Criminal Record & Public Persona
1. Official Criminal Record – Michigan OTIS (MDOC #530863)
Name: CHAD EUGENE WILLIS
MDOC Number: 530863
SID Number: 1519589T
Race: White
Gender: Male
Hair: Blonde
Eyes: Blue
Height: 6' 0"
Weight: 206 lbs
Date of Birth: 10/21/1972
MDOC Status: Probationer
Supervision Begin: 06/01/2005
Supervision End: 06/01/2007
Assigned Location: Oakland/Troy (Probation)
Security Level: Not listed
Extracted from the State of Michigan OTIS entry for MDOC #530863 via public search. Text is reformatted for readability, with wording preserved from the government record.
Felony Convictions & Supervision Conditions
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Offence: MV Code – Intent to Pass False Title (Count 1)
MCL#: 257.254 / 769.11
Court File#: 04197988-FH
Date of Offence: 01/09/2001
Date of Sentence: 06/01/2005
County: Oakland
Maximum Sentence: 2 years
Conviction Type: Plea -
Offence: MV Code – Intent to Pass False Title (Count 2)
MCL#: 257.254 / 769.11
Court File#: 04197988-FH
Date of Offence: 01/09/2001
Date of Sentence: 06/01/2005
County: Oakland
Maximum Sentence: 2 years
Conviction Type: Plea -
Offence: False Pretences – $1,000 or More But Less Than $20,000
MCL#: 750.2184A / 769.11
Court File#: 04197988-FH
Date of Offence: 01/09/2001
Date of Sentence: 06/01/2005
County: Oakland
Maximum Sentence: 2 years
Conviction Type: Plea
Supervision & Court-Imposed Conditions
- No new law violations; compliance with all court orders.
- No alcohol or intoxicants; regular drug and alcohol testing.
- Outpatient substance–abuse treatment as directed.
- Mandatory employment and verifiable income.
- County jail time component and reporting obligations.
- Crime–victim assessment, state costs, court costs and supervision fees.
- Attorney fees, wage assignment and financial compliance.
- DNA testing and associated state requirements.
1B. Restitution, Prohibition Order & Warrant Indicators
- Court financial ledgers associated with the felony matter record restitution obligations originally totalling approximately USD $188,000. With statutory interest accruing over more than twenty years, the realistic exposure is now significantly higher (final figure pending formal, FOIA-confirmed calculation).
- A Lifetime Prohibition Order issued by the Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS Order #06-4287) permanently prohibits Willis from specified insurance / financial-services activity. Official FOIA replies confirm that this order remains in force and that related examination records are confidential by statute.
- Warrant-status indicators relating to the underlying case and supervision have appeared on relevant law-enforcement portals over time. Because portal displays can be outdated or inconsistent, only the originating agencies and courts can confirm current status.
- None of these facts – felony convictions, prohibition order, outstanding restitution or warrant indicators – are disclosed in Plus Brand / Agua Plus public materials, investor decks, sponsorship documents or founder biographies.
2. Public Persona vs Criminal Record
Public Persona Snapshot
- Described as having enjoyed a “successful tenure in the financial sector”, helping grow a lending marketing firm that was “eventually purchased by Wells Fargo”.
- Presented as a dedicated wellness entrepreneur, gym owner, and long–time Special Olympics counselor, coach, supporter and fundraiser.
- Portrayed as visionary Founder and CEO of Plus Brand Industries Inc., Agua Plus and All-Scratch!®, disrupting the beverage market with “patented” label technology.
- Online resumes and bios list extensive skills such as Business, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Strategic Planning and Social Media Marketing, often with “Expert” tags next to each.
- Across LinkedIn, About.me, DoYouBuzz and related platforms there is no reference at all to felony convictions, restitution, prohibition orders or warrant indicators.
Criminal Record Snapshot
- Official Michigan OTIS record for CHAD EUGENE WILLIS shows three felony convictions arising from conduct on 01/09/2001.
- Two counts of Intent to Pass False Title and one count of False Pretences ($1,000–$20,000), all resolved by plea, with a maximum 2–year sentence on each count.
- Status recorded as Probationer from 06/01/2005 to 06/01/2007 with strict behavioural, financial and reporting conditions.
- Court ledgers show substantial restitution obligations still outstanding, and the DIFS prohibition order confirms ongoing regulatory concern about his role in financial services.
The core problem is not that a record exists, but that these material facts are completely omitted in contexts where investors, partners and regulators are entitled to a full and accurate history.
3. Corporate Opacity & Executive Gaps
Front-End Brands, Back-End Silence
- Consumer-facing sites for Agua Plus / Agua Plus Alkaline present a glossy product story – pH claims, “optimum hydration”, All-Scratch!® labels, slogans like “Make America Healthy Again” – but provide no clear corporate contact block on the public pages: no straightforward headquarters address, no simple general email, no direct phone details.
- There is no visible “About the Company” / “Who We Are” page on the Agua Plus site explaining ownership, directors or governance.
