The Buckeye man arrested for child sex trafficking after he was investigated for allegedly masturbating in front of students outside of a high school was a self-proclaimed podcaster, social media guru and CEO business coach with thousands of apparent followers, according to his Instagram profile.
Michael Armijo, 26, was arrested last week and accused of paying a child for sex after police investigated him for allegedly masturbating outside of Canyon View High School in Buckeye.
Armijo is facing one count of child sex trafficking with a minor aged 15 to 17, one count of sexual conduct with a minor and one count of luring a minor for sexual exploitation, all felonies, according to the county’s prosecuting attorney.
Buckeye police officers detained Armijo during a traffic stop last week near his Buckeye home after a teen student told police Armijo paid her for sex, according to Buckeye PD.
Armijo's business partner, Blake Hahn, issued a statement of regret Monday on Instagram.
"As the founder of the 501(c)3, Winners Give Back, which is committed to empowering and providing children with the opportunity to grow into greater situations and circumstances. I have been deeply disturbed and affected by the hidden actions of Michael and henceforth have no ties or associations to Michael in any way,” he said. “I have decided to escalate something that we had behind the curtain, which is to vet all people within our community with the Ideal endorsement. This is an Ideal endorsement that verifies that endorsed members of our community are a safe place, having been investigated by a professional corporate investigator during our events.”
Hahn did not respond to a request for an interview about Armijo or his business practices.
Armijo, the 'business coach'
Ideal is a joint venture and business app that Armijo and Hahn started as partners, according to state documents.
Arizona Corporation Commission documents also tie the duo together in other Armijo-initiated business ventures. For instance, Armijo is the statutory agent for Winners Give Back, the domestic nonprofit Hahn mentioned in his statement. They're also tied together with Project 41K, a project that offered "Exotic Car NFTs" to wealth-seeking clients.
"Unique digital collectibles living on the Ethereum blockchain. Your Exotic Car NFT doubles as your .... membership card and grants access to members-only benefits, the first of which is access to a collaborative Business/Investment Group of Millionaires & Billionaires. Future areas and perks can be unlocked by the community through roadmap activation," one social media post stated.
The Treasury Department claims the NFT market is commonly associated with fraud and scams.
“Criminals use NFTs to launder proceeds from predicate crimes, often in combination with other techniques or transactions meant to obfuscate the illicit source of funds,” according to a Treasury Department report. “Criminals exploit vulnerabilities related to characteristics of NFTs, the assets or entitlements that they reference, and regulatory frameworks in the United States and abroad.”
Armijo, coincidentally known as "Law," has more than 23,000 followers on Instagram, where he styles himself as the "foremost expert on the human mind." There, he claims to coach CEOs and also posts clips and interviews with supposed business leaders.
He also promotes business programs like Project 41K and the Ideal app.
According to their website, the duo charges clients up to $1,200 a year for coaching services.
The scheme offers up to four Zoom coaching calls per month, access to a members-only community, access to Armijo's business contacts and full access to a knowledge database suite.
The Federal Trade Commission cautions consumers to be wary of business coaching initiatives that claim they can teach you to make big money with little or no experience. On their website, the FTC asserts that some business coaches who claim to provide access to their “experts” or a network to teach them a “proven method” for building a successful business are often scams.
"The scammers make it sound like it’s easy to set up an online business and make money, and say that, for a fee, they can show you how to do it. While enticing, it's not true. Hundreds of thousands have learned this the hard way after losing thousands of dollars to scammers for bogus business coaching services that left them with nothing but debt and broken dreams," the FTC states on its website.
Last month, Hahn and Armijo partnered with another coach to offer "Quantum Personal Development" services, according to a press release. The services purportedly teach clients how to integrate "metaphysical principles" into their lives and practices.
Armijo told the judge he was a victim in his initial court appearance last week.
“I want to say I'm not a threat to anybody,” he said. “I feel like I was more of a target than I was targeting anybody based on the conversations I had with the lady in the parking lot or at the school.”
The FTC encourages victims of fraudulent business coaching schemes to report their losses to their respective state's attorney general’s office or the FTC at ReportFraud.FTC.gov.
Michael McDaniel can be reached at [email protected]. We invite our readers to submit their civil comments or opinions on this or any issue. Email [email protected].
