021, the complainant and her sister have been members of an online Hate group. This hate group has been making my life miserable through stalking, harassment, and cyber bullying. I used to provide educational information about bitcoins and cryptocurrencies on my social media channels. After the value of bitcoin decreased, this hate group emerged, holding me responsible for their losses. In April 2022, I attempted suicide due to this harassment and was forcibly hospitalized. Most people in this hate group stopped the harassment, but a significant number of followers continued. In September and October 2023, the harassment got out of hand again, and they even began stalking my sister and mother. They find them on Facebook and send them messages. In response to this harassment, I contacted the employers of some members of this hate group, including the complainant's employer. I should not have done this, but I reacted emotionally. I hoped that by doing so, the hate group would fall apart and the harassment would stop. I acknowledge that you are urging me not to send such messages again.

The interrogation ended on 21/05/2024 at 13:45.

Around the same time that the Hate group was formed in November 2021,
I coincidentally began receiving messages from what were clearly fake accounts on Instagram.

These accounts always used the name "Loes Albertine" or some variation of it.

It was painfully obvious that these catfish accounts were trying to acquire compromising images of me. At this point, it has been confirmed and proven that the person behind these accounts is someone named Jente Errico.

Jente Errico happens to be a close friend of both Cynthia and Melanie Kok, which strongly suggests that this attempt to gather compromising material was yet another contribution from the Kok sisters to the Hate group's schemes and plots.

With everything that was happening to me towards the end of 2021 and the beginning of 2022, I became increasingly aware that something was seriously wrong. However, at the time, I still had no knowledge of the actual existence of the Hate group, who were still quietly scheming behind the scenes.

In March 2022, Bart Roggen resumed his harassment against me in various ways.

On March 11th, he posted the following message in an old group chat between some former classmates.

Not sure if Sam is still in here. If yes: mate, I will chase you until the last day of your miserable life. You have created a very stressful situation where you stole a lot of money. I will personally deal with you for what you did to my family.
Hide all you want... I have a lifetime of patience.

You have removed a participant from the group.

I let Bart know a few months ago that I am no longer doing business with him until he clears up the misunderstanding he started with Tom Herck, or at least makes an attempt.
So don't worry about it.
Cheers and see you soon.

On March 11th, I was also privately contacted by one of my friends regarding Bart.

Hey, what's going on with Bart? He seems like he's out for blood. I’ve tried to ignore it as much as possible up until now, but I’m starting to get worried. And your mom is asking if I’ve heard from you.

He’s caused a number of issues, including problems with the collaborations with Tom Herck and Jan. I told him I’ll only get back in touch once I see him make an effort to clear up the misunderstandings as much as possible.

He sent a threat in that messenger group before the dinner we had in August.

The following day, I reminded him on Telegram of what I had already told him back in January—that I expected him to resolve the issues he had caused with several of my friends and associates before I would even consider speaking to him again.

Again: Fix the mess you caused me with Tom, Athila, Jan, and the members... then we can talk.

Kiss my ass.

I'll smash you if I see you.

I've been in jail before, and I'm not afraid to go back again.

Filthy scum.

I've had enough patience.

Now, fuck off and get my money.

I've had enough of your pathetic behavior.

Again: Fix the mess you caused me with Tom, Athila, Jan, and the members... then we can talk.

Everything really started to escalate between April 11th and 17th, 2022, when the Hate group began attacking me openly. After Tom Herck and his associates left the NFT project in November, we continued with several other people, including Rik Helsen. Soon after Rik joined the team, I entrusted him with the role of head administrator for our server, giving him full administrative rights.

On the afternoon of April 15th, I suddenly noticed that I could no longer find our Discord server. At first, it seemed as if the server had disappeared completely. However, it quickly became clear that other team members were still able to access it without any issues, leading me to the conclusion that I had been removed from it.
Adding to the suspicion, I could no longer reach Rik on Telegram, Discord, or any other platform.

When I noticed Rik posting something in the ICONOMI Discord server, I immediately made a post in that same server, asking him for clarification. You can see my post in the screenshot below.

Please note that 'roggba' refers to Bart Roggen and mark5, Mark Winters,
is an ICONOMI employee.

It seems that the Hate group had successfully manipulated Rik,
persuading him not only to join them but also to sabotage and dismantle our entire NFT project.

At the exact moment I reached out to Rik in the ICONOMI chat, hoping for some answers, everything spiraled out of control.
This was precisely when a carefully coordinated defamation and libel campaign, orchestrated by the Hate group, was unleashed—primarily within the official ICONOMI chat groups.

Almost immediately, dozens of Hate group members joined forces with Rik Helsen and Bart Roggen, launching a barrage of wild accusations against me.
I tried to defend myself against this sudden onslaught, but before long, I found myself banned from the server by the ICONOMI admins.
Meanwhile, the Hate group members were permitted to continue posting defamatory remarks about me, as confirmed by several of my own members.

