SEC charges four overseas entities in $15 million investment fraud
The action targets Cryptoaiml Ltd., Cryptoaiml Capital Foundation, TSAI Pro Ltd. and TSAI Capital Foundation for schemes that defrauded investors through WhatsApp and other platforms from August 2024 through March 2025.
The Securities and Exchange Commission filed complaints in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York charging Cryptoaiml Ltd. and Cryptoaiml Capital Foundation, as well as TSAI Pro Ltd. and TSAI Capital Foundation, with fraud in connection with schemes that misappropriated more than $12.5 million and $2.8 million, respectively.
According to the complaint against Cryptoaiml, the defendants operated WhatsApp group chats from at least August 2024 through March 2025, posing as investment professionals and issuing purported AI-generated trading signals. They directed investors to a fabricated trading platform, secured crypto-asset transfers, and presented a falsified Form D screenshot on their website to suggest SEC registration. No actual trading occurred, profits were fictitious, and investors who sought withdrawals were told their accounts were frozen pending fraudulent advance fees.
The TSAI complaint alleges that from September 2024 to March 2025 the defendants used their website, WhatsApp chats and public Facebook posts to promise guaranteed returns from AI-trading bots that did not exist. They encouraged investors to recruit others and displayed a phony SEC certificate referencing a falsified Form D. Deposited funds were never used to generate returns, and the entire bot program was a deception.
"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 agency urges the public to report such schemes via its online tip portal.
The SEC's Office of Investor Education and Assistance has issued alerts warning that fraudsters may use popular group chats or claim SEC registration to lure investors. The Forms D filed by Cryptoaiml Ltd. and TSAI Pro Ltd. have been removed from the Commission website.
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