U.S SEC Reveals $295M Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme Fraud

• Investors in Trade Coin Club were promised “minimum returns of 0.35% daily.”
• Tetreault has settled the SEC’s claims against him, the statement said.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced charges against four individuals for their alleged roles in a “fraudulent crypto Ponzi scheme” that defrauded investors out of about $300 million. Moreover, the SEC said on Friday that Trade Coin Club had collected 82,000 in Bitcoin from over 100,000 investors worldwide. This was between 2016 and 2018, at a value of $295 million.

Moreover, investors in Trade Coin Club were promised “minimum returns of 0.35% daily.” Through a “crypto asset trading bot,” however the SEC claims that the company is in fact a Ponzi scam. Douver Torres Braga, Joff Paradise, Keleionalani Akana Taylor, and Jonathan Tetreault were all targeted by the government agency for their purported participation in the “multi-level marketing program.”

Chief of the Enforcement Division’s Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit David Hirsch stated: 

“We allege that Braga used Trade Coin Club to steal hundreds of millions from investors around the world and enrich himself by exploiting their interest in investing in digital assets.”

The Chief added:

“To ensure our markets are fair and safe, we will continue to use blockchain tracing and analytical tools to aid us in the pursuit of individuals who perpetrate securities fraud.”

Multiple Rules Broken

According to the SEC’s allegations, Braga personally collected at least $55 million in Bitcoin, while Paradise received $1.4 million, Taylor received $2.6 million, and Tetreault received roughly $625,000.

Furthermore, federal securities laws’ anti-fraud and securities registration regulations, as well as rules requiring broker-dealers to be registered, have been allegedly broken, and the money obtained has been demanded back from the four defendants. Moreover, Tetreault has settled the SEC’s claims against him, the statement said, without confirming or disputing the SEC’s allegations.

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