At that time, 60% to 70% of the posts made in the official ICONOMI Discord server on April 15th, 2022, and in the following days, came directly from members of the Hate group who were all part of their coordinated effort.
This made it virtually impossible for any of my supporters to voice reason, as the entire atmosphere was already dominated by the Hate group.

The peer pressure was strong, and it was easy for onlookers and ICONOMI employees to get swept up in the wave of negativity.

The relentless attacks also continued in an unofficial Telegram group dedicated to ICONOMI, and even infiltrated our own Crypto Knowledge Pool chat groups.

At the same time, several members of the Hate group began publicly circulating a highly defamatory Reddit article they had created about me, sharing it across various platforms.

Curiously enough, by publicizing and distributing this scandalous Reddit article, they willingly incriminated themselves by committing identity theft. You see, the author of this article, titled "Honest Review of Crypto Knowledge Pool," falsely pretended to be someone else, giving the impression that a different individual was behind it.

The person whose name they used to pose as the author, Lode Cossaer,
is someone I don’t even really know.

It remains unclear why the Hate group decided to involve him in this entire situation.

So it should come as no surprise that this article was removed shortly after this was pointed out.

At the same time, members of the Hate group began publicly sharing my full name and picture online, accusing me of being a scammer.

Here’s an example of one of the Hate group members,
Jordy Mathei (an employee of Jan Roggen, Bart ’s brother),
posting my name and photo in a Telegram group.

The image I’ve attached is blurred for safety, but when it was originally shared, it was completely uncensored.

On April 16th, 2022, one of my members and copiers reached out to ICONOMI’s community manager, Nino Kutnjak, seeking clarification about the ongoing situation.
He reassured her that their funds would not be affected in any way.
Unfortunately, this assurance turned out to be false.

During this same period, the Hate group also launched coordinated raids on our own NFT Discord server, which I had completely lost control over due to Rik's actions.

Unfortunately, amidst all the chaos, little evidence was gathered from these specific Hate group raids. Only a few screenshots were captured later on, after most of the toxic messages and spam had already been cleaned up by the remaining admins.

I’ll share what remnants we have from the aftermath below, including some of Emiel’s still-visible posts, for example.

Goodbye, it was fun for the time being.

Oh no, do we have to leave? Did I miss the train?

Nah, the train has only just started rolling.

So, is this the end here?

As you know, Knepala was removed from his own server due to sabotage, so once the NFT project restarts, a new server will probably be created.

In May, Admin2 realized they still had the ability to manage the server and took decisive action. They promptly removed Emiel and other disruptive members of the Hate group, restoring some order to the server.

At the request of Knepala, this post. Unfortunately, the rights of all admins have been removed due to Rikje's sabotage. Regrettably, Emiel cannot be removed. However, his toxic behavior has been temporarily removed.

I have just banned Emiel

As you know, Knepala was removed from his own server due to sabotage, so once the NFT project restarts, a new server will probably be created.

As the attacks and toxic games escalated in the days following April 15th, 2022,
my feelings of despair and confusion only intensified. On April 17th, I discovered that ICONOMI had taken certain actions against my account on their actual platform as well.

At this point, my desperation and fear became unbearable. It's important to understand that I had poured an enormous amount of time, work, and dedication into my ICONOMI strategies up until then.
Seeing everything I had worked for unravel so suddenly left me feeling utterly powerless and devastated.

At this point, the overwhelming wave of bullying, slander, and harassment had pushed me beyond my limits.
The pressure became unbearable, leading me to attempt to take my own life.

During my suicide attempt, in a final act of desperation, I revealed the names of those who had been harassing me, at least as far as I was aware of their involvement in the group up until that point.
My hope was that by doing so, they would not be able to get away with destroying my life.

That very evening, following an intervention by the ambulance and police at 21:18,
the public prosecutor's office ordered my involuntary hospitalization to ensure my health and safety were protected.

On April 18th, Bart Roggen also resurfaced in a completely unrelated Messenger group chat that we both happened to be part of.

And on that very same day, Cynthia Kok also reached out to my mother, calling me a scammer while my mother was dealing with the devastating reality of almost losing her son.

And just one day after my suicide attempt, a particular member of the Hate group posted a lengthy and defamatory message about me publicly on their Facebook timeline, further tarnishing my name while I was already in a vulnerable state.

Since it apparently can't get through to someone, I'll have to do it this way.

Many people will probably know Sam Brans, also known as Knepala from Crypto Knowledge Pool. Not everyone will know that he is a coward, fraudster, and scammer.

Don't do business with him, or you'll see your money disappear like ice on a hot summer evening. There are enough people who can attest to this, and unfortunately, many have lost a lot of money to a megalomaniac dwarf.

