Is "Historical Park" a pyramid scheme? A man who was part of the so-called project stood in front of the Nova TV camera. Now he is a witness in the investigation. He asked that his face not be revealed so that his safety would not be jeopardized.
„I have known Ivelin Mihaylov and the people closest to him for many years. We were connected by the idea of offering “Life” insurance. When we met, he was a consultant to a company that offered “Life” insurance. Later, he left, then founded “Together”. I joined him because when we attended seminars together – some of which he also lectured – things were quite interesting, he had an idea”, the witness commented.
“Later, the idea for the IP emerged. There is a lot of psychology in the whole idea for the IP. The basis for everything is the insurance broker that Yvelin owned. In general, the activity of this insurance broker is related to recruiting consultants. These consultants go to seminars, where they are explained how it is most appropriate to offer “Life” insurance. of large insurance companies and the idea is that when you initially take out your own insurance, you can subsequently take out insurance for your relatives and then for close friends. You present it to your future clients as something that helps them. You are actually giving them a chance to save their money, to preserve its value and to increase it. Of course, by taking out such insurance, as is required by law, you are entitled to receive a premium from the insured for years. This is a kind of additional income that also gives you good social contacts”, says the witness.
He claims that the “Historical Park“ was designed to give every patriotic Bulgarian the opportunity to invest.
“At some point, you yourself come across as an investor, even though you are offering this as an investment. It happens very easily. Everyone around you tells you: we rely on you, you are part of us, we would really like you to be our partner. Yes, but when you work for a salary that is standard for our region - Varna - you cannot allocate such a large amount to be a full-fledged investor in the project. Then they calmly offer you: we have contacts, that is why we are close, we will provide you with good loans, to give you a solid foundation with which you can be part of our team at a high level,” says the witness.
He says that in order to rise in the hierarchy, he took out loans and convinced others to do the same.
„Things are received in the same day - from two to three banks, depending on your credit file. It is withdrawn on the same day, at the same time, so that it cannot appear in the bank registers between 100-150-200 thousand”, the witness commented.
“The money is taken by hand after the loan is withdrawn, by the consultant who moves you into the project, and he puts it into these hollow companies in the form of a loan. That was until a point. Subsequently, many clients, when they withdraw the debit card, give it to their consultant. We had consultants who owned a lot of debit cards and they withdrew these amounts at ATMs so that they could not be caught”, he added.
“After all the money is withdrawn, the relevant consultant – he now in the form of a loan – he deposited them in a company indicated by Ivelin or others close to him”, concludes the witness.
He only realized he was a victim when they stopped repaying his loan installments.
„When I took out the loan, they reassured me: we will cover your installments. They covered them for half a year. I had clients who stopped covering their installments in the third month, but these are the last years. At one point, everything is very good, but they stop us: here is the project, here is the field – we have dug, but you can't take anything”, says the witness.
„I have seen many bank cards of different people in our offices and for me, at one point, realizing that this is a pyramid, so to speak, there is no way to go back. You are already part of it, you have signed an enormous number of documents, you are the person who withdrew the money from the bank cards. The ATM in Neofit Rilski was most often used. We lined up there with other consultants to withdraw the money so that we could transfer it”, he adds.
As for whether he realized that he might be committing a crime, the witness does not answer categorically.
„You actually do not realize at all that this money is subsequently hollow. And this is my analysis, after I became a victim, to completely assimilate them”, he says.
He also talks about his fear of Ivelin Mihaylov and the reason he wants his face to be hidden:
„Definitely yes. I can say that Ivelin Mihaylov has always shared that he owns many weapons. He himself and the people around him work with a security company that presents itself as theirs. I am not sure about the documents, because I have not seen them. These people patrol Neofit Rilski, they learn to shoot. These are people, for me, who would not think twice about hurting a person. It always comes to your mind at some point when you decide to officially confront these people. I would like my identity to be preserved”.
Late last night, the court remanded in custody the seven defendants associated with the “Historical Park”, finding evidence of a financial pyramid scheme. The magistrates indicated that various citizens were deceived into investing. Some of the funds were embezzled, and other amounts were invested in the project for greater persuasiveness. In the courtroom, the prosecutor's office announced that there was a person in the group with immunity. The name has not been announced yet.