The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged multiple entities that are likely operated by individuals located overseas for defrauding hundreds of retail investors, including many in the U.S., through so-called investment confidence scams where the perpetrators sought to build online relationships with unsuspecting clients before stealing their money.

In two separate complaints, both filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the SEC charged Cryptoaiml Ltd. and Cryptoaiml Capital Foundation as well as TSAI Pro Ltd. and TSAI Capital Foundation with fraud in connection with schemes that feigned SEC compliance while misappropriating more than $12.5 and $2.8 million, respectively, from investors through online platforms.

“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. “We encourage the public to report these types of schemes as they occur using our online tip portal.” 

According to the SEC complaint against Cryptoaiml and Cryptoaiml Capital Foundation, from at least August 2024 through March 2025, the entities formed WhatsApp group chats where they gained investor trust by impersonating investment professionals and issuing supposed AI-generated trading “signals” or tips claiming to produce large profits. The defendants allegedly directed investors and clients to open accounts on their fake trading platform and manipulated them into transferring crypto assets to the platform. In some cases, the defendants allegedly established an investment adviser client relationship with unwitting investors who signed investment management agreements that were represented to be legitimate. As alleged, the entities also lured investors and clients to their platform by falsely claiming to be certified by regulators, including the SEC, and posted a screenshot on their website of a falsified Form D filed by Cryptoaiml Ltd. with the SEC. The complaint alleges that there was no genuine trading platform as no trading took place, the reflected profits were fictitious, and investors who attempted to withdraw funds were told that their accounts were frozen until they paid fraudulent advance fees.

According to the SEC’s complaint against TSAI Pro Ltd. and TSAI Capital Foundation, from September 2024 to March 2025, the entities represented to investors through their website, WhatsApp chats, and public Facebook that they could earn guaranteed profits by, among other things, depositing funds on their online platform for the purpose of renting bots programmed with artificial intelligence to trade on investors’ behalf. The defendants also told investors that they could earn money by recruiting others to invest in the AI-trading bot program. They also falsely represented that TSAI—which offered and sold the bot program to investors—was fully regulated by the SEC and posted a phony certificate from the agency on their website that referenced a falsified Form D filed by TSAI Pro Ltd. As alleged, the entire AI-trading bot program was a fraud: there were no AI trading bots and deposited funds never were used to earn returns for investors.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Assistance has issued investor alerts warning investors that fraudsters may use popular group chats or claim to be officially registered with the SEC to lure investors into scams. The SEC encourages investors to use Investor.gov to check the background of anyone offering or selling them an investment.

Separately, the Forms D filed by Cryptoaiml Ltd. and TSAI Pro Ltd. have been removed from the Commission website.