Someone who incites people to invest in a castle in the air to get rich quickly is just a swindler.

Someone who can seduce people in difficult circumstances to betray their trust and extort money from them is a psychopath.

Someone who would even throw his close friends under a train to make a few euros for personal gain is just a scoundrel. For several other reasons, I can say that he is a fraudster because you can't just falsify invoices from companies.

The worst part is that this person cannot see that he makes mistakes and puts others in financial trouble because of it. He has the emotional intelligence of a bucket of water. Even now, in the face of opposition and people catching on, he can't stop pressuring people to invest.

If it wasn't clear enough, he even doxxed his "enemies" himself. He posted a list of names on all his socials and then said that if anything were to happen to him, it would be their fault. Not only is that extremely low, but it's once again playing the victim of his own mistakes.

Make sure you can avoid contact with someone like him. He is not a friend, acquaintance, buddy, you name it. He's only after money, and even good friends who tried to help him have been victims.

Fuck Sam.

Rik Helsen not only defamed me in several public Discord and Telegram groups during this period, but also in a chat server he managed. He even went so far as to distribute multiple hateful memes about me among his followers.

Several weeks into my involuntary hospitalization, I had a video meeting with two representatives from ICONOMI.
Unbeknownst to them, I recorded the entire meeting. What they communicated to me during this video call strongly contradicts their later official statements and actions, exposing a major inconsistency between their verbal assurances and their formal correspondence.

During this recorded conversation, they essentially assured me that they held no blame towards me and were, in fact, incredibly grateful for my contributions to the growth of their platform. Through my network, I had single-handedly referred a substantial portion of their users to ICONOMI.

Despite their appreciation, they explained that due to the continuous and overwhelming negative press generated by the Hate group, they felt compelled to sever ties with me.

They claimed that the extreme accusations being spread against me made it impossible for them to remain associated with my name. Then came the crucial moment: they asked me to publicly announce my resignation from the platform, taking responsibility for everything and effectively absorbing the blame. In exchange for this public statement, they offered me a significant sum of money—a clear attempt to bribe me into taking the fall.

During the meeting, they also suggested that if I complied with all of their demands, there was a possibility I could be re-admitted to the platform in the future. However, this would only be under a completely new name, and by starting from scratch with my referrals and commissions.

Within the following week, they sent me a draft proposal in which, in stark contrast to what they had said during the call, they denied any connection between their actions and the communications made about me by the Hate group.

This was likely because, right after the call, I also sent them a detailed email where I clarified and refuted many of the accusations the Hate group had made against me.

In doing so, they legally protected themselves from any association with the Hate group and their crimes, officially distancing themselves from the situation. Instead, they came up with three far-fetched, incorrect, and frankly unjustified reasons for my termination from the platform.

Even though, in their written communication, they completely deny any connection to the events caused by the Hate group, it starkly contrasts with what was said during the video call (which I recorded and still have saved).
In addition there is ample evidence that ICONOMI employees were clearly influenced by, and even participated in, the libel and defamation campaign initiated by the Hate group.

Yes, the timeline you’ve highlighted raises significant concerns. On April 15th and 16th, employees like Nino were already discussing potential "consequences" and "bans," which clearly suggests that ICONOMI had been planning punitive measures against you prior to your mental breakdown on April 18th.

Following the breakdown, they then cited your mental state as the reason for their actions, which appears contradictory given the timeline. If discussions about consequences were already happening before your health episode, this implies they may have had other motivations or external influences (possibly from the Hate group) before your mental state became a convenient reason for their decisions.

In the screenshot below, the Discord user ‘Saltycarbonara’ is, in fact, the same ICONOMI employee; Nino Kutnjak,
calling me a ‘bad boy’ in direct response to the accusations by the Hate group.

It's quite evident what their true objective was: by coercing me into agreeing to be removed from the platform despite my innocence, they positioned themselves to start pocketing the commissions that were rightfully mine. They had a significant financial incentive for their actions, especially if I had also agreed—as they suggested in their proposal—to continue referring users to their platform without any compensation.

ICONOMI shamelessly sought to exploit the situation with the Hate group for their own financial gain.

On May 13th, 2022, I received several screenshots from an anonymous Telegram account. While we now have reasons to believe that these posts—and the group they were made in—were likely faked by someone, either from within or outside the Hate group
(but definitely with access to information that wasn't publicly available at the time).

They might have been sent to me with the intent of fueling the chaos and escalating the situation further.

Whether these screenshots were fabricated or genuine will ultimately be determined by ongoing police investigations.

Regardless, members of the Hate group repeatedly accused me of fabricating these screenshots. They continuously tried to undermine the credibility of this evidence and by extension all evidence, casting doubt on my integrity.

