Winimark Wealth Society & Professor James Caldwell Investigation
Case Type: Cryptocurrency Scam / Investment Investigation
Case ID: CASE-2026-006
Investigation Status: Open
Published: August 2026
Investigated By: Cyb3rsect.com
Executive Summary
Cyb3rsect.com has opened an investigation into Winimark Wealth Society and Professor James Caldwell following an official consumer alert issued by the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI), Securities Division.
DFI published its alert on June 12, 2026, identifying the subjects as:
Winimark Wealth Society
Professor James Caldwell
The agency categorized the matter as a Cryptocurrency Scam and listed a reported loss of approximately $200,000. DFI expressly states that the factual details and reported losses have not been independently verified by the agency. (dfi.wa.gov)
According to DFI, Winimark presented itself as a global fintech education company founded by a self-described “professor” named James Caldwell.
The organization reportedly used winimark.com, which DFI states is no longer accessible.
DFI further reports that Winimark claimed to have been founded in 2009, while business records indicated that the company was not incorporated until March 2025.
The website reportedly promoted a cryptocurrency called the WMT token and an artificial-intelligence financial decision-making system called Evo AI.
According to the complaint received by DFI, an investor communicated with Winimark through WhatsApp and subsequently invested approximately $200,000.
The investor reportedly saw the purported investment value increase to approximately $19 million, but was never able to withdraw the original investment or the purported profits.
These allegations remain unverified.
Investigation Status: OPEN
1. Subjects Identified
The official DFI alert identifies:
Winimark Wealth Society
and
Professor James Caldwell
DFI describes Winimark as claiming to be a global fintech education company.
The agency states that Winimark used the domain:
winimark.com
and that the domain was no longer accessible when DFI issued its alert. (dfi.wa.gov)
2. Official Regulatory Alert
The Washington State Department of Financial Institutions published its Winimark alert on:
June 12, 2026
The agency listed:
Reported Loss: $200,000
Scam Category: Cryptocurrency Scams
DFI’s statewide investment scam tracker also records Winimark Wealth Society and Professor James Caldwell under its 2026 cryptocurrency scam alerts. (dfi.wa.gov)
The agency states that it cannot assist consumers in recovering lost cryptocurrency funds.
DFI also emphasizes that the factual details and reported losses in the complaint have not been verified.
3. The Winimark Foundation Date Discrepancy
One of the most significant investigative issues concerns the claimed founding date of Winimark.
Winimark’s own published material states that the organization was founded in 2009 by James Caldwell.
The company’s published biography describes Caldwell as having developed the organization around financial education, investment strategies and artificial intelligence. (winimarkwealth.com)
However, the Washington State DFI reports that business records showed Winimark was not incorporated until March 2025. (dfi.wa.gov)
This creates a significant discrepancy between the organization’s claimed history and the incorporation information identified by the regulator.
The two dates should not automatically be treated as mutually exclusive.
For example, a business could theoretically operate informally before later incorporation.
However, the difference is significant enough to warrant further corporate-record investigation.
4. The Winimark Website
According to DFI, Winimark used winimark.com, which was no longer accessible when the agency published its warning.
Publicly indexed Winimark material describes the organization as a global fintech education company.
The published material says the organization was founded by James Caldwell and describes its focus as financial education, investment strategy and technology.
The website material also promoted:
Evo AI
and
WMT Token
as components of the Winimark ecosystem.
Because the original domain is no longer accessible, archived website records and historical technical evidence may be particularly important to reconstruct what investors were shown.
5. Evo AI
Winimark’s published material describes EvoAI as an artificial-intelligence system intended to analyze financial markets and investor behavior and provide personalized investment strategies.
The company’s website material describes the system as a core component of its investment strategy and educational model. (winimarkwealth.com)
The existence of an AI product or the use of artificial intelligence in financial services does not itself indicate fraud.
However, any claims concerning:
- Trading performance
- Investment returns
- AI accuracy
- Profitability
- Assets managed
- Regulatory approval
should be independently verified.
6. The WMT Token
DFI reports that Winimark’s website contained a white paper for a cryptocurrency identified as the:
WMT Token
The token was presented as part of Winimark’s ecosystem.
A proper digital investigation should establish:
- The token’s blockchain network.
- Contract address.
- Token supply.
- Creation date.
- Holder distribution.
- Trading venues.
- Liquidity.
- Transaction activity.
- Developer-controlled wallets.
- Whether the token was independently tradable.
- Whether the token had a verifiable market value.
A token appearing on a website or in a white paper does not establish that it possesses meaningful market value.
