I'm reminded of Cormac Herley's theory about Nigerian scammers acknowledging they're from Nigeria because they prefer to deal with people naive enough not to see that as a red flag https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/publication/why-do-...

Unlike your average Nigerian scammer, these guys also presumably had the ability to afford a web designer and someone to write copy that looked vaguely legitimate if they'd wanted to. Trouble is, investors that aren't ludicrously unsophisticated are more likely to ask awkward questions and get lawyers involved...