While I was in psychiatric care, my mother contacted Jasper Boonen to arrange a time to collect the belongings that Jan Dello had dropped off at his place.
The plan was to sell these items to get some extra money and alleviate the financial difficulties I was facing.

However, Jasper responded to my mother, stating that he had decided to keep and sell my belongings for himself, claiming it as "compensation."
In reality, this was nothing short of theft, especially during a period when I was already in dire need.

On May 18th or 19th, I was released from my involuntary stay in psychiatric care and immediately went to the police to file formal charges against the Hate group. However, since I was still exhibiting signs of distress during the interrogation, and the threat from the Hate group still appeared imminent, the authorities deemed it necessary to have me hospitalized once again.

Following this, when I shared the news in the Crypto Knowledge Pool channel, someone from the Hate group shamelessly celebrated my situation with smiling and party emojis.

It's absolutely appalling to see someone take pleasure in another person's distress and pain like that.

The next morning, all my copiers on ICONOMI received the following email. Without waiting for my response to their proposal (and despite the fact that no decision deadline had been specified), ICONOMI went ahead and decided to completely terminate both my strategies and my account.

It goes without saying that hundreds, if not thousands, of our members and copiers were outraged, frustrated, and deeply disappointed by ICONOMI's unfair decision.

Many of them voiced their anger and disapproval through various channels, expressing their disgust at the way this was handled.

Naturally, the significant backlash from CKP members over these unjust decisions was also manipulated by members of the Hate group, turning it into something negative about me.

We have strong reasons to believe that ‘Ted Cruz,’ who also used the usernames ‘Brovka’ and ‘George Vondersteen’ at different times, is actually an alternate Telegram account belonging to Rik Helsen.

Now let’s take a closer look at each of the accusations made against me by the Hate group during their defamation campaign and address them one by one.

• The lawsuit proves I am a criminal.

• I scam people on Facebook.

• I commit fraud by forgery.

• CKP practices unfair censorship.

• The CKP Strategies have ‘bad performance’.

• The CKP Points System is a scam.

• I force people to do unpaid work.

• I am associated with 'the Mafia‘ and I am an evil person.

• I am mentally unstable and crazy.

• I am a horrible trader.

As previously mentioned, both Cynthia and Melanie Kok were involved in the organized Hate group from the very beginning. In this group, they shared everything regarding the upcoming lawsuit, or at least their version of events, with the other members.
They even disclosed several confidential documents and sensitive data related to the legal proceedings.

In turn, various members of the Hate group, including Emiel, used the existence of this lawsuit as their justification for labeling me a fraud and scammer.

They falsely assumed that just because someone had filed a lawsuit against me,
it automatically served as proof of wrongdoing,
completely ignoring the fact that this is a civil case, still ongoing, with no verdict yet.

Haha, maybe you should delete that message from Knepala, @KHUNA. If you want more background info, hit me up. He's just pushing his fund while being accused of fraud and scamming. There's currently a lawsuit against him as well.

Lame way to take revenge after a ban, Emiel.I don’t see why TA (Technical Analysis) shouldn’t still be appreciated in this group.

Absolutely no revenge. I have all the info and background, I’ve never spread falsehoods. You don’t need more info from me :)

First time I hear about a lawsuit. Have a nice day, I think people here can do without this kind of stuff. I was just posting an analysis I made, nothing more.

On April 15th, 2022, during the defamation campaign orchestrated by the Hate group in the ICONOMI Discord server, Emiel openly confirmed that he had contacted ICONOMI several months earlier, sharing information about the lawsuit.

It is highly likely that this information was distorted or taken out of context, contributing to the group's misleading narrative.

At one point, Emiel accused Crypto Knowledge Pool of making Facebook posts with the intent of scamming people, which is entirely absurd.

He was referring to posts that were automatically commented on by obvious fake pages, whose sole aim is to exploit only the most retarded or gullible followers.

These fake interactions were clearly beyond the control of Crypto Knowledge Pool and had nothing to do with any legitimate activity from our side.

I was accused of committing fraud by allegedly falsifying invoices from other companies.

This accusation is entirely false. Not once in my life have I committed fraud in this manner, or in any other way.

There is absolutely no evidence to support this claim. In fact, several members of the Hate group have later admitted, when questioned by Law Enforcement or others, that this accusation was a baseless fabrication.

There have been claims that individuals in the Crypto Knowledge Pool community are not given the opportunity to express their concerns and that we practice unfair censorship.

In reality, bans imposed by our administrators or myself are infrequent. However, it is important to acknowledge that many members associated with the Hate group were quickly removed from the community.
This decision was made because of their consistent spread of negativity and toxicity, which stifled constructive conversation.

While we are committed to fostering an open and inclusive platform, we must draw a firm line against Hate speech and the dissemination of falsehoods.

