Regulatory Action in the United States
In June 2017, the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions issued a decisive enforcement action against Oracle Stone Ltd, the company behind the binary options platform PorterFinance. The order concluded that PorterFinance had been unlawfully offering binary options to U.S. clients and misleading them with false statements. The firm was ordered to shut down immediately and was subjected to financial penalties.
Previously, regulators such as the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) had also warned against the platform. PorterFinance operated as a white-label broker under the PandaTS system and was part of the expansive GreyMountain Management (GMM) scam network orchestrated by Jonathan Cartu, David Cartu, and Uri Katz.
Who Was Behind the Scam?
The ultimate beneficial owner (UBO) of PorterFinance was identified as Eduardo Rodriguez Cedillo, a Mexican national. Cedillo established Sky Runway Ltd in Dominica in July 2015 (Company No. 18704), which acted as the sole shareholder of Oracle Stone Ltd (UK Company No. 9684789). Cedillo was listed as director in both entities.
From these corporate structures, Oracle Stone Ltd managed the PorterFinance platform, actively targeting users in Australia, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe. The firm was officially dissolved in January 2018 via compulsory strike-off, and both Cedillo and PorterFinance disappeared from the radar.
Role of Payment Processors
To handle payment transactions, Oracle Stone Ltd registered as a merchant with Payobin in mid-2015. The merchant application listed Amir Viva as the primary contact for PorterFinance. According to Scam-Or Project sources, Viva may have been involved not only as a representative but possibly as a beneficial owner or co-conspirator.
Payobin also worked in cooperation with other PSPs, including SeeddPay, and the submitted projections estimated monthly volumes of $10.5 million and €1.5 million (starting from the seventh month), revealing the platform’s heavy reliance on U.S. clients.
Official documents viewed by the Scam-Or Project show that Payobin was actively facilitating payment processing in the U.S., including its involvement in legal proceedings such as Payobin Ltd vs. Umbrella Onlinetech LLC.
Payobin, along with SeeddPay, is reportedly owned by Oded Jeremitsky. Meanwhile, Eyal Nachum and Tamir Zoltovski—also known for their control over Payotech Ltd and Moneta International UAB—are said to be deeply integrated into this network. Moneta International has been cited in connections with various schemes associated with the GMM ecosystem, including partnerships with SSG Media.
PandaTS and GreyMountain Connections
PorterFinance operated under the white-label infrastructure provided by PandaTS and was managed as part of the GreyMountain Management (GMM) network. This notorious Irish-based entity, led by the Cartu brothers and Uri Katz, supported a range of illegal broker brands across North America, Europe, and Asia.
In addition to PorterFinance, numerous other fraudulent platforms emerged from this ecosystem. GMM functioned as a business development hub for binary options scams during their peak. A deeper look at their web of schemes can be found in discussions such as ForexPeaceArmy’s “GreyMountain Management’s Nest of Binary Scam Brokers”.
Confirmed Fraud
Multiple regulatory actions—including warnings from ASIC, CySEC, and the U.S. cease-and-desist order—confirm that PorterFinance operated without regulatory licenses, making its activities illegal. In addition, the broker failed to return customer funds and engaged in fraudulent behavior by misappropriating client assets.
Given this pattern, the ForexPeaceArmy (FPA) has officially labeled PorterFinance as a scam.
Report Broker Scams
If you possess evidence or have been affected by broker-related fraud, you can submit your information to the Scam-Or Project’s Research Team. Collaborative efforts can help make online trading environments more transparent and secure.