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{"actor":"system:backfill","investigation_id":"1b3f9d04-ddf3-40e6-949a-320eec1d9d5e","kind":"publish","page_slug":"the-onyx-reserve","published_at":"2026-10-03T12:08:02.162Z","sequence_num":1,"snapshot":{"content_type":"investigation","entity_name":"The Onyx Reserve","sections":[{"content":"The Onyx Reserve is incorporated in Delaware as Onyx Reserve Fund LLC (SEC CIK 0002082305). The entity filed an initial Form D with the SEC on August 21, 2025, seeking to raise up to $50 million through a Regulation D Rule 506(c) private placement restricted to accredited investors, with a minimum investment of $100,000. The first investor sale date was October 3, 2025. An amended Form D filed February 11, 2026 reported $410,000 raised from two investors. No sales commissions or finders fees were reported. Eric McNeil is listed as President and Tom Shields is listed as a senior executive officer in the filing. Regulation D registration is an exemption filing and does not represent SEC approval of or endorsement for the offering or its performance claims. The entity's registered address is 8 The Green, Suite A, Dover, DE 19901; operations have been publicly associated with South Florida. McNeil has described a prior closed fund and a subsequent Signature Estates Fund focused on luxury real estate. A proposed Fund II was described publicly as targeting a $100 million capital raise, representing a fundraising target and not committed capital. Shields clarified that a publicly cited $21 million figure refers to aggregate contracted property values across four units, not deployed investor capital. Avestor has been identified by McNeil as the third-party fund administrator responsible for banking access and K-1 investor reporting. No audited financial statements or independently verified performance records have been made publicly available.","heading":"Entity Overview and SEC Filings","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"ONYX RESERVE FUND LLC — Form D Filing (SEC EDGAR via formds.com)","type":"regulatory","url":"https://www.formds.com/issuers/onyx-reserve-fund-llc"},{"credibility":2,"name":"The Onyx Reserve Exposed: Eric McNeil, Tom Shields, 100% Returns & a $100M Fund (Danny de Hek / Substack)","type":"community_report","url":"https://dehek.substack.com/p/the-onyx-reserve-exposed-eric-mcneil"}]},{"content":"UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture became concerned after a fellow fighter was approached about investing in The Onyx Reserve. Couture posed as a prospective investor and conducted a recorded phone call with McNeil. During that call, McNeil allegedly stated the fund's strategy was up more than 101% for the year and had delivered returns exceeding 100% in each of four consecutive years. McNeil also allegedly proposed a referral arrangement under which Couture would receive approximately 5% per year on capital he introduced — $50,000 annually per $1,000,000 referred, paid monthly. Promotional materials attributed to McNeil separately described passive income of 5-7% every month. Coffeezilla's investigation characterized these return claims as Ponzi hallmarks. McNeil has denied this characterization, stating that the historical strategy operated as a fund-of-funds in which Onyx was not the underlying trader, and that he was conveying performance information supplied by external managers. He stated investors were able to withdraw their capital. No court or regulatory body has adjudicated whether the return claims were fraudulent as of this filing.","heading":"Return Claims and Investment Pitch","severity":"critical","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Coffeezilla EXPOSES The Onyx Reserve! Eric McNeil, SHIFT AI & The 'Other Journalist' (YouTube)","type":"other","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vQGxXbZ4qY"},{"credibility":3,"name":"Former UFC Champ Exposes Investment Pitch Aimed at Fellow Fighter (BVM Sports)","type":"news_article","url":"https://bvmsports.com/2026/09/29/former-ufc-champ-exposes-investment-pitch-aimed-at-fellow-fighter-ufc-fighter-accidentally-exposes-a-huge-scam/"},{"credibility":3,"name":"Former UFC Champ Accidentally Exposes A Huge Scam (LowKickMMA)","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.lowkickmma.com/former-ufc-champ-accidentally-exposes-huge-scam/"}]},{"content":"The Coffeezilla investigation identified approximately 850 trades spanning four years that were presented as evidence of fund performance, described by McNeil as pulled directly from Binance. According to the investigation, certain trades in those records showed identical opening and closing timestamps while recording substantial profits, in some cases