Two Brothers Accused of Operating a $60 Million Cryptocurrency Ponzi Scheme
Publication Time:2024-08-27 10:16:12
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently announced charges against two brothers, Jonathan Adam and his brother Tanner Adam, for allegedly orchestrating a $60 million cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme. According to the complaint filed on August 26 with the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia in Atlanta, this scheme attracted over 80 investors through a fictitious cryptocurrency trading robot that claimed to deliver returns of up to 13.5% per month. However, the complaint states that so-called 'arbitrage opportunities' and 'small price discrepancies' were fabricated. In reality, from January 2023 to June 2024, the Adam brothers assured investors their trading plan involved flash loans and transactions conducted by borrowing and returning assets on cryptocurrency platforms. These funds were supposed to be invested into a lending pool to support these operations. However, Justin Jeffries, deputy director of enforcement for the SEC’s Atlanta regional office, said that the trading plan was fraudulent from the start and that no such trading robot existed. Jeffries also noted that the brothers misappropriated approximately $53.9 million during this operation. While some investors received payouts, most of the funds were squandered by the brothers, including money spent on purchasing cars and trucks, as well as building an apartment worth $30 million. The SEC has frozen the emergency assets of GCZ Global, LLC and Triten Financial Group LLC, which are owned by the Adam brothers, to prevent further illegal activity.
Cryptocurrency
Ponzi Scheme
Fake Trading Robot
SEC Charges