SEC Cracking Down: 28 Companies Flagged For Unlicensed Activity

The US Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, has recently announced that it has flagged a total of 28 companies. The regulator accuses these companies of illegal solicitation of investors without the possession of the registrations required for it. A total of 8 of these 28 companies have been offering digital currency services, as well.

Eight Flagged Firms Doing Business In Crypto

The regulator had revealed through its press release that three of these firms have also been flagged for impersonating genuine firms. A total of six of these flagged companies have allegedly served as fake regulators, as well. In the release, the SEC stated that these firms have all been primarily targeting non-US investors, doing so through the use of misleading information.

As for the digital currency scammers in this 28-strong list, the SEC has named SmartCoins24, Axtrading Investment, Passive Trade Plan, and RetireWell Investors.

The New Suspects

SmartCoins24, in particular, claims to be a globally reputable trading platform. It offers an array of cryptocurrencies for trading, such as ETH, BTC, as well as Litecoin. The interesting part comes with its account deposits: The Basic account will set a scammed investor back $250, but the Ultimate account, the so-called best SmartCoins24 has to offer, will have an unfortunate investor shovel out a total of $50,000.

AxTrading, in turn, falsely claims to be one of the most trusted and largest exchanges within the world’s decentralized finance space. Further false claims from the firm come by claiming to have over 1 million clients spread across more than 200 jurisdictions. The firm claims to have processed an excess of $3 billion in transactions, offering indices, stocks, and commodities as well.

Tried And True Deplorable Tactics

Sadly, as is the norm, retirees have primarily been targeted when it comes to digital currency products from fraudulent firms. RetireWell Investors is a prime example of this, with the fake firm offering trading services for BTC. This firm boasts the infamous “Guaranteed weekly return” on your investments, promising 3% growth a week. RetireWell holds a minimum investment of $500

As one would expect, all of these 28 firms have been added to the Public Alert: Unregistered Soliciting Entities (PAUSE) list. Jennifer Diamantis, the SEC’s Office of Market Intelligence Chief, gave a public statement about the matter.

According to Diamantis, the updating of the PAUSE List is a demonstration from the SEC that it provides the public with information it’s gain through complaints, tips, referrals, as well as other sources it has reviewed.