approaching $40,000 per trade — an anomaly the investigation characterized as inconsistent with genuine execution data. The underlying trading records could not be independently reconciled against original Binance account data by investigators. Offering documents reportedly named David Rosenbaum, a CPA, as the reviewer of those trading records. When Coffeezilla contacted the individual identified as Rosenbaum, he allegedly stated he had no idea how his name appeared on the documents, did not know the people involved, and had no knowledge of the operation. McNeil has stated that Onyx was not itself executing the underlying trades, that performance information came from external managers via a fund-of-funds structure, and that the identity of those managers has not been publicly disclosed. If the CPA denial is accurate, it would represent a material misrepresentation in investor-facing materials. These anomalies and the CPA account are alleged by Coffeezilla and have not been adjudicated in any legal proceeding.","heading":"Trading Record Anomalies and CPA Documentation Concerns","severity":"critical","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Coffeezilla EXPOSES The Onyx Reserve! Eric McNeil, SHIFT AI & The 'Other Journalist' (YouTube)","type":"other","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vQGxXbZ4qY"},{"credibility":2,"name":"The Onyx Reserve Exposed: Eric McNeil, Tom Shields, 100% Returns & a $100M Fund (Danny de Hek / Substack)","type":"community_report","url":"https://dehek.substack.com/p/the-onyx-reserve-exposed-eric-mcneil"}]},{"content":"Investigators identified overlapping personnel and service providers between The Onyx Reserve and Goliath Ventures. The most directly documented overlap is Matt Burks, who appeared on The Onyx Reserve's team page in an operations role and was simultaneously associated with Goliath Ventures as Head of Compliance and with BlackBlock Management Services — the same BlackBlock entity listed as a compliance provider in Onyx Reserve materials. When the connection became public, McNeil and Shields stated they had immediately removed Burks' name from all materials after conducting due diligence into his Goliath affiliation. They denied sending any investor funds to Burks or Goliath Ventures and denied any organizational affiliation with Goliath or Christopher Delgado. Coffeezilla additionally alleged other organizational overlaps beyond Burks, including the law firm Alston and Bird, which provided legal services to Goliath Ventures and which Goliath investors have separately sued for malpractice. The extent to which any shared service providers indicate operational coordination between the two entities has not been established through regulatory findings or court proceedings. McNeil and Shields are not named in the Goliath Ventures CFTC complaint, the DOJ case against Delgado, or the SEC civil complaint.","heading":"Personnel Overlaps with Goliath Ventures","severity":"high","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"The Onyx Reserve Exposed: Eric McNeil, Tom Shields, 100% Returns & a $100M Fund (Danny de Hek / Substack)","type":"community_report","url":"https://dehek.substack.com/p/the-onyx-reserve-exposed-eric-mcneil"},{"credibility":2,"name":"CFTC Complaint Details Alleged $397 Million Ponzi Scheme Involving Crypto Trading by Goliath Ventures and CEO (SCCG Management)","type":"news_article","url":"https://sccgmanagement.com/sccg-articles/2026/08/12/cftc-complaint-details-alleged-397-million-ponzi-scheme-involving-crypto-trading-by-goliath-ventures-and-ceo/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Alston and Bird, Banks Sued Again Over $328M Goliath Scam (Law360)","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.law360.com/commercialcontracts/articles/2478258"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Christopher Delgado and Matt Burks: Goliath Ventures, BlackBlock, and the Compliance Illusion (YouTube)","type":"other","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UtIT4zb6TM"}]},{"content":"Goliath Ventures Inc., formerly known as Gen-Z Venture Firm, was operated by Christopher Alexander Delgado from at least January 2023 through January 2026. The CFTC and SEC filed parallel civil enforcement actions on August 11-12, 2026. The CFTC complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, alleged that Delgado and Goliath Ventures fraudulently solicited approximately $397 million from roughly 1,600 customers with false promises of returns generated through cryptocurrency liquidity pools, misappropriated all customer funds, and issued false account statements showing nonexistent gains. The SEC's parallel complaint alleged a scheme raising at least $425 