No, this is unfortunately not a joke...

According to Emiel and the rest of the Hate group, a decline in Strategy ‘peformance’ apparently justifies their hateful behavior and widespread dissemination of negative information (or so-called ‘awareness’) about me on a large scale. It’s disturbing how a drop in performance is being used as an excuse to engage in such toxic and harmful actions.

Emiel claims that the 'bad peformance' of our strategies justifies their warnings about me.

However, it's crucial to understand something about this individual:

In one of our chat groups, he openly admitted to being driven by greed and being an idiot. He confessed that he did not follow our explicit instructions for copying our ICONOMI strategies. Instead, he impulsively bought into our Small Caps Strategy at its peak in May 2021, completely disregarding our most essential advice to use Dollar-Cost Averaging (DCA) when entering our strategies. This reckless decision resulted in him losing the majority of his savings during the Bear Market.

His toxic behavior had already been an issue for about six months before the Hate group was formed in November 2021. Recognizing this, they quickly recruited him, and he soon became one of the most active and problematic members of the group.

In short, his substantial financial loss was a direct consequence of not following the copying instructions for my strategies. It was his own decisions that led to his losses on ICONOMI, and those losses are why he aligned himself with the Hate group.

My approach was considerably more intricate than what he outlines here. I was actively engaged in flipping and trading the assets within our strategy, strategically increasing our holdings in preparation for the next parabolic phase.

We had a well-defined plan, accompanied by precise instructions for our followers to execute it effectively. These instructions were pinned in a post and also repeated several times a week in new feed posts.

Emiel's discontent stems from his failure to heed my repeated instructions, which led to significant losses for him when the markets turned bad.

Additionally, I was one of the few Managers on the platform who did not recklessly allocate all or the majority of my followers' funds into $LUNA.

In the end, I was one of the very few who actually protected their copiers by not blindly following the fads and scams that many others unfortunately fell for.

Only one of our two strategies had a 10% allocation to $LUNA, and that percentage had been reduced even further as the situation around it began spiraling out of control.

Our strategies were among the best options available for users to navigate the challenges of 2021, if they had not been forcibly shut down when the Hate group started interfering.

It seems abundantly clear that the only person fully responsible for Emiel’s misfortune is Emiel himself. His failure to follow the provided guidelines, coupled with his impulsive actions, led to the unfortunate outcome he experienced.

Like many other cryptocurrency projects or even businesses outside of the crypto space, CKP has a system in place to reward its users or members for their loyalty and contributions.

There is nothing unusual about this, and certainly nothing malicious.

It’s a common and completely legal practice across various industries.

One of the possible uses for these 'CKP Points' is that members can earn Bitcoin rewards with them.

However, members of the Hate group seem to have convinced themselves that this entire system is some sort of massive scam. They believe there was never any intention to pay out these Bitcoin reward pools and that it’s just a scheme to make members do "free work."

The reality is quite different: the Hate group’s relentless sabotage and attacks are the main reason why we have struggled to meet certain promises or are behind schedule on various plans and projects.

Several point payouts had been successfully completed in the past, and even more have taken place, despite the attacks and sabotage, over the last few years.
This clearly demonstrates that our reward system is fully operational and that we have consistently tried to honor our commitments to the community.

Naturally, all of this can be easily verified through the public blockchain.
Neither I, as the founder, nor Crypto Knowledge Pool have ever been involved in initiating or orchestrating any fraudulent activities, crimes, or scams.
Everything we've done is honest, transparent and verifiable.

Rik Helsen approached me sometime during 2021 and expressed his interest in joining the team for the NFT project we were developing in collaboration with the Belgian multidisciplinary artist Tom Herck.
Rik wanted to be part of this project.

Please note that this NFT project was completely separate from our other initiatives on Telegram, including our 'Points System'.

We had recently established a Discord server to manage the promotion and community engagement for the project, a common practice for initiatives like this.

Rik informed me that he had relevant experience managing a Discord server, as he was also handling this aspect for his own crypto project called ‘MoniGoMani’.
I had met Rik once or twice through personal connections, and he consistently left a positive impression as a very decent individual.
Considering these factors, I believed he would be a valuable addition to the project.

However, I made it clear to him that there was a crucial condition for joining the team. Every team member who had already been involved in the project for an extended period had committed to working on a voluntary basis until the NFT minting event.

At the time of the launch, the majority of the proceeds would remain within the organization, as the primary objective was to fund the art installation.
However, every contributor would receive a fair and agreed-upon percentage of the profits, for life. This would be automatically and immutably executed through the smart contract code.

Additionally, this arrangement served as a strong incentive for everyone to put forth their best effort.

Proof of this unanimous agreement is provided in the below image.

After learning about the terms that the other team members had agreed to, Rik also accepted these conditions and became part of the project.

