The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged multiple entities on September 29 with running so-called investment confidence scams that defrauded hundreds of retail investors, including many in the United States, of more than $15 million, according to an official SEC press release. The two complaints, both filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, accuse Cryptoaiml Ltd. and Cryptoaiml Capital Foundation, along with TSAI Pro Ltd. and TSAI Capital Foundation, of feigning SEC compliance while misappropriating roughly $12.5 million and $2.8 million respectively.
How the schemes lured investors
The SEC alleges that from at least August 2024 through March 2025, the Cryptoaiml entities formed WhatsApp group chats where they impersonated investment professionals and issued supposedly AI-generated trading signals that promised large profits. Investors were directed to open accounts on a fake trading platform and manipulated into transferring crypto assets onto it. The commission says there was no genuine platform: no trades ever took place, the displayed profits were fictitious, and anyone who tried to withdraw was told their account was frozen until they paid fraudulent advance fees.
The complaint against TSAI Pro and TSAI Capital Foundation describes a parallel scheme running from September 2024 to March 2025. The entities advertised guaranteed profits to anyone who deposited funds to rent AI trading bots that would supposedly trade on their behalf, and offered extra earnings for recruiting others into the program. The SEC says the entire bot program was a fraud, with no real AI trading bots and deposited funds never used to generate returns.
A $15 million tally built on faked registration
Across the two cases, the regulator alleges losses of at least $15 million, more than $12.5 million tied to the Cryptoaiml entities and about $2.8 million to the TSAI entities. Both groups bolstered their credibility by falsely claiming to be regulated by the SEC. The Cryptoaiml website posted a screenshot of a falsified Form D filing, while TSAI displayed a phony certificate from the agency. The SEC said it has removed the Forms D filed by Cryptoaiml Ltd. and TSAI Pro Ltd. from its website.
A widening crackdown on confidence scams
“Although the methods used to bilk innocent investors in these fraudulent investment scams varied, the goal was the same — promise potential investors outsized returns, claim that they were legitimate entities regulated by the SEC, and then steal their money,” said David Woodcock, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Assistance has issued alerts warning that fraudsters use group chats and false claims of SEC registration to lure victims, and it urged the public to report similar schemes through its online tip portal. The action follows a string of enforcement crackdowns, including the CFTC’s charges over a $950 million forex Ponzi scheme.
