Patrick Laing and the VIDME Pyramid: Why This ‘Affiliate’ Model Fails the Smell Test

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In the world of online deception, the real danger often comes with a smile and a spreadsheet. Meet Patrick Laing — founder of Certainty Management, former counterintelligence officer, and now the public defender of a highly questionable media platform called VIDME.

With over 100 recruits and a spreadsheet full of fantasy earnings, Laing is betting his reputation on a “platform” that hasn’t even opened payment processing.

This is the follow-up to our Original Exposé — and it’s a warning. VIDME is walking the same path as so many failed MLM scams before it, and when it collapses, Patrick will no longer be able to claim ignorance. He’s been warned.

Calming the Farm: Patrick Laing’s Role as Damage Control

After our first blog and YouTube exposé on VIDME, the platform didn’t send their founders, Chris Miller or Mike Popovich, to answer the criticism. Instead, they sent Patrick Laing — a polished speaker with military credentials, a radio show (“Finding Certainty”), and ties to dozens of questionable enterprises via his own browser bookmarks.

Why him? Because they needed someone “credible” to run interference. Laing was tasked with the classic MLM tactic: calm the farm. Play nice. Sound reasonable. Deflect the red flags. But as our recent two-and-a-half-hour Zoom confrontation reveals, Patrick knew exactly what he was defending — and he kept defending it anyway.

A “Two-Tier” Lie: The Hidden Third Level

One of Patrick’s go-to phrases was: “It’s just a simple 2-tier affiliate model.” But here’s what he didn’t say:

VIDME’s own Membership & Affiliate Plan document outlines a 25% Check Match Bonus awarded to those who recruit 10+ people. This “influencer bonus” matches earnings from Tiers 1 and 2. It’s a third-tier commission disguised behind clever wording. It’s not an affiliate model — it’s multi-level marketing.

Even the platform’s Earnings Calculator (which they recently hid from public view) was designed to mislead. It presented hypothetical monthly income of $2,754 or $18,000, based on recursive recruiting — but the actual number of paid subscriptions needed to reach those figures? Staggering:

  • $2,754/month scenario
    • Tier 1: 12
    • Tier 2: 144
    • Tier 3: 1,728
      = 1,884 total paid subscribers just to hit $2.7K per month.
  • $18,000/month scenario
    • Tier 1: 24
    • Tier 2: 576
    • Tier 3: 13,824
      = 14,424 subscribers needed for a single person to earn six figures.

This is pyramid math, plain and simple. And Patrick Laing, an experienced businessman, knows it.

Telltale Red Flags from the Zoom Confrontation

Our recent 2.5-hour discussion with Patrick revealed even more issues:

  • Security Failures: Users could register passwords like “12345678” and access the public member list, which exposed full names without consent.
  • Privacy Breaches: Patrick admitted we shouldn’t have been able to see his name — yet it was visible.
  • Bloomberg Re-broadcast: The platform showed Bloomberg TV under a VIDME.io URL. Patrick danced around the legality. If they lack rebroadcast rights, that’s copyright infringement.
  • No KYC, No Disclaimers: Despite promising future payouts, there is zero compliance infrastructure. No KYC. No country restrictions. No GST/VAT integration.
  • Payment Processing Not Active: As of June 2, 2025, not a single dollar has been transacted. Once payments open, regulators should take a close look.

The Bookmarks That Tell a Story

During our recorded session, Patrick shared his screen — and unintentionally gave us a roadmap of his affiliations. His bookmarks include:

  • TranzactCard / Finmore (Ponzi collapse)
  • Talk Fusion (shut down by FTC)
  • TenXPR, TSC Blockchain Solutions, Veritas Global, Vidme (Social Goats), Umbrella US, Virtual Merchant Services, Tradewinds, VivLife, United Financial Freedom, Tony Dody / Dreammaker
  • And more.

This is not the browser history of someone who “just wants to help artists.” It’s a multilevel minefield — many of these entities have been exposed for MLM activity, credit card laundering, or unlicensed securities.

Patrick’s Deflection Playbook

Throughout the Zoom, Patrick continuously:

  • Emphasized the “good intentions” of his friends Mike Popovich and Chris Miller
  • Claimed the model helps struggling artists and nonprofits
  • Dismissed real-world math with vague counterexamples
  • Played victim when challenged, then asked for our blog to be taken down

At one point, Patrick even said, “I admire what you’re doing, Danny. But I believe this will work.”

This, despite having been shown privacy violations, flawed math, illegal rebroadcasts, and recycled MLM tactics.

A Pre-Loaded Collapse

When VIDME falls — and it will — Patrick Laing will likely be among those asking for blog posts to be taken down and YouTube videos to be deleted. He’ll say, “I didn’t know,” or “I was misled.”

But now, the record is clear. He was warned. And he chose to ignore it.

Let’s not forget: no one has paid a dollar yet. Once the payment processing opens, this will cross the regulatory red line. Multi-level income claims, cloaked as “affiliate marketing,” with no delivery of a real product.

We’ve seen this movie before. This time, we’re naming the cast before the credits roll.

About the Author Danny de Hek, also known as The Crypto Ponzi Scheme Avenger, is a New Zealand-based investigative journalist specializing in exposing crypto fraud, Ponzi schemes, and MLM scams. His work has been featured by Bloomberg, The New York Times, The Guardian Australia, ABC News Australia, and other international outlets.

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