Brandon Truaxe, founder of cult skin care brand Deciem, announced Monday that the company would shut down immediately due to what he said was "major criminal activity."
"Hi everyone, I'm Brandon Truaxe, founder of Deciem," he said in an Instagram video. "This is the final post of Deciem, which we will shut down all operations until further notice, which will be about two months."
The video, which was posted to the company's official Instagram page, was filmed inside a vehicle and featured a panicked Truaxe introducing two other men who he claims are colleagues.
"Almost everyone at Deciem has been involved in a major criminal activity, which includes financial crimes and much other," Truaxe says. "You have no idea what a soldier I've been for more than 13 years."
Truaxe ends the video by saying, "I've been made fun of as a porn actor and as a fucking drug dealer and everything for 13 years and it's all ending now."
The video was accompanied by an incoherent caption that mentions several hotels, beauty brands, and clothing companies, as well as actors Brad Pitt, Ben Affleck, and George Clooney. He also tagged Donald Trump and Richard Branson.
Truaxe started Deciem in 2013 and went on to launch The Ordinary and NIOD.
They have become leading brands in the self-care and skin care movement, and have been praised for being affordable and transparent in their use.
However, more recently the founder's erratic behavior has led some to question the stability of the company.
In January, Truaxe announced that he would be taking over Deciem's Instagram and responding to all emails himself. In April he reportedly fired all of the company's US staff and in May published a now-deleted open letter in which he hinted at "financial wrongdoings/crimes of one and/or more of DECIEM’s shareholders."
Monday's Instagram post confused and upset many fans of the brand, who have been following the ongoing drama at the company.
At this point I can't even be arsed keeping up with the Deciem drama.
Me on my way to deciem before the stores shut down
Having a minor nervous breakdown after hearing the news that Deciem/The Ordinary is shutting down and HALF OF MY SKINCARE IS THE ORDINARY WTF 😳
Representatives for Deciem didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.