7. Alleged WhatsApp Recruitment
According to the DFI complaint, the investor communicated with Winimark through WhatsApp.
The investor subsequently invested approximately:
$200,000
The use of WhatsApp in an investment solicitation is not itself evidence of fraud.
However, when a financial opportunity is promoted through private messaging, consumers should independently verify:
- The legal entity.
- The representative’s identity.
- Regulatory authorization.
- The investment agreement.
- Custody arrangements.
- Withdrawal procedures.
8. The Alleged $19 Million Account
According to the complaint received by DFI, the investor’s purported investment value eventually reached approximately:
$19,000,000
The investor reportedly was unable to withdraw either the original investment or the purported profits. (dfi.wa.gov)
This is one of the most important aspects of the case.
A displayed account balance is not necessarily equivalent to real assets.
A forensic investigation should attempt to establish whether the purported $19 million represented:
- Actual cryptocurrency.
- Cryptocurrency held in identifiable wallets.
- Securities.
- Cash.
- Assets held by a custodian.
- Or merely an internal platform balance.
Without independent evidence, the reported $19 million should be treated as a purported account value, not as verified assets.
9. The Alleged Investment Sequence
Based on the DFI complaint, the reported sequence was:
WhatsApp communication
↓
Introduction to Winimark
↓
Investor deposits approximately $200,000
↓
Platform purportedly shows substantial gains
↓
Account value reportedly reaches approximately $19 million
↓
Investor attempts to withdraw funds
↓
Withdrawal reportedly does not occur
↓
Original investment and purported profits reportedly remain inaccessible
This sequence warrants further investigation.
10. Corporate Investigation
The discrepancy between Winimark’s claimed founding date and the incorporation information reported by DFI makes corporate-record research particularly important.
Investigators should establish:
- The legal entity’s exact name.
- Date of incorporation.
- State or jurisdiction of incorporation.
- Registered agent.
- Directors and officers.
- Business addresses.
- Historical addresses.
- Corporate filings.
- Related entities.
- Associated domains.
- Regulatory registrations.
- Financial licenses.
Corporate records can help distinguish a genuine operating history from a later-created entity using an older claimed founding date.
11. Identity Investigation
The identity of Professor James Caldwell is another major investigative question.
Publicly published Winimark material describes Caldwell as the organization’s founder and presents extensive professional claims.
Those claims should be independently verified through authoritative records.
Potential verification targets include:
- Educational credentials.
- Professional history.
- Financial-industry employment.
- Professional licenses.
- FINRA registrations.
- Regulatory records.
- Corporate records.
- Published professional history.
- Photographic identity.
- Related social-media accounts.
The purpose of identity verification is not to assume that a claimed identity is false.
It is to determine whether the person presented to investors can be independently established.
12. Regulatory Verification
DFI specifically advises consumers to exercise extreme caution before responding to investment solicitations and notes that investment professionals need appropriate licensing to offer investments to Washington residents.
Consumers can independently check financial professionals through resources such as FINRA BrokerCheck and applicable state regulatory databases. (dfi.wa.gov)
A professional title such as “Professor,” “Advisor,” “Executive Chairman” or “Investment Strategist” does not establish regulatory authorization.
Licensing should always be verified independently.
13. Digital Forensics
Because the original winimark.com website is reportedly no longer accessible, historical digital evidence may be important.
Investigators may examine:
- Archived versions of the website.
- Domain registration history.
- DNS records.
- Hosting records.
- SSL certificates.
- Historical IP addresses.
- Website source code.
- Analytics identifiers.
- Advertising identifiers.
- Email infrastructure.
- Associated domains.
- Cryptocurrency addresses.
- Historical social-media accounts.
Historical website captures may reveal exactly what prospective investors were shown at different stages.
14. Blockchain Investigation
If the WMT token has a verifiable blockchain contract, investigators can examine its on-chain activity.
Potential analysis includes:
- Token contract creation.
- Developer wallet.
- Token supply.
- Distribution.
- Holder concentration.
- Transfers.
- Liquidity pools.
- Exchange activity.
- Wallet relationships.
- Large transfers.
If investors were instructed to send cryptocurrency to specific addresses, transaction hashes can potentially be used to trace the movement of those funds.
Blockchain evidence may help establish what happened to cryptocurrency after it left an investor’s wallet.
15. Evidence Classification
For this investigation, information is classified as follows.
VERIFIED
- Washington State DFI published an official Winimark alert on June 12, 2026.
- The official alert identifies Winimark Wealth Society and Professor James Caldwell.
- DFI lists a reported loss of $200,000.
- DFI states that Winimark used winimark.com.