- Legal boilerplate (terms, privacy, SMS policies) exists in places, but there is no clear complaints, dispute–resolution or escalation procedure presented to everyday customers or investors.
- Across Plus Brand and Agua Plus properties, the actual legal entity details and physical presence are kept as lean and hard to find as possible, given the scale of the claims and partnerships.
The Adam Gauer Disconnect
- Adam Gauer is widely presented in external PR and on LinkedIn as Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Plus Brand Industries Inc., with responsibility for operations, distribution, funding rounds and marketing.
- Podcasts, interviews and press releases describe him as a key executive and face of Agua Plus, fronting deals (including high-profile funding and sponsorships).
- Yet, on the consumer-facing Agua Plus site, his name does not appear at all on the public pages, and he is absent from the basic contact and governance footprint.
- Available corporate records and filings do not list him as an officer, director or signatory, despite the public portrayal as Co-Founder / COO.
4. Boiler-Room Pattern, Complaints & Historical Schemes
Boiler-Room Style Operations
- The broader pattern around Willis and associated ventures mirrors classic boiler-room operations that regulators in the US, Canada and Australia have previously shut down: high-pressure sales, glossy marketing, opaque structures, and investors left chasing promises.
- Public regulator warnings about entities such as Seisma Oil Research / Seisma Energy Research and related offshore structures describe: unsolicited calls, unlicensed activity, fabricated or unverified project claims, and investor funds used for commissions and personal expenses.
- Timeframes, jurisdictions, sales methods and narratives overlap strongly with later schemes promoted by Willis and his associates, even where a direct formal link cannot yet be fully documented.
Where specific historical ties to earlier boiler-room entities remain unverified, they are treated here as allegations consistent with the pattern, not as established fact. The confirmed record – felony convictions and the long tail of investor complaints – is sufficient on its own.
World Energy, Guatemala & Bamboo Nutra
- Archived investigative material on World Energy Research and associated structures (including a promoted Guatemala dam / hydro project) describes investors who lost significant sums in projects that could not be independently verified or that simply never materialised.
- A 2014 WordPress post titled “Is Bamboo Nutra a Scam? Beware of Bamboo Nutra” reports missed deadlines, broken promises, and characterises the company as a “flat out scam”, explicitly naming Chad E. Willis and warning readers to stay away.
- The same post mentions that if U.S. law authorities are looking for him, he is believed to be holding an event in Guadalajara, Mexico, reinforcing the picture of offshore movement and avoidance.
- Complaints connected to these eras are consistent: pressure to invest, vague or shifting project details, and extreme difficulty in recovering funds once concerns are raised.
These are third-party reports and opinions. They are included because they show how real participants have described their experiences, and because the same playbook appears in later ventures under new brand names.
Online Image Management
- Self-authored “interviews” and sponsored articles repeat the same flattering founder story while avoiding any mention of criminal history, restitution, prohibition orders or past schemes.
- Resume sites and personal-brand pages recycle identical narratives and photos, reinforcing a controlled, sanitised identity.
- Product review patterns often look choreographed: even when reviews are “mixed”, criticism is softened by praise for the product, bottle or brand story, keeping overall ratings at a presentable level.
- Search results are dominated by promotional content and investor-friendly talking points, while historic complaints and critical analysis are buried, fragmented or partially diluted.
The aim is straightforward: ensure that a casual search surfaces a heroic founder narrative and “disruptive” brand, not the underlying record of fraud-related conduct, restitution exposure and long-term complaint history.
5. Criminal History Map & Flowchart (In Development)
A visual map of Chad Willis’s history is being prepared to allow regulators, investigators and stakeholders to see the pattern at a glance. It will connect:
- Key dates from the Michigan felony record
- Subsequent schemes and ventures (World Energy, Bamboo Nutra, Plus Brand / Agua Plus, etc.)
- Major complaints, blog investigations and consumer reports
- Later investor–relations documents (MOUs, repayment agreements, emails)
Once finalised, this visual map will be available on this page and as part of a regulator–ready dossier.
6. For Regulators, Sponsors, Retailers & Investors
This page provides an at–a–glance overlay of recorded facts (felony convictions, restitution exposure, prohibition order and supervision) with self–authored narratives, corporate opacity, and documented complaints. It is designed to support risk assessment, due diligence and regulatory review.
A structured dossier exists tying each statement on this site back to underlying documents, including:
- Official criminal–history printouts and correspondence
- Court financial ledgers and restitution records
- The DIFS Order of Prohibition #06-4287 and FOIA responses
- Corporate records and historical web captures
- Agreements, emails and messaging between Chad Willis and investors
- Public complaints, blog posts, media articles and review samples
If you are a regulator, law–enforcement officer, sponsor, retailer, partner or investor wishing to review the full evidentiary bundle, please refer to the contact details on the home page and the dedicated Law Enforcement, Registry & Records and Contact pages.