Rik was indeed voluntarily working on the NFT project,
as he had agreed to do so, just like everyone else on the team.

The Hate group employed a deeply disturbing strategy to recruit new members or convince others to turn against me or abandon me.

Their manipulation tactics followed a well-established psychological technique: instilling fear.

By leveraging fear and panic, they preyed on their targets' emotions,
leaving them unable to think clearly and more easily swayed by the group’s agenda.

This tactic, which they frequently employed, was the driving force behind their success in fostering hatred and anger toward me, even among individuals who had once held great affection or trust for me.

The Hate group would often approach these individuals, telling them they were in serious danger because of their association or friendship with me.

This narrative was based on the false claim that I had engaged in dealings with a criminal organization or mafia, and that I had refused to repay these dangerous people. As a result, they claimed that these individuals were now seeking to harm me.

Hearing this would almost always lead the targets to panic,
causing them significant emotional distress.

For those individuals in the group who never had a close or personal connection or partnership with me, this narrative still served as an effective way to paint me as an 'evil, criminal person' deserving of the treatment being meted out.

It functioned both as a powerful recruitment technique and a dehumanization tactic.

Dehumanization is the psychological process of demonizing an enemy, portraying them as less than human and, as a result, unworthy of humane treatment. This process makes it easier for others to justify negative or hostile behavior toward the individual in question.

I have been labeled by the group with several mental health diagnoses,
including being called "Mentally Unwell,"
and described with other terms such as "Psychopath," "Narcissist," and
"Borderline Personality Disorder."

These labels are not only offensive but also wildly inaccurate.
They reflect a shallow understanding of mental health, often used as weapons by those who seek to discredit or harm others.
The reality is far more nuanced and complex. Mental health challenges,
if present, should be met with compassion and understanding,
not used as a justification for character assassination and bullying.

The narrative surrounding these terms is a distortion, employed by the Hate group to turn others against me.
My mental health was a significant point, not just for the Hate group but also for ICONOMI, who eventually also got convinced by the Hate group's narrative that I was mentally unwell.
ICONOMI even went so far as to use my mental health as an excuse for the actions they took against me.

The narrative of me being mentally unfit was a convenient way for both parties to justify their behavior. It allowed ICONOMI to evade accountability, framing their decisions as a protective measure rather than what they really were—a response influenced by external pressures and misinformation spread by the Hate group and an extortion attempt.

This was not only unfair but a manipulation of the truth that contributed to an even greater injustice.

I had to take on the role of the “Crazy” and “Mentally Unstable”
one in this narrative for the people in this group...

Because admitting otherwise would mean accepting that everything I've said is true...

No one is ever truly prepared to face the reality that they might be the ones who are wrong, that they've been involved in unethical actions or atrocities...

This is what psychologists refer to as Cognitive Dissonance.

Cognitive dissonance is a psychological concept that refers to the mental discomfort or tension a person experiences when they hold two or more contradictory beliefs, values, or attitudes simultaneously. This discomfort often leads individuals to try to reduce the dissonance by changing their beliefs, acquiring new information, or minimizing the importance of the conflicting belief.

For example, if someone believes smoking is harmful but continues to smoke, they may experience cognitive dissonance. To reduce this tension, they might downplay the risks or justify their behavior.

As the toxic behavior and bullying intensified, this group of people became even more convinced that I was "Crazy" and the real problem that needed to be dealt with.
This narrative gave them a convenient way to continue justifying their harmful behavior.

Both the members of the online Hate group and ICONOMI quickly labeled me as "Crazy," "Unreliable," and "Mentally Unstable" when I pushed back and defended myself against their malicious actions.

This type of behavior is typical of emotional abusers, especially Narcissists and Psychopaths.
They will go to great lengths to undermine and discredit their victims' credibility
—this is commonly known as gaslighting.

Gaslighting is a psychological manipulation tactic where the abuser causes the victim to question their own reality, memory, or sanity. In the context of your situation, it involves labeling the victim as "crazy" or "mentally unstable" to undermine their credibility.

By doing this, the abuser avoids accountability for their harmful actions, making the victim appear unreliable or irrational. In essence, the perpetrator shifts the focus away from their abusive behavior by discrediting the victim, which makes it harder for the victim to defend themselves or for others to believe them.

Unfortunately for both the Hate group and ICONOMI, several qualified medical professionals have been involved throughout these years, and their expert assessments directly contradict the narrative pushed by the group and ICONOMI platform.

I have been hospitalized on three different occasions due to the intense bullying, harassment, and stalking I endured. Following each of these hospitalizations, official medical reports were issued.

Each time, the medical professionals, including doctors and psychiatrists, reached the same conclusion:
I was cognitively healthy, clear-minded, and fully lucid.
I was not suffering from any disorders.

