We cannot directly conclude that its a ponzi scheme because there is no direct evidence that it is one but by the facts given there is really something shady about it.Knowing that the CEO is connected to a scammer before and he defended him makes him not trustworthy and now he is nowhere to be found.If this is true that he really scammed the users then it's really heartbreaking especially for those that have big amount and to add more pain making the users absorb its losses.