- Regulators in the United States state of Texas have brought charges against 15 unregulated investment platforms advertising false investments.
- Ten of those platforms were allegedly created by a Texas resident named James Blundell.
- Those same regulators have led over 40 counter-fraud investigations related to cryptocurrency since 2017.
Regulators in the United States have brought charges against 15 unregulated investment platforms for advertising false investments.
Regulators in the United States (US) state of Texas took action against 15 illegal investment platforms. The platforms allegedly advertised fraudulent cryptocurrency investments, forex investments and binary options to unwitting investors.
Additionally, Commissioner Travis Iles revealed several orders included in the court action, including three cease and desist orders to separate entities.
An individual, named James Blundell, was linked to at least ten of the platforms and has been accused of masterminding their operation. He is also alleged to have set up entities with the misleading names “Reliable Miners,” “BitcoinFX Options,” “Sure Trade Earnings,” and “CryptoTradeFXWay, all of which committed to extraordinarily high returns for the investment options they were offering.
Blundell, who lives in Texas, also allegedly set up a number of accounts on social media that he used to publicize and promote his illegal investment options. He made himself out to be an experienced cryptocurrency investor and even suggested he possessed an official trading license. However, the Texas State Securities Board (TSSB) suggested that that license was likely to be fraudulent too.
Three additional fraudulent platforms with similar names to those given above were also charged by the TSSB who accused them of fraudulently claiming to operate out of Valentine, Texas. They are accused of illegally encouraging investors to invest in binary options, forex and cryptocurrencies for, again, extraordinarily high returns.
These companies also claimed returns on the so-called investments were guaranteed and used made-up testimonials to support that claim.
The TSSB began its crackdown against fraudulent companies acting in the cryptocurrency sector in 2017 just before Bitcoin (BTC) reached its all-time high of $20,000. It is a leader amongst regulatory bodies in the United States, having led nearly 40 counter-fraud investigations and taking action against over 100 entities and individuals during those investigations.
