SEC Charges Creator of Global Crypto Ponzi Scheme and Three U.S. Promoters Over $295 Million Fraud

Posted on November 16th, 2022 at 2:51 PM
SEC Charges Creator of Global Crypto Ponzi Scheme and Three U.S. Promoters Over $295 Million Fraud

From the Desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Douver Braga, Joff Paradise, Keleionalani Taylor, and Jonathan Tetrault for their roles in Trade Coin Club, which was a fraudulent Ponzi scheme that raised nearly $295 million from over 100,000 investors worldwide.

According to the SEC, Braga created and operated Trade Coin Club, a multi-level marketing program in existence between 2016 and 2018, which promised profits from the trading activities of a purported crypto asset trading bot. Braga and Paradise obtained investor capital via false representations that the trading bot made “millions of microtransactions” every second, and that investors would generate minimum returns of 0.35% each day, according to the SEC. However, Braga instead misappropriated investors funds to pay a network of Trade Coin Club promoters, including Paradise, Taylor and Tetreault.

The SEC’s complaint further alleges that all investor withdrawals from the Trade Coin Club were funded by earlier investor deposits, not from any crypto asset trading bot. According to the SEC, Braga personally received at least 8,396 bitcoin of the amounts invested (worth $55 million at the time), Paradise received 238 bitcoin (worth more than $1.4 million at the time), Taylor received 735 bitcoin (worth more than $2.6 million at the time), and Tetreault received 158 bitcoin (worth more than $625,000 at the time). The SEC’s complaint seeks injunctive relief, disgorgement and civil penalties.

Eccleston Law LLC represents investors and financial advisors nationwide in securities, employment, regulatory and disciplinary matters.

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