- DFI states that the domain was no longer accessible.
- DFI reports that Winimark claimed to have been founded in 2009.
- DFI reports that business records showed incorporation in March 2025.
- DFI reports that the website promoted the WMT token and Evo AI.
- DFI reports that an investor communicated with Winimark through WhatsApp.
- DFI reports an investment of approximately $200,000.
- DFI reports that the investor purportedly saw the account reach approximately $19 million.
- DFI states that the investor was unable to withdraw the original investment or purported profits.
- DFI explicitly states that the factual details and reported losses have not been verified.
REPORTED / ALLEGED
- James Caldwell founded Winimark in 2009.
- Winimark provided financial education and investment services.
- Evo AI provided financial decision-making assistance.
- The WMT token represented a functioning investment asset.
- The investor’s account reached approximately $19 million.
- The investor’s funds were held by or through Winimark.
UNVERIFIED
- The actual identity and professional history of James Caldwell.
- The legal relationship between Winimark and James Caldwell.
- Whether Winimark actually operated continuously from 2009.
- Whether the purported $19 million represented real assets.
- The existence and value of the reported WMT token.
- The regulatory status of Winimark.
- The ultimate destination of the investor’s funds.
- Whether other investors experienced similar losses.
- Whether additional domains or entities were controlled by the same operators.
16. Key Warning Signs
The information currently available raises several issues that prospective investors should independently investigate:
- A claimed corporate history that differs from reported incorporation records.
- Investment solicitation through WhatsApp.
- Cryptocurrency investment activity.
- Promotion of an AI-driven financial system.
- Promotion of a proprietary cryptocurrency token.
- A purported account value increasing from $200,000 to approximately $19 million.
- An inability to withdraw the purported funds.
None of these factors, considered individually, establishes fraud.
Together, however, they warrant substantial due diligence.
17. What Investors Should Preserve
Anyone who believes they interacted with Winimark should preserve original evidence.
Potentially important records include:
- WhatsApp conversations.
- Emails.
- Screenshots.
- Winimark account statements.
- Investment agreements.
- Cryptocurrency wallet addresses.
- Transaction hashes.
- Bank records.
- Exchange records.
- WMT token information.
- Website URLs.
- Withdrawal requests.
- Payment instructions.
- Names and phone numbers used by representatives.
Do not provide passwords, seed phrases, private keys or authentication codes.
18. Investigator’s Assessment
Winimark Wealth Society warrants further investigation because the case is supported by an official Washington State DFI consumer alert reporting approximately $200,000 in losses.
The discrepancy between Winimark’s claimed founding date and the incorporation information reported by DFI is particularly important and should be independently documented through corporate records.
The reported growth of an investor’s purported account from approximately $200,000 to approximately $19 million also requires verification through independent financial and blockchain evidence.
The Washington DFI explicitly states that the factual allegations and reported losses have not been verified.
Cyb3rsect.com therefore does not present the allegations as established criminal findings.
Our current classification is:
INVESTIGATION STATUS: OPEN
EVIDENCE STATUS: OFFICIAL REGULATORY ALERT / CORPORATE, IDENTITY AND BLOCKCHAIN VERIFICATION REQUIRED
19. Have You Encountered Winimark Wealth Society?
If you have interacted with Winimark Wealth Society, Professor James Caldwell or a representative claiming to act for Winimark, you may submit information to our investigation team.
Useful evidence may include:
- WhatsApp communications.
- Emails.
- Screenshots.
- Investment documents.
- Account statements.
- Cryptocurrency wallet addresses.
- Transaction hashes.
- WMT token information.
- Payment records.
- Website addresses.
- Names or aliases.
- Phone numbers.
- Dates and amounts involved.
Do not send passwords, private keys, seed phrases or authentication codes.
Official Source
Washington State Department of Financial Institutions — Securities Division
Title: Winimark Wealth Society may be fraudulent
Date: June 12, 2026
Subjects: Winimark Wealth Society; Professor James Caldwell
Reported Loss: $200,000
Category: Cryptocurrency Scams
Official alert:
https://dfi.wa.gov/alerts/winimark-wealth-society-may-be-fraudulent
Investigation Notice
This report is based on publicly available information and material reviewed by Cyb3rsect.com at the time of publication.
The principal allegations described in this report originate from an official consumer alert issued by the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions.
DFI states that the factual details and reported losses have not been verified.
The inclusion of a person, company, website or platform in this investigation does not by itself establish criminal conduct or fraud.
Where information could not be independently established, it has been identified as reported, alleged or unverified.
Investigation Status: OPEN
CASE ID: CASE-2026-006