million from more than 1,300 investors. On June 30, 2026, Delgado pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud (two counts), and money laundering. Under his plea agreement, Delgado admitted to approximately $250 million in investor losses and agreed to forfeit eight residential properties valued between $1.15 million and $8.5 million each, eleven vehicles including Lamborghinis and Rolls-Royces, thirty watches, over fifty luxury bags, and twenty-nine pieces of jewelry. His sentencing hearing was scheduled for October 8, 2026; he faces a maximum of twenty years per fraud count and ten years for money laundering. These proceedings relate to Goliath Ventures and Christopher Delgado only. They do not constitute findings against The Onyx Reserve, Eric McNeil, or Tom Shields.","heading":"Goliath Ventures: Background and Legal Proceedings","severity":"critical","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"Goliath Ventures CEO pleads guilty to cryptocurrency fraud scheme conspiracy (IRS Criminal Investigation)","type":"regulatory","url":"https://www.irs.gov/compliance/criminal-investigation/goliath-ventures-ceo-pleads-guilty-to-cryptocurrency-fraud-scheme-conspiracy"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Goliath Ventures CEO Pleads Guilty in $400 Million Crypto Ponzi Case (CoinDesk)","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2026/07/01/goliath-ventures-ceo-pleads-guilty-in-usd400-million-crypto-ponzi-case"},{"credibility":2,"name":"SEC and CFTC Hit Goliath Ventures With Parallel Crypto Fraud Complaints (Yahoo Finance)","type":"news_article","url":"https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/crypto/articles/sec-cftc-hit-goliath-ventures-045954873.html"},{"credibility":2,"name":"CFTC Complaint Details Alleged $397 Million Ponzi Scheme Involving Crypto Trading by Goliath Ventures and CEO (SCCG Management)","type":"news_article","url":"https://sccgmanagement.com/sccg-articles/2026/08/12/cftc-complaint-details-alleged-397-million-ponzi-scheme-involving-crypto-trading-by-goliath-ventures-and-ceo/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"CFTC Sues Goliath Ventures Over $397 Million Crypto Ponzi Scheme (Finance Magnates)","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/cftc-sues-goliath-ventures-over-397-million-crypto-ponzi-scheme/"}]},{"content":"The Onyx Reserve first came to investigative attention in the course of reporting on Goliath Ventures. Randy Couture, the UFC Hall of Famer, became concerned after fighter Dan Ige was approached about the investment. Couture conducted an undercover recorded call with McNeil and forwarded evidence to Hindenburg Research, which investigated the operation before the firm shut down without publishing. Coffeezilla subsequently obtained Hindenburg's case file and data room and continued the investigation. On December 20, 2025, McNeil and Shields reportedly contacted investigator Danny de Hek after seeing public reporting about Goliath Ventures, specifically inquiring about Matt Burks. De Hek published a detailed Substack investigation incorporating a late response from the principals on August 21, 2026. Coffeezilla's video investigation was published in late September 2026 and reached approximately 1.2 million views within its first seven hours — a figure reported by de Hek on social media and not independently confirmed through a Tier 1 source. Coffeezilla stated as his investigative opinion that the historical operation was an obvious Ponzi scheme, while noting no legal finding had established that conclusion. McNeil and Shields have denied all allegations of fraud and disputed the characterization.","heading":"Investigative History and Public Exposure","severity":"high","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Coffeezilla EXPOSES The Onyx Reserve! Eric McNeil, SHIFT AI & The 'Other Journalist' (YouTube)","type":"other","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vQGxXbZ4qY"},{"credibility":2,"name":"The Onyx Reserve Exposed: Eric McNeil, Tom Shields, 100% Returns & a $100M Fund (Danny de Hek / Substack)","type":"community_report","url":"https://dehek.substack.com/p/the-onyx-reserve-exposed-eric-mcneil"},{"credibility":3,"name":"Former UFC Champ Accidentally Exposes A Huge Scam (LowKickMMA)","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.lowkickmma.com/former-ufc-champ-accidentally-exposes-huge-scam/"},{"credibility":3,"name":"DANNY DE HEK on X — Coffeezilla video and 1.2M views report","type":"social_media","url":"https://x.com/dehek/status/2105051910709604522"}]},{"content":"As of October 3, 2026, no public record has been located of any SEC, CFTC, DOJ, or other regulatory enforcement action specifically naming The Onyx