IM Mastery Academy
Online education platform focused on trading and digital skills.
Online education platform focused on trading and digital skills.
- Sources
- 1
- Accounts
- 0
- Updated
- Jul 2026
Is IM Mastery Academy a pyramid scheme?
Is it legit?
IM Mastery Academy / iMarketsLive is the subject of an unusually large volume of regulatory action and warnings across multiple countries. The following are attributed findings and allegations, not this platform's opinion.
U.S. Federal Trade Commission & Nevada Attorney General (2025–2026). In May 2025 the FTC and Nevada AG filed a complaint alleging the operation — running most recently as Iyovia and previously as IM Mastery Academy, iMarketsLive, and IM Academy — used false or baseless earnings claims to sell financial-training subscriptions and an MLM business opportunity, taking in more than $1.2 billion since 2018 [web]. In August 2025 the FTC secured a preliminary injunction against the company and its owners [web]. In May 2026 a proposed settlement was announced resolving charges against five main defendants, including owners Christopher and Isis Terry: a $795.8 million judgment, surrender of assets valued at nearly $90 million (luxury homes, ~19 vehicles including a Bentley and Rolls-Royce, a yacht, and jewelry), and a permanent ban on selling trading services and investment opportunities [web]. As is typical of FTC stipulated settlements, this resolves the allegations; it is a settlement/consent order rather than a court's final finding of fact after trial, and a human reviewer should confirm the admission language. Other named promoter-defendants in coverage included Alex Morton, Jason Brown, Matthew Rosa, and Brandon Boyd [web].
U.S. CFTC (2018). iMarketsLive was reportedly fined $150,000 by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for acting as an unregistered brokerage / trading for customers without registration [web].
International warnings and actions (as reported by BehindMLM, Wikipedia, and TINA.org):
- Curaçao & Sint Maarten (CBCS), Sept 2017 — public warning that consumers were unprotected and that the program "has similarities with a pyramid scheme" [web].
- Colombia, 2017 and 2022 — securities-fraud warnings [web].
- United Kingdom (FCA), July 2018 — unauthorized-firm / "scammers" warning [web].
- Poland (UOKiK), Aug 2022 — accused the company of running a "pyramid-type promotional system"; promoters were later charged/fined [web].
- Spain, 2022 — local leaders arrested over misleading ads targeting adolescents [web].
- Luxembourg, 2023 — employees arrested / investigation reported [web].
- Belgium — the company was banned (date not pinned in sources reviewed) [web].
- France, 2017 — warning about targeting high-school students [web].
The FTC complaint stated the scheme drew warnings from "no fewer than 21 international government agencies" [web]. Multiple regulators and reporters have characterized the model as a pyramid scheme; these are cited regulatory characterizations and allegations, and the U.S. matter concluded via settlement.
What is IM Mastery Academy?
Overview
IM Mastery Academy is no longer a joinable opportunity. Following action by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and the Nevada Attorney General, the business — which had rebranded to Iyovia in November 2024 — was reported to have shut down, and a May 2026 FTC settlement imposed a permanent ban on its owners selling trading services and investment opportunities [web]. It was a U.S.-based online "education" business that sold subscription courses, tools, and trading "signals" for foreign exchange (forex), cryptocurrency, and other financial markets, distributed through a multi-level marketing (MLM) network of affiliates. It was founded by Christopher Terry, described as a former Amway sales manager, and originally launched under the name iMarketsLive ("IML") [web]. The candidate record on this platform lists a founding year of 2013; the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's later complaint describes the operation as having generated harm "since 2018" [web].
The business operated under several names over time: iMarketsLive / IML, then IM Mastery Academy (IMMA) / IM Academy, and in November 2024 it rebranded to Iyovia [web]. Independent trade coverage (BehindMLM, Truth in Advertising) and Wikipedia describe the product as subscription courses about trading aimed heavily at young audiences, where monthly fees could effectively be offset by recruiting additional subscribers [web].
According to the FTC and the Nevada Attorney General, the operation took in more than US $1.2 billion from consumers, and reporting cites a peak of roughly 500,000 members worldwide [web].
This draft is grounded in open-web research (the platform's stored source URLs were placeholders and were ignored).
IM Mastery Academy at a glance
- Founded
- 2013
- Headquarters
- United States
- Category
- Education
- Status
- Closed / defunct
- Risk level
- High Risk
- Verification
- unverified
- Sources
- 1 linked
- Last updated
- Jul 2026
How it worksThe day-to-day reality of participating
How it works
Participation combined two things: (1) buying an ongoing subscription to trading "education" and market signals, and (2) optionally becoming an affiliate (marketed as an "IBO" / Independent Business Owner) who earns money by recruiting other paying subscribers [web].
