The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) brings charges against Nathan Fuller, a Texas resident, for running a multi-million dollar cryptocurrency investment fraud scheme. The case is filed in the United States Southern District of Texasseeks numerous penalties against the defendant for defrauding 150 victims.
In a press release On May 28, the SEC reported that Fuller had announced and sold interests in a cryptocurrency trading joint venture under Privvy Investments LLC, associated with the trade names Privvy Investments and Gateway Digital Investments. The man from Cypress allegedly promised some investors 40% to 50% gains within 30 days, while others promised a ridiculously bold 100% return in 21 days.
The Commission explains that Nathan Fuller lured unsuspecting victims into his fraudulent scheme through a business model centered around artificial intelligence-based trading bots that executed high-frequency arbitrage trades on multiple cryptocurrency exchanges. Furthermore, the insurance promises included a surety bond, a professional liability insurance policy, and a FDIC clearance.
150 investors were scammed in a classic cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme
According to the SEC report, Fuller’s crypto asset investment fraud continued from approximately October 2022 to mid-2024. During this period, the defendant collected $12.3 million from 150 investors. Despite promises of big gains from his AI trading bot, SEC investigations revealed that Fuller blatantly misappropriated investors’ funds for two main purposes.
First, the Texas resident spent $6.2 million on personal expenses, including luxury goods, gambling tours and a home worth about $1 million for his ex-wife. At the same time, Fuller also posted $5.5 million to make fraud-like payments, thus creating the illusion of a functional trading plan to continue attracting more investors.
Fuller is charged with assault Sections 5(a), 5(c), and 17(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5 thereunder.which covers the illegal offer and sale of unregistered securities, as well as fraudulent and deceptive practices in connection with the purchase or sale of securities.
The committee is pushing for multiple sanctions to be imposed on Fuller, including… permanent Injunctions, recovery of ill-gotten gains with prejudgment interest, and imposition of civil monetary penalties.
Crypto market overview
At the time of writing, the total cryptocurrency market capitalization stands at $2.48 trillion, representing a decline of approximately 9% over the past week. This market loss came amid widespread bearish sentiment across Bitcoin and other crypto assets.
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