Reserve, Onyx Reserve Fund LLC, Eric McNeil, or Tom Shields. The entity's Regulation D filing is an exemption notice and does not reflect SEC review or approval of the fund's disclosures or performance claims. The absence of a confirmed enforcement action at this date should not be read as exoneration: Coffeezilla's video was published only days before this filing, and regulatory proceedings typically lag public disclosure events by months or years. Investors who believe they placed capital with any Onyx Reserve fund may consider reporting concerns to the SEC at sec.gov/tcr or the CFTC at cftc.gov/complaint and consulting qualified legal counsel.","heading":"Regulatory Status and Absence of Enforcement Action","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"ONYX RESERVE FUND LLC — Form D Filing (SEC EDGAR via formds.com)","type":"regulatory","url":"https://www.formds.com/issuers/onyx-reserve-fund-llc"}]}],"sources_used":[{"credibility":1,"name":"ONYX RESERVE FUND LLC — Form D Filing (SEC EDGAR via formds.com)","type":"regulatory","url":"https://www.formds.com/issuers/onyx-reserve-fund-llc"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Goliath Ventures CEO pleads guilty to cryptocurrency fraud scheme conspiracy (IRS Criminal Investigation)","type":"regulatory","url":"https://www.irs.gov/compliance/criminal-investigation/goliath-ventures-ceo-pleads-guilty-to-cryptocurrency-fraud-scheme-conspiracy"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Goliath Ventures CEO Pleads Guilty in $400 Million Crypto Ponzi Case (CoinDesk)","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2026/07/01/goliath-ventures-ceo-pleads-guilty-in-usd400-million-crypto-ponzi-case"},{"credibility":2,"name":"SEC and CFTC Hit Goliath Ventures With Parallel Crypto Fraud Complaints (Yahoo Finance)","type":"news_article","url":"https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/crypto/articles/sec-cftc-hit-goliath-ventures-045954873.html"},{"credibility":2,"name":"CFTC Complaint Details Alleged $397 Million Ponzi Scheme Involving Crypto Trading by Goliath Ventures and CEO (SCCG Management)","type":"news_article","url":"https://sccgmanagement.com/sccg-articles/2026/08/12/cftc-complaint-details-alleged-397-million-ponzi-scheme-involving-crypto-trading-by-goliath-ventures-and-ceo/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"CFTC Sues Goliath Ventures Over $397 Million Crypto Ponzi Scheme (Finance Magnates)","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/cftc-sues-goliath-ventures-over-397-million-crypto-ponzi-scheme/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Coffeezilla EXPOSES The Onyx Reserve! Eric McNeil, SHIFT AI & The 'Other Journalist' (YouTube)","type":"other","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vQGxXbZ4qY"},{"credibility":2,"name":"The Onyx Reserve Exposed: Eric McNeil, Tom Shields, 100% Returns & a $100M Fund (Danny de Hek / Substack)","type":"community_report","url":"https://dehek.substack.com/p/the-onyx-reserve-exposed-eric-mcneil"},{"credibility":3,"name":"Former UFC Champ Exposes Investment Pitch Aimed at Fellow Fighter (BVM Sports)","type":"news_article","url":"https://bvmsports.com/2026/09/29/former-ufc-champ-exposes-investment-pitch-aimed-at-fellow-fighter-ufc-fighter-accidentally-exposes-a-huge-scam/"},{"credibility":3,"name":"Former UFC Champ Accidentally Exposes A Huge Scam (LowKickMMA)","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.lowkickmma.com/former-ufc-champ-accidentally-exposes-huge-scam/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Alston and Bird, Banks Sued Again Over $328M Goliath Scam (Law360)","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.law360.com/commercialcontracts/articles/2478258"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Christopher Delgado and Matt Burks: Goliath Ventures, BlackBlock, and the Compliance Illusion (YouTube)","type":"other","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UtIT4zb6TM"},{"credibility":3,"name":"DANNY DE HEK on X — Coffeezilla video and 1.2M views report","type":"social_media","url":"https://x.com/dehek/status/2105051910709604522"},{"credibility":3,"name":"Coffeezilla on X — warning investors about Eric McNeil offering 5-10% monthly","type":"social_media","url":"https://x.com/coffeebreak_YT/status/2044465052019786007"}],"summary":"The Onyx Reserve is a private alternative-investment operation incorporated in Delaware as Onyx Reserve Fund LLC, operated by Eric McNeil (President and Fund Manager) and Tom Shields (Head of Founder Relations / Senior Investor Relations), targeting accredited investors under a Regulation D, Rule 506(c) offering. In late September 2026, investigative journalist Coffeezilla published a YouTube