SEC flags dozens of websites offering fraudulent services
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The US securities regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has taken action against investment platforms offering fraudulent services. The regulator has charged GA investors and several unnamed platforms with the failure to secure the appropriate licenses and continue extending illegal services to investors.
SEC flags websites offering fraudulent services
The fraudulent investment platforms flagged by the SEC include crypto asset mining pools that provided their services using dozens of websites. The order made by the SEC has also required that the defendants take down the websites immediately and seize extending their services to potential clients.
The websites flagged by the regulator targeted victims that are not only located in the United States but also globally. The SEC charges also target GA investors and other individuals that are accused of engaging in fraudulent activities. The US securities regulator is also looking for a court order for a temporary restraining order against these platforms.
The SEC is also urging the courts to freeze the assets belonging to the companies and any emergency relief. The regulator is also looking to recover the funds belonging to the victims, as it also considers imposing civil monetary penalties against these platforms.
The SEC filed a complaint at a federal court in Massachusetts regarding these fraudulent dealings. The fraudulent websites provided massive returns that were as high as 61.9% a day to lure investors. They claimed to provide these returns on securities investments. Some of the websites flagged by the SEC include some that have impersonated legitimate brokerage platforms to avoid raising suspicion.
It is challenging for fraudulent investment platforms to be detected by investors. These platforms can only be identified if the victim makes a complaint against them to the authorities. However, securities regulators have been actively monitoring the market to discover these platforms and stop their fraudulent dealings. Fraudsters are still stealing money from investors despite these platforms being detected.
“The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (OIEA) has issued Investor Alerts warning investors about fraudulent crypto trading websites and crypto investment scams. Additionally, OIEA and the FBI jointly warned investors about fraudsters who falsely claim to be registered – or who impersonate registered investment professionals – in order to lure investors into scams,” the SEC said.
Fraudulent websites wanted to defraud investors
The complaint filed by the SEC has also said that GA investors solicited around $85,000 from investors. The money was obtained by the company conducting fraudulent dealings related to securities.
The GA Investors websites also provided guaranteed daily returns that ranged between 2% and 4.5%. These returns were significantly high for any financial asset. The fraudulent trading platform has also urged investors to acquire crypto assets from a separate crypto asset trading platform and transfer these digital assets to a wallet address owned by GA Investors.
This fraudulent trading platform supported small withdrawals for some investors. However, it later suspended withdrawals after investors looked to recoup large investments. These allegations against the platform include holding investor funds and misusing these funds.
