- A trading bot was to auto-invest, but the funds never reached the market.
- A massive portion of the defrauded Bitcoin went to the Ponzi scheme promoters and creators.
- Trade Coin Club investors were to receive 0.35% minimum returns per day.
The United States SEC (Securities & Exchange Commission) charged Trade Coin Club’s three advertisers and creators for embezzling $295 million from over 100,000 crypto traders. The Ponzi scheme company obtained over 82,000 BTC from investors.
The event happened between 2016 & 2018. Furthermore, Trade Coin Club promised investors 0.35% minimum returns (each day). A cryptocurrency trading bot was to trade for market players as they enjoy daily profits “without a hurdle.”
Nevertheless, the Securities & Exchange Commission claims the company is a Pyramid scheme. The government targeted Jonathan Tetreault, Keleionalani Akana Taylor, Joff Paradise, and Douver Torres Braga for participation in the scam crypto projects.
David Hirsch of the Enforcement’s Crypto Assets & Cyber Unit stated that Braga utilized Trade Coin Club to embezzle massive cash amounts for market players globally to enrich himself while exploiting investor interest in crypto investments.
He added that they would keep using blockchain analytical and tracing tools to discover individuals that run securities fraud.
Several Rules Broken
The SEC’s allegations revealed that Braga collected around $55 million in BTC, Paradise got $1.4 million, Taylor $2.6 million, and Treault collected nearly $625,000. Moreover, the Ponzi project broke the Fed securities policies’ anti-fraud & securities registration laws and the regulations that require broker/dealer registration.
Meanwhile, the statement revealed that Tetreault settled the Securities & Exchange Commission’s claims against him without disputing or confirming the regulator’s allegations.
The SEC Promises Crypto Traders a Better World
The United States monetary regulator (in June) revealed plans to cooperate with cryptocurrency networks to register nearly all crypto ICOs (initial coin offerings. He told Congress that market players remain vulnerable to losing cash in the crypto world, a market boating more than 8,000 tokens.
Meantime, multiple individuals globally have shown increased interest in digital assets. Thus more regulation remains paramount.