investigation alleging the fund's historical operations bore hallmark characteristics of a Ponzi scheme, citing claimed returns exceeding 100% annually for four consecutive years, trading records with anomalous timestamps, a CPA named in offering documents who reportedly denied any knowledge of the fund, and documented personnel overlaps with Goliath Ventures — a separately charged $397-425 million crypto Ponzi whose CEO, Christopher Delgado, pleaded guilty to federal wire fraud and money laundering charges on June 30, 2026. McNeil and Shields deny all allegations and deny any operational affiliation with Goliath Ventures. No regulatory enforcement action against The Onyx Reserve or its principals had been publicly announced as of the date of this filing.","timeline":[{"date":"2023-01-01","event":"Goliath Ventures, later linked by investigators to Onyx Reserve personnel, begins operating as an alleged Ponzi scheme per the CFTC complaint.","source":"CFTC Complaint via SCCG Management","source_url":"https://sccgmanagement.com/sccg-articles/2026/08/12/cftc-complaint-details-alleged-397-million-ponzi-scheme-involving-crypto-trading-by-goliath-ventures-and-ceo/"},{"date":"2025-08-21","event":"Onyx Reserve Fund LLC files initial Form D with the SEC, targeting a $50 million Regulation D Rule 506(c) offering with a $100,000 minimum investment.","source":"ONYX RESERVE FUND LLC Form D Filing","source_url":"https://www.formds.com/issuers/onyx-reserve-fund-llc"},{"date":"2025-10-03","event":"First investor sale date under the current Onyx Reserve Fund LLC Regulation D offering.","source":"ONYX RESERVE FUND LLC Form D Filing","source_url":"https://www.formds.com/issuers/onyx-reserve-fund-llc"},{"date":"2025-12-20","event":"Eric McNeil and Tom Shields reportedly contact investigator Danny de Hek after seeing public reporting about Goliath Ventures, inquiring specifically about Matt Burks.","source":"The Onyx Reserve Exposed (Danny de Hek / Substack)","source_url":"https://dehek.substack.com/p/the-onyx-reserve-exposed-eric-mcneil"},{"date":"2026-02-11","event":"Onyx Reserve Fund LLC files a Form D amendment reporting $410,000 raised from two investors.","source":"ONYX RESERVE FUND LLC Form D Filing","source_url":"https://www.formds.com/issuers/onyx-reserve-fund-llc"},{"date":"2026-06-30","event":"Christopher Delgado, CEO of Goliath Ventures, pleads guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering in the Middle District of Florida. Admitted losses of approximately $250 million.","source":"IRS Criminal Investigation press release","source_url":"https://www.irs.gov/compliance/criminal-investigation/goliath-ventures-ceo-pleads-guilty-to-cryptocurrency-fraud-scheme-conspiracy"},{"date":"2026-08-11","event":"SEC files a parallel civil enforcement complaint against Goliath Ventures and Christopher Delgado alleging a $425 million fraud involving more than 1,300 investors.","source":"Yahoo Finance — SEC and CFTC Hit Goliath Ventures","source_url":"https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/crypto/articles/sec-cftc-hit-goliath-ventures-045954873.html"},{"date":"2026-08-12","event":"CFTC files a civil enforcement complaint against Goliath Ventures and Delgado in the U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida, alleging approximately 1,600 customers lost at least $397 million.","source":"SCCG Management — CFTC Complaint Details","source_url":"https://sccgmanagement.com/sccg-articles/2026/08/12/cftc-complaint-details-alleged-397-million-ponzi-scheme-involving-crypto-trading-by-goliath-ventures-and-ceo/"},{"date":"2026-08-21","event":"Danny de Hek publishes investigation into The Onyx Reserve on Substack, incorporating right-of-reply responses from McNeil and Shields.","source":"The Onyx Reserve Exposed (Danny de Hek / Substack)","source_url":"https://dehek.substack.com/p/the-onyx-reserve-exposed-eric-mcneil"},{"date":"2026-09-29","event":"Coffeezilla publishes YouTube investigation into The Onyx Reserve, alleging Ponzi hallmarks including anomalous trading records and CPA denial. Video reaches approximately 1.2 million views within seven hours per social media reports. BVM Sports and LowKickMMA report Randy Couture's undercover call with McNeil.","source":"Coffeezilla YouTube / BVM Sports / Danny de Hek on X","source_url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vQGxXbZ4qY"},{"date":"2026-10-08","event":"Sentencing hearing for Christopher Delgado (Goliath Ventures) scheduled in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.","source":"IRS Criminal Investigation press release","source_url":"https://www.irs.gov/compliance/criminal-investigation/goliath-ventures-ceo-pleads-guilty-to-cryptocurrency-fraud-scheme-conspiracy"}]},"v":1}