The sole issue I was experiencing was the psychological trauma and distress caused by ongoing harassment and the relentless abuse I had been subjected to.

First hospitalization april 2022

Medisch-Dossier-Rekem.pdf

strangling with a rope he found at his mother's. Safety measures can now be provided. There is a normal mood and sense of enjoyment. The patient mainly experiences a lot of stress and pressure at work. Often comes home exhausted, goes to bed early, and often doesn't have enough time to cook for themselves. Appetite is not reduced. There are no psychotic experiences.

Psychiatric status:

Consciousness intact, oriented. Cooperative but appears to minimize things at times, quickly dismisses matters. Appears to externalize rather. Mood appears normoform, affect reactive. Active suicidality, but no intention at present. Thinking normal in form and content. Reality testing and perception intact.

Medication:

None.

Second hospitalization may 2022

medisch-dossier-Asster.pdf

Psychiatric Condition at Discharge

The patient is somewhat reserved in conversation; otherwise, appropriate. Consciousness is clear; orientation is not impaired. Attention can be drawn and maintained. No memory gaps are observed. Intelligence is estimated to be above average. Judgment and critical thinking are intact. Thinking is normophrenic; coherent; no indications of delusions in content. Perception is not disturbed. Mood is neutral; affect modulates congruently; suicidal thoughts are expressed but seem more functional as a solution to his social problems and to facilitate further admission. Psychomotorically, the patient is adaptively present in the ward; no indications of impulse control or urge disorders.

Medical Details DSM Coding at Discharge

Date: 31/05/2022 AS1 CLINICAL DISORDERS 309.9 Unspecified Acute Adjustment Disorder AS4 PSYCHOSOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS Problems related to the social environmentWork-related problems Housing problems

GAF Score: 55

Primary Diagnosis:

Unspecified Acute Adjustment Disorder Due to mandatory MPG reporting to the government,

Asster uses DSM-IV for determining DSM coding.

Suicidal Intent at Discharge

S1 = Mild level of suicidal intent {S1}

Adjustment Disorder is a mental health condition characterized by emotional and behavioral symptoms that develop in response to a significant life stressor or change. These symptoms can be distressing and disruptive to a person's daily life. Adjustment Disorder is typically short-term, as it tends to improve as the individual adapts to the stressor or life change. Here's more information about Adjustment Disorder:

1. Symptoms: The symptoms of Adjustment Disorder can vary widely but often include:

   • Depression: Feeling sad, hopeless, or tearful.

   • Anxiety: Excessive worrying, nervousness, or restlessness.

   • Changes in behavior: Behavioral disturbances such as acting out, withdrawal from social activities, or engaging in reckless behavior.

   • Physical symptoms: Some people may experience physical complaints like headaches or stomachaches.

   • Difficulty concentrating: Problems with focus and decision-making.

   • Sleep disturbances: Difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep.

2. Causes: Adjustment Disorder is triggered by a specific life stressor or change. Common stressors that can lead to Adjustment Disorder include:

   • Major life events: Such as divorce or separation, the death of a loved one, job loss, or retirement.

   • Relationship problems: Conflict within a marriage or family.

   • Health issues: A serious illness, injury, or medical diagnosis.

   • Financial difficulties: Such as bankruptcy or foreclosure.

   • Academic or work-related stress: Such as failing an important exam or experiencing workplace harassment.

3. Duration: Adjustment Disorder typically develops within three months of the stressor and is considered acute. If the symptoms persist for more than six months after the stressor has ended, it may be diagnosed as a chronic form of Adjustment Disorder.

Adjustment Disorder is generally considered a manageable and treatable condition, and many individuals recover with appropriate support and intervention. If you or someone you know is experiencing symptoms of Adjustment Disorder, it's essential to seek help from a mental health professional for an accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment.

Third hospitalization March 2024

Reason for admission:
The patient has been under the care of Dr. Dams and her team for a few weeks now. Psychological testing was considered, but the patient could not afford it financially. There was a suspicion of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), alongside burnout, PTSD, and depression.

He has been harassed for two years by a group of people, and an investigation is supposedly ongoing with the police. The first report was dismissed, but now it seems there might be some progress. Some perpetrators reportedly confessed and expressed remorse. He has a pro bono lawyer who wants to review the case.

The situation began when he became an influencer in the cryptocurrency field. He manages a portfolio and operates a fully legal website. Things escalated when a classmate pressured him to trade outside the existing platform. Under pressure, he complied, but it turned out the money was illicit. Due to the stress, he lost a significant amount of money trading derivatives and futures. Eventually, his client could not go to the police since the money was criminal.

