Evidence #2 — Who’s Really Running the Shell Network?
In Evidence #1, I showed you my paystub from DRVM LLC, a dissolved shell company paying me while tied to a web of over 100 corporate entities at a single Las Vegas address.
Now, let’s step back and ask: Who’s actually running this?
Sanofi at the Top, But Not in the Trenches
Sanofi benefits enormously from this structure, but the evidence suggests they’re not the ones running it day-to-day. They appear to retain executive control while outsourcing operations to:
• Subsidiaries like Chattem Inc.
• Acquired companies like Quten Research Institute (Qunol)
• Trusted individuals like Ashraf “Peter” Boutros and Deepak Chopra
• Legal entities and trusts that handle the dirty work while keeping Sanofi’s name clean
Think of this as a pyramid:
• Top tier — Sanofi makes the major decisions, reaps the profits, and shields itself from liability.
• Middle tier — Subsidiaries and acquired brands that appear “independent” to the public.
• Bottom tier — Shell companies, trusts, and individuals that carry out the work and take the legal risk.
Sanofi’s Dark Origin Story
Sanofi wasn’t always a pharmaceutical company. Nearly 50 years ago, they were a French government–owned oil company. Their history includes the Elf Aquitaine scandal. One of France’s biggest political corruption cases, involving bribery, offshore accounts, and corporate manipulation.
Eventually, Sanofi pivoted to pharmaceuticals. On paper, it was a move into “healthcare” and “helping the world.” In practice, they brought with them the same sophisticated corporate structuring and secrecy they had mastered in the oil industry.
Their business model became acquiring smaller pharmaceutical companies, swallowing up innovators and folding them into Sanofi’s empire. It’s a standard corporate growth model, but what’s happening underneath is anything but standard.
Enter Quten Research Institute
Quten Research Institute, known for the Qunol brand (magnesium gummies, CoQ10), was co-founded by Deepak Chopra and Ashraf Peter Boutros. Sanofi acquired them in 2023.
Quten is central to my case. It’s the company producing the supplements I was selling inside Costco, but they can’t openly run a questionable shell-company staffing operation under their own name.
The Boutros Connection
From my investigation, it appears Boutros and his family control the shell structure that staffs these Costco supplement demos.
At the heart of this is Maged Boutros, Ashraf’s son, the “marketing king” of Qunol since the beginning. His job: make sure the marketing, staffing, and shell operations run smoothly.
Either Maged himself or a law firm under his direction began creating shell companies in multiple states under his name. These shells hired workers, including me, while hiding the true corporate employer.
How the Shell Rotation Works
Employees are told they work for “Direct Demo,” but legally, Direct Demo doesn’t exist as a licensed employer. Instead, paychecks come from rotating shell companies with names like:
• DRVM LLC
• AMJ Services LLC
• MK Marketing LLC
• DRC Demo
At any time, employees can be switched from one shell to another without their knowledge. If a lawsuit or labor dispute arises, that shell can be abandoned, and the operation continues under a different entity.
This is highly advantageous when you’re a politically connected billionaire protected by top law firms and corporate loopholes.
The First Thread I Pulled
When I looked at my paycheck from DRVM LLC, I traced it to Nevada, then to the state where I was working: Oregon. It was inactive..
What I also found:
• The registered agent’s address was a trailer park
• The business license had been dissolved for over a year
• The CEO listed: Maged Boutros
This meant:
• I was being paid by a nonexistent legal employer
• LLC protections may not even apply — meaning the CEO could be personally liable
The Doctor Behind the Curtain
Researching Maged revealed he’s not just an executive, he’s a practicing MD in New Jersey. This staffing scheme is his hidden side business, concealed from patients and colleagues.
If they had simply paid the wages owed to me, none of this would have come to light. Instead, their refusal exposed a deeper deception, one that’s been running for years.
Maged Isn’t the Top
Maged is the first layer. He’s following in the footsteps of others, and the structure existed before he took control of operations.
In the next evidence posts, I’ll go deeper — showing the older, more entrenched layers of this network, and how it ties back to Sanofi’s subsidiaries, law firms, and decades-old corporate patterns.
