"The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed charges against multiple companies for their alleged involvement in an elaborate cryptocurrency scam that swindled more than $14 million from retail investors. The complaint charged crypto asset trading platforms Morocoin Tech Corp., Berge Blockchain Technology Co., Ltd., and Cirkor Inc., as well as investment clubs AI Wealth Inc., Lane Wealth Inc., AI Investment Education Foundation (AIIEF) Ltd., and Zenith Asset Tech Foundation, in connection with the operation."
"The SEC said the scam unfolded as a multi-step fraud that enticed unsuspecting users with ads on social media and built trust with them through group chats in which the scammers posed as financial professionals and promised returns from artificial intelligence (AI)-generated investment tips. The fraudsters then convinced the victims to invest their funds into fake cryptocurrency asset trading platforms, only to defraud them later."
"According to the SEC, AI Wealth, Lane Wealth, AIIEF, and Zenith operated investment clubs on messaging apps like WhatsApp to which retail investors were lured into joining via ads on social media. While AI Wealth and Lane Wealth operated their WhatsApp groups from at least January 2024 to June 2024, AIIEF and Zenith ran from at least July 2024 to January 2025."
The SEC filed charges against crypto trading platforms Morocoin Tech Corp., Berge Blockchain Technology Co., Ltd., and Cirkor Inc., plus investment clubs AI Wealth, Lane Wealth, AIIEF Ltd., and Zenith Asset Tech Foundation for a $14 million fraud. The scheme used social media ads to recruit retail investors and built trust through messaging-app group chats where scammers posed as financial professionals offering AI-generated investment tips. Victims were persuaded to deposit funds into fake cryptocurrency trading platforms and were later defrauded. WhatsApp groups ran between January 2024 and January 2025, and an unnamed Beijing individual allegedly paid some registrations.
Read at The Hacker News
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