Remy and Jean-Marc Jacobson said they wanted to revolutionize the real estate industry when they launched their crypto company, RealToken, in 2019. This July, they announced that they will be liquidating the company’s $140 million portfolio.
The company bought over 700 properties across the United States using limited liability companies and sold shares – or tokens – in those companies exclusively to foreign investors across the blockchain. Thousands of investors across the world now have their money stuck in these tokens with little to no recourse.
Issues with RealToken’s properties in Detroit – which makes up 75 percent of its U.S. portfolio – first came to light when the City of Detroit sued the company and the Jacobsons in July of 2025, alleging that they violated local housing regulations.
The city’s complaint included exhibits showing the dilapidated conditions of the homes – standing sewage in basements, black mold on walls, crumbling infrastructure – which it called harmful to the health and safety of the public.
Over the course of eight months, The Journal investigated how the company operated in Michigan and in its second largest market, Ohio, combing through public records and financial documents. We found that not only were hundreds of homes in disrepair, but that RealToken paid investors from properties that were vacant or that they did not even own, leading investors to ask: was this a scam or a venture gone wrong?
Chapters:
0:00 The rise of RealT
0:42 Inside RealT’s business model
8:34 The homes started falling apart
10:02 Detroit fights back
12:48 Who are the Jacobsons?
14:04 Following the money in Cleveland
19:57 The collapse
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Yet another reason Crypto shouldn't exist. It seems to attract nothing but scammers and schemers of one type or another.
RealToken would have been better off if they never bought any houses. Just sell imaginary tokens to imaginary houses.
🥴🤦♀️😩 we allow this…
The “we’ve tokenized 1,500 units” line in the opening is such a perfect distillation of the whole scheme. Take a boring, regulated thing (rental properties), wrap it in exciting tech words, promise double-digit returns, and suddenly due diligence goes out the window. The tech didn’t revolutionize real estate — it just revolutionized how fast you could separate investors from their money.
…. Uhhhh this company keening 50-160 houses isn’t moving the housing market at all. At least if all that capital is in Southern California homes. It’s not even 5 blocks of houses. 😂😂
Do we need to admit we're a banana republic, and ban wealthy foreigners from owning real estate? Costa Rica, the Philippines, Thailand, and others do that. Even Canada paused foreign purchases of some homes!
At 9:40 if they want you to move out, and you don't have a lease, why wouldn't you just move out? Especially if the house is falling down around you? Tenants that think they have ownership rights make the rental market unattractive to good landlords, opening the market up to con artists.
Owned real estate. especially rental real estate is extremely hands-on, any scheme that tries to commoditize it will fail, it's not like AirBnB where the company doesn't actually own the properties it lists. A big problem is that it's too easy to defer maintenance and leave a place to deteriorate for quite a while while still collecting rent, and by the time the chickens come home to roost the cost to remedy would be too great.
Crucial reporting on how financial novelty often obscures fundamental liquidity and governance risks in modern property syndications. Unlocking sustainable yield will always require uncompromised, asset-level underwriting over flashy tech promises. 💡
I live in a Cleveland neighborhood that has once liveable homes be made uninhabitable by greedy idiots like these guys. Now real people who want to buy or rent a home to live in can't find anything affordable while we all see good homes rot right in front of our eyes.
Thank you for publishing this expose. Average people are always taken advantage of by slick Marketing. Dump’s Administration dismantled the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau set up in 2008 after its financial crisis, this agency would have provided information cryptocurrency, investment, schemes, etc. I realize these investors were primarily in France, but saying fire beware isn’t helpful if there isn’t reputable and easy to understand information.
Not a single rent payment missed on hundreds of properties in last 5 years… LOL yea right
Jacobsons name says it all
New slumlords of United States. Prospective tenants are investigated prior to signing a lease: employment history, personal and financial disclosure and let’s not forget the non refundable application fees. But who investigates these ghost token landlords? Once again the criminals are ahead of the game leaving the tenants, neighborhoods and municipalities holding the bag.
Basically the same scam Grant Cardone has run for years.
scam artists = Remy and Jean-Marc Jacobson.
I invested in RealT too, i literally did not know they liquidated till now….
Never trust anybody I want your money
Yet another crypto scam.
Crypto is a SCAM! There’s nothing else to it.
This is exactly what Whitney Webb warned of.
a new sucker is born everyday, i mean it's so obvious what was going on here.
Ponzi scheme President….Ponzi scheme world. Don't trust the USA anymore…at all.
Ponzee
12:22 look at that street. Looks like the city of Baghdad…
Anyone who loses money on anything that involves crypto, is a idiot
where the found came of ? FROM MY POCKET, how could they give hight ROI instead of doing their job as landlord lower ROI would has been fine, also why tf they bought such ruin ????????
Omg this would never have been a viable investment model, which pulls it into scam space immediately. Great coverage!
Love how I'm getting ads for yet another scam, Mogul real estate, all throughout watching this video. And it will probably rope in more people to be ripped off.
I feel like part of the story is being left out if these houses would never pass an inspection how were they properly rented? I really question if all sides are being represented by Wall Street Journal. I do think the landlords are terrible. Just calling out balanced reporting would be nice.
Triangle plans getting out of control
Now, go investigate trump’s investments
“Realtoken is a crypto real estate investment company”
That should have been enough of a red flag by itself!
Why do Investors never ask for audited financial reports from the companies they are investing in? If any company denies giving the reports or make excuses, it's a red flag for me.
America has become one giant scam.
Real Estate must come down to 60% from actual price because it is way overhyped, overinflated, overpriced. People cannot afford those very expensive home prices especially in California alone.
Anyone who has signed you fractional shares of anything run!!! If you didn't learn that lesson from 2008. I guess you've learned it by now.
Thank you for reporting on this.
So, only foreign investors are allowed because they will never fly to the US to visit the properties.
P.T. Barnum has entered the chat……………………….