The result was that this client started sending more and more messages until the patient blocked him. This client then allegedly contacted the people working for him (including those who monitored his site for spam or racism) to defame him. He had plans to start a company offering a wide range of services—crypto, music, events—but this is no longer possible as people are now scared, and everyone has distanced themselves from him. They have not listened to his side of the story. His father has also distanced himself, and they have not seen each other for two years now.

Now, there is a large group of people who have abandoned him. Most have since stopped harassing him, but around ten individuals continue. He believes he has always clearly warned people about the risks, but they sometimes ignore his advice.

In recent days/weeks, he has stopped eating. He still has an appetite but lacks the energy to take care of himself. Self-care has become challenging.

He is mainly seeking help for his trauma, to worry less, and to become more socially active again.

I don't believe anyone could maintain their job or personal life while being subjected to relentless torment by an organized group of people. This becomes even more difficult when you're also expected to carry out one of the most demanding roles, like Trading.

It's a deliberate and calculated disruption of someone's life, and then using the effects of these cruel tactics as an excuse to justify your actions is nothing less than
Victim-Blaming and Gaslighting, as previously mentioned.
This form of manipulation shifts the blame onto the victim, denying their experience, and invalidating their feelings, all while concealing the abusers' wrongdoing.

Imagine trying to navigate the complexities of an incredibly demanding and stressful job—like mine, while facing a daily barrage of criticism and harassment from a malicious group of individuals.

They didn't just scrutinize my professional decisions but relentlessly attacked my personal character with unfaltering hostility. Every move I made was dissected and weaponized against me, creating an environment that felt utterly suffocating.

It’s an almost insurmountable challenge. No one should ever have to endure this in their professional life, let alone in such a high-stakes, pressure-filled role.
The weight of constant hostility can crush even the strongest individuals.

So yes for a long while I traded horribly.

Despite the relentless barrage of online Hate, I’ve found an unexpected silver lining:
it’s driven my trading performance to new heights. The constant negativity forced me to evolve, sharpen my tools, and refine my methods in ways I never thought possible.

While enduring this overwhelming challenge, I pushed myself further, deepened my expertise, and ultimately proved that I could rise above it all. It wasn’t just about surviving the onslaught—it became about thriving despite it.

Through sheer determination and resilience, I transformed Hate into fuel for growth and success. This journey not only fortified my trading skills but also allowed me to rediscover my own strength and capabilities.

While online Hate undoubtedly leaves scars, it has also gifted me invaluable lessons on perseverance, resilience, and self-understanding. In a way, I’m even grateful for the unexpected opportunities for personal and professional growth that arose from this adversity.

1. Lack of Boundaries (People-Pleasing):

You continuously let people push your boundaries, from giving in to Bart Roggen’s demands to taking on unnecessary responsibilities for others. You had a clear sense of discomfort but ignored it, trying to accommodate others’ unreasonable requests. This led to you being manipulated, exploited, and ultimately burned out. You didn't prioritize your own well-being, and it caused a cascade of problems.

Mistake: You allowed external pressure to dictate your actions instead of setting firm boundaries and saying "no" when necessary. People took advantage of this, and you gave away more power than you should have.

2. Inability to Cut Toxic People Off Early:

You continued to engage with people like Bart and Athila long after they started showing red flags. Rather than cutting them off at the first sign of manipulation or betrayal, you remained in these relationships, hoping things would resolve. You held onto unhealthy business and personal connections longer than necessary.

Mistake: You let toxic people linger in your life and business, leading to deeper betrayals. You didn’t pull the plug early enough when things were clearly going south.

3. Overextending Yourself:

You took on more than you could handle, managing multiple projects like your ICONOMI strategies, personal trading, business ventures, and the NFT project. This overextension weakened your ability to perform well in any of these roles, resulting in burnout and poor decision-making. Trying to juggle everything and please everyone led to failures across the board.

Mistake: You lacked focus and spread yourself too thin. You didn’t delegate enough or scale back when the pressure became too much.

4. Poor Risk Management:

In the world of high-leverage trading, you already knew the risks, yet you continued to make increasingly reckless decisions in an attempt to recover losses. This was driven by desperation, and it led to even more financial damage. Instead of stepping back and reassessing, you made things worse by trying to “fix” everything with high-stakes trades.

After my suicide attempt, a few members of the Hate group, like Jan Dello, chose to leave. Some others stopped publicly attacking or harassing me, but the majority of the group remained convinced I was the problem and needed to be taken down.

In fact, some of them even escalated their efforts.

By Christmas 2022, I had reached my limit with the ongoing attacks and sabotage.

I decided to take the offensive, posting evidence of the threats I had received from Bart Roggen, as well as conversations that clearly showed how much effort I had put into reasoning with him.

At this point, Bart's web of lies finally began to unravel.

To be continued..

This post is still a work in progress.

In the future, it will be updated with new developments, the results of the upcoming police investigations, and the progress of the upcoming lawsuits.