{"id":355557,"date":"2025-08-19T01:18:17","date_gmt":"2025-08-19T01:18:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/355557\/"},"modified":"2025-08-19T01:18:17","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T01:18:17","slug":"new-zealand-authorities-issue-warning-over-david-sevelles-lightweb-internet-scheme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/355557\/","title":{"rendered":"New Zealand authorities issue warning over David Sevelle’s ‘Lightweb’ internet scheme"},"content":{"rendered":"

A New Zealand government authority has issued a warning about an “ethical” internet scheme founded by an Australian man using a false name.<\/p>\n

It comes after the ABC revealed that the Australian corporate regulator was making “preliminary inquiries” into the alternative internet project<\/a>, called the Equilux Lightweb, pitched as the opposite of the dark web through its requirement that users verify their identity to stop online crime.<\/p>\n

As many as 2,000 people from around the world, including from Australia, New Zealand, the UK and the US, have poured $19 million into the Lightweb startup, according to internal company records.<\/p>\n

Lightweb’s founder calls himself David Stryker, but his real name is David Sevelle, a NSW man with a history of investments that failed to pay off and who has previously been sanctioned by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).<\/p>\n

Mr Sevelle’s latest Lightweb scheme, which trades under various names including StrykerFusion, has drawn the ire of New Zealand authorities by promoting its online webinars.<\/p>\n

New Zealand’s financial watchdog, the Financial Markets Authority (FMA), said it “recommends caution” when dealing with the Lightweb scheme and its related entities, noting that the companies were not registered in New Zealand and were promoting “unrealistic returns”.<\/p>\n

\n

“StrykerFusion and its associated entities are not registered on the Financial Service Register to provide financial services or products in New Zealand,” the warning states.<\/p>\n

“StrykerFusion is not a member of any approved dispute resolution scheme. If investors have complaints about StrykerFusion, they will not be able to seek a resolution through an approved dispute resolution scheme.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Do you know more about this or have a similar story? Email\u00a0<\/strong>turner-cohen.alex@abc.net.au<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A Facebook advertisement promoting Lightweb’s online webinars.\u00a0 (Facebook)<\/p>\n

The government agency said it was concerned about the scheme’s claims, particularly that “early investors will earn multiples of their investment back in the space of a few years”.<\/p>\n

“The FMA believes StrykerFusion’s claims about investment returns are unsubstantiated and unrealistic,” the warning reads.<\/p>\n

The release went on to say that Mr Sevelle, the scheme’s founder, had received a lifetime ban from providing financial services in Australia, and had been going by the name David Stryker, which the ABC unearthed earlier this month.<\/p>\n

Mr Sevelle was contacted for comment on the latest developments, but he did not immediately respond.<\/p>\n

He previously declined an interview with the ABC, but stated in writing that he and the Lightweb platform had done nothing wrong.<\/p>\n

In his previous statement to the ABC, Mr Sevelle said he had not lied about his real identity and was simply using a “professional name”, the same way actors, writers and influencers did, comparing himself to Marilyn Monroe and John Wayne.<\/p>\n

Loading…Past scheme<\/p>\n

The Australia financial regulator, ASIC, sued Mr Sevelle in 2006 for running an unregistered property investment scheme that left 70 “unsophisticated” investors out of pocket to the tune of $13 million.<\/p>\n

The scheme, called Mega Money, operated in the Central Coast, Hunter Valley, South Coast and Canberra regions.<\/p>\n

In a previous statement to the ABC, Mr Sevelle said “there was no impropriety” in the Mega Money collapse and that he was not fined or charged.<\/p>\n

Mr Sevelle was banned permanently through court-ordered enforceable undertakings from providing financial advice, dealing in financial products, and carrying on a financial services business, including through the promotion and operation of any managed investment scheme.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

An advertisement for the Lightweb platform, previously named the Galaxy Lightweb. (Supplied)<\/p>\n

In the wake of the initial media reporting, Mr Sevelle held a crisis and said customers could not receive refunds<\/a> anymore while he prepared for a “class action” against the ABC.<\/p>\n

At one point in the meeting, Mr Sevelle asked: “Who is going to benefit from our demise?”<\/p>\n

He answered his own question: “Definitely the Australian government if they can affect it \u2026 not blaming the Australian government just yet, but they’re definitely involved now through the ABC.”<\/p>\n

\"David<\/p>\n

David Sevelle has been promoting an “ethical” internet scheme called the Lightweb, which is yet to launch. (Facebook)<\/p>\n

Since the meeting, Mr Sevelle wrote an email to customers.<\/p>\n

“I will not shy away from controversy, but rather I will walk towards it, as I have taught, when there is a situation where there are two distinct truths, they will be contested,” the email read.<\/p>\n

“There will be only 1 victor when the intellectual battle plays out.”<\/p>\n

He also said: “It is said it took Noah 50 years to build the ark with 8 persons. We are building an ark to house all of humankind within.”<\/p>\n

ASIC has previously told the ABC it was making “preliminary inquiries” into the Lightweb scheme.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A New Zealand government authority has issued a warning about an “ethical” internet scheme founded by an Australian…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":323485,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3161],"tags":[32072,116904,116909,125379,125381,3082,116908,704,125380,53,16,15,125378,2711],"class_list":{"0":"post-355557","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-internet","8":"tag-asic","9":"tag-david-sevelle","10":"tag-david-stryker","11":"tag-equilux-lightweb","12":"tag-financial-markets-authority","13":"tag-internet","14":"tag-lightweb","15":"tag-new-zealand","16":"tag-strykerfusion","17":"tag-technology","18":"tag-uk","19":"tag-united-kingdom","20":"tag-unrealistic-returns","21":"tag-warning"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115052800083325765","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355557","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=355557"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355557\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/323485"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=355557"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=355557"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=355557"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}