In the last month, using the hashtag #givetheirmoneyback. Gamers alleged that prominent figure in the community StepBackRack (who boasts 3,600 Twitch followers and is also known often as “Rack”) took hundreds of thousands of dollars from the Australian and New Zealand community 2K MT, in what is believed to be an investment scam. There is a suspicion that another player, @Raangee, was also involved in the scam.

YouTuber and streamer Tyceno was the first to expose the fraud that got young gamers to give away thousands of dollars with the hope that they could earn thousands. Tyceno wrote “I have solid evidence to believe that @StepBackRack had been the source of an illegal pyramid scheme that was uncovered in the NBA 2K Community. In the course of this, over $200,000 was taken from the vulnerable youth because they believed they could “flip their cash’.”

It’s not certain whether Rack or Raangee were aware of the fraud, or if their handles were hacked. We’ve tried countless times to reach them, but without success.

According to Tyceno as well as other suspect victims who spoke to us, “Rack” reached out to a few young gamers through the game’s voice chat feature Buy NBA 2K22 MT. (NBA 2K’s terms and conditions prohibits using the service for commercial or illegal reasons or to bet money on other people. 2K is the NBA 2K’s publisher hasn’t replied to repeated inquiries for clarification.)