Catena Media Co-Founder Teams Up with MrBeast to Expose $1.25M Scam

Erik Bergman is a well-respected figure in the online sports wagering and casino gaming space, helping elevate Catena Media from an affiliate start-up into a $200 million company with over 300 employees. However, his recent ordeal proved that even seasoned entrepreneurs can be caught off guard. Now, poorer in cash but richer in experience, Bergman is determined to protect others from falling for the same mistakes.

Scammers Constructed a Clever Scheme

Bergman recently went public, revealing that he had been conned out of $1.25 million in a sophisticated scam that cleverly exploited his past association with YouTube star Jimmy Donaldson, better known as MrBeast. Rather than quietly accepting the loss, Bergman chose to bring the matter into the spotlight as a cautionary tale for other entrepreneurs, philanthropists, and crypto investors.

The scam began innocently enough. Bergman had donated $1.2 million toward MrBeast’s #TeamSeas initiative and even spent time with Donaldson and his crew after the campaign. So when a new campaign under the name “Team Water” appeared to be in the works, Bergman didn’t hesitate to pledge $1 million. 

Shortly afterward, he was invited into what appeared to be a private group chat for high-profile donors, including names like Mark Rober, Tobi Lütke of Shopify, and Ed Craven, co-founder of Stake. The group seemed genuine, with casual voice notes and talks of an upcoming donor trip. The next thing he heard was an invitation to join a lucrative cryptocurrency investment tied to leading exchange Coinbase.

I didn’t verify the phone numbers, and I didn’t double-check anything. I trusted what I wanted to be true instead of what the evidence showed. I was naive, and it cost me $1.25 million.

Erik Bergman, Catena Media co-founder

Bergman, buckling under the peer pressure and not wanting to be the odd man out after everybody else had joined, wired $1.25 million to wallets provided by the scammers. However, inconsistencies in the conversations later raised alarms, leading him to call Donaldson directly and learn the bitter truth: he had been scammed. The whole group chat was fake, the names were impersonated, and the money was gone.

Bergman Is Determined to Make the Most of the Situation

Instead of hiding the incident, Bergman went public on X, with his post gaining over 4 million views in just days. People were largely sympathetic, as some revealed they had been victims of similar scams but had never spoken about them publicly. This shame of appearing stupid can often be just as harmful, allowing scammers to continue unopposed. However, Bergman’s decision to go public took an unexpected turn.

MrBeast himself joined the effort, offering a $100,000 reward for any information leading to the identity or location of the scammers. Bergman subsequently released the entire chat logs, the crypto wallet addresses, and even the phone numbers used by the scammers on his charitable website Great.com, transforming his loss into a crowdsourced investigation. 

I’ll never see the $1.25 million I lost again. But I can use it as the most expensive learning experience of my life.

Erik Bergman, Catena Media co-founder

With MrBeast’s enormous viewership, Bergman hopes that such publicity might not only bring about justice but also raise greater awareness about the risks that lurk in influencer-driven spaces. His advice? Do not make major financial decisions while distracted. Ask for ID before sending money. And most of all, talk about your mistakes so others may learn from them.