Multiple third-party reviews describe the product as split into academies by asset class — commonly referred to as forex (FRX), indices/"HFX", and digital-currency/crypto (DCX) — delivered as monthly-subscription online courses, live sessions, and trade alerts [web]. Note that these specific academy names and package structures come from affiliate/review sites rather than a primary regulatory or company document, so treat the naming as third-party.
Regulators characterized the underlying model as recruitment-driven. Poland's competition authority (UOKiK) said organizers focused primarily on recruitment, with the educational activity serving as a "masking" mechanism [web]. Wikipedia and trade press describe a fee structure in which a member's monthly cost could be waived by recruiting a set number of additional subscribers, which ties income and cost to enrolling new people rather than to trading results [web].
What it costs to join
Cost to join
Historical record — IM Mastery Academy is not currently a joinable opportunity; this section describes how the cost was structured when it operated.
Participation was a recurring monthly subscription. Exact pricing is not publicly documented in primary or official sources: the specific enrollment amounts, monthly academy fees, bundle-tier prices, and affiliate fee that circulated came only from third-party affiliate and review sites and are not relayed here.
What is clearly documented is the recurring nature of the cost — it was a monthly subscription — and regulators' central complaint was that the money flowing in came substantially from continued and new member fees [web].
How you'd make moneyThe compensation plan explained
Compensation
IM Mastery Academy used a subscription-based MLM compensation structure. Affiliates earned commissions when people they recruited purchased a subscription, plus residual (recurring) income from the monthly fees paid by their downline of recruited members [web]. Per-signup commission figures and rank/bonus details appear only in affiliate-run "compensation plan" pages and reviews; those specific amounts are not publicly documented in primary or official sources and are not relayed here.
On earnings outcomes, the strongest sourced figure comes from Truth in Advertising (TINA.org), which reported that the company's own income-disclosure statement showed roughly 95% of distributors averaged under $300 per year [web]. TINA also documented more than 200 income claims by promoters that it said contradicted that disclosure [web]. Other percent-of-earners figures circulating on review sites are not documented in primary or official sources and are omitted here.
The FTC and Nevada AG alleged the business used "false or baseless earnings claims" to sell subscriptions and the recruitment opportunity [web].
Field testimony
No first-hand accounts have been recorded for IM Mastery Academy yet. If you were involved, you can add one to the historical record.
File the first accountModerated · first-hand only · links removed
Community Q&A
Community Q&A for IM Mastery Academy isn’t open yet. Soon you’ll be able to ask anything and get answers from ex-members, active members, and verified moderators — kept as a permanent, searchable part of this page.
In the meantime, the most useful thing you can add is a first-hand account.
Add a historical accountPros, cons & who it's forBalanced decision aid
Who it's for
Historical record — IM Mastery Academy is not currently a joinable opportunity, so this section makes no recommendation to join. Based on the documented model and the regulatory record, the profile did not identify a group for whom joining would have been advisable.
The operation became the subject of a major FTC/Nevada settlement, a permanent ban on its owners selling trading services and investment opportunities, and warnings from regulators in many countries [web]; the brand most recently operated as Iyovia [web]. Anyone evaluating a successor or a similarly structured "trading education" MLM should weigh that the company's own income disclosure indicated roughly 95% of distributors averaged under $300 per year while paying recurring monthly fees [web], and that regulators repeatedly characterized income as recruitment-driven [web].
People who should have been especially cautious included anyone expecting to profit from trading based on the courses/signals, anyone who would rely on recruiting others to offset costs, and younger or financially inexperienced consumers — a group regulators specifically flagged as targeted [web]. Because the status is post-rebrand and post-settlement, confirm what, if anything, is still being offered before relying on any of this.
Frequently asked
Is this opportunity verified?
This opportunity is not formally verified. In plain terms it’s listed as unverified, with status active—a label in our records, not a seal of approval from regulators. Before you send money or sign, line up recruiter promises against official filings and documents you can verify yourself.
How does this opportunity work?
To walk through mechanics step by step, you’ll need the company’s own compensation plan and product terms—we don’t have enough on this profile to do that fairly. Read those documents cover to cover, then compare to what you’re hearing in recruitment.
What are the risks?
Overall we’d put this around high risk—think stability, rule clarity, and how bumpy income might be, not a verdict on you personally. Use filings, regulatory notes, and your own situation alongside that label; a “medium” snapshot can still feel harsh or mild in real life.
Can you actually earn?
Some people do well; many don’t. Income tracks the comp plan, your effort, and market realities—not marketing examples. Ignore leaderboard screenshots as proof of what you’ll earn; they’re single cases with different costs and timing than yours.
Keep researching
Sources & references
- IM Mastery Academy Overview and Analysisexample.orgnews
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