<div id="readability-page-1"><div><div><p>The promise was simple and persuasive: private WhatsApp groups, guided by “professors”, offering AI-driven crypto trades with steady gains.</p><p>Behind the polished messages and confident voices, US regulators say, sat a coordinated fraud that quietly drained more than $14 million from retail investors.</p><h2>Seven Firms Accused Of Running A Coordinated Crypto Fraud</h2><p>US securities regulators have filed fraud charges against seven now-defunct companies accused of operating fake cryptocurrency platforms and sham investment clubs.</p><div><div><blockquote><p dir="ltr" lang="en">🚨REPORT: SEC files $14 million fraud complaint against network of fake crypto exchanges and investment clubs that lured victims via WhatsApp, falsely promising AI-generated investment tips and security token offerings before misappropriating funds overseas.</p>— Max Avery (@realMaxAvery) December 23, 2025</blockquote></div></div><p>The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) named Morocoin Tech Corp., Berge Blockchain Technology Co., and Cirkor Inc., alongside AI Wealth Inc., Lane Wealth Inc., AI Investment Education Foundation Ltd., and Zenith Asset Tech Foundation.</p><p>According to the 29-page complaint, the scheme ran from January 2024 to January 2025 and targeted US-based retail investors.</p><p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://image.coinlive.com/cryptotwits-static/cb78832477329219625e871b6402f477.jpg?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="2550" height="3300" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://image.coinlive.com/cryptotwits-static/cb78832477329219625e871b6402f477.jpg"/></p><p><em><span>Source: sec.gov</span></em></p><p>The regulator alleges the companies violated federal securities laws by creating the illusion of legitimate crypto trading and regulated investment products, while secretly diverting investor funds overseas.</p><h2>How Social Media And WhatsApp Became The Entry Point</h2><p>The operation began with paid advertisements on major social media platforms, designed to look like promotions for exclusive investment communities.</p><p>Some featured deepfake videos of well-known financial professionals, giving the ads an air of credibility.</p><p>Investors who responded were funnelled into WhatsApp group chats presented as investment clubs.</p><p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://image.coinlive.com/cryptotwits-static/c768ec4668922473bf0bf7f2298a9950.jpg?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="1920" height="1280" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://image.coinlive.com/cryptotwits-static/c768ec4668922473bf0bf7f2298a9950.jpg"/></p><p>Inside, organisers posed as experienced market experts, supported by assistants who handled day-to-day engagement with members.</p><p>The groups were active, structured, and persuasive.</p><p>Members received frequent market updates, confident trade ideas, and repeated claims that recommendations were powered by artificial intelligence.</p><h2>Inside The Fake Investment Clubs</h2><p>Each WhatsApp group followed a similar pattern.</p><p>A lead figure, introduced as a professor, shared commentary on markets and crypto trends.</p><p>Assistants answered questions and encouraged participation, while other accounts posed as successful members, posting screenshots of impressive gains.</p><p>According to the SEC, these images were manipulated and the trading success was entirely fictional.</p><p>The goal was to build trust quickly and create pressure to follow the group’s advice without questioning it.</p><p>Once confidence was established, members were directed to open accounts on Morocoin, Berge, or Cirkor.</p><h2>Trading Platforms That Never Traded</h2><p>The SEC says none of the three platforms carried out real crypto trading.</p><p>Instead, they displayed fabricated balances and simulated transactions, making it appear as though investor funds were growing.</p><p>Morocoin and Cirkor even described themselves as the “World’s First Stablecoin Trading Center” and published identical educational content on their websites.</p><div><div><blockquote><p dir="ltr" lang="en">the SEC is suing a group who launched Morocoin, they used AI videos of Elon promoting the coin and even made fake AI professors from Harvard to promote the coin 🤣😭https://t.co/U2vktI5Koppic.twitter.com/TOdYSGl7BD</p>— Einstein (@OnChainEinstein) December 23, 2025</blockquote></div></div><p>The platforms claimed to hold licences from the SEC, the National Futures Association, and FinCEN, all of which the regulator says were false.</p><p>They also advertised strong security protections and large insurance coverage against theft, statements the SEC describes as entirely fabricated.</p><h2>Fake Tokens And Invented Companies</h2><p>To deepen the deception, the WhatsApp clubs promoted so-called “Security Token Offerings”, likening them to early-stage public share sales.</p><p>The tokens were said to be issued by companies called NeuralNet, SatCommTech, and HumanBlock.</p><p>According to the complaint, none of these businesses existed.</p><p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://image.coinlive.com/cryptotwits-static/c70045b62ef80c2069c47df852b07255.jpg?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="1310" height="632" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://image.coinlive.com/cryptotwits-static/c70045b62ef80c2069c47df852b07255.jpg"/></p><p><em><span>Morocoin was a fake token created to defraud investors. (Source: X)</span></em></p><p>NeuralNet was presented as a brain-computer interface developer, SatCommTech as a satellite communications firm, and HumanBlock as a builder of blockchain-based humanoid robots.</p><p>Investors were promised exceptional returns.</p><p>One Zenith Asset Tech Foundation operator told investors while promoting the HumanBlock token,</p><blockquote>“It could very well define the most glorious moment of your financial life.”</blockquote><h2>Withdrawals That Triggered More Demands</h2><p>Problems surfaced when investors tried to withdraw their funds.</p><p>Instead of access to their money, they were told to pay extra charges, described variously as taxes, verification fees, or loan repayments.</p><p>In June 2024, Morocoin claimed it was under investigation by regulators and said accounts would be frozen for three years.</p><p>Investors were urged to withdraw quickly, but only after paying expedited fees from outside their accounts.</p><p>Similar notices appeared on Berge and Cirkor in January 2025.</p><p>The SEC says none of these investigations existed.</p><h2>Millions Traced Through Overseas Accounts</h2><p>The regulator traced at least $7.4 million in crypto losses from 57 investors and $6.6 million in cash losses from 26 investors.</p><p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://image.coinlive.com/cryptotwits-static/a6ed909df6917f3209e50d5181b2bbe9.png?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="1430" height="646" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://image.coinlive.com/cryptotwits-static/a6ed909df6917f3209e50d5181b2bbe9.png"/></p><p><em><span>Source: sec.gov</span></em></p><p>One Cirkor investor wired more than $1.4 million to a bank account in Indonesia.</p><p>A Morocoin investor made seven transfers totalling over $1 million to accounts in China and Hong Kong.</p><p>Funds moved through at least 27 US bank accounts and multiple private crypto wallets, with some held by individuals in China or Myanmar across Southeast Asia.</p><p>Separately, federal prosecutors recently seized $8.5 million in Tether linked to related fraud cases.</p><h2>Deepfakes And AI Add A New Layer Of Believability</h2><p>Regulators say the use of deepfake videos and AI-written messages made the scam harder to detect.</p><p>Messaging apps such as WhatsApp allowed fraudsters to control the narrative, suppress doubts, and reinforce a sense of group success.</p><p>Laura D’Allaird, chief of the SEC’s Cyber and Emerging Technologies Unit, said the case “highlights an all-too-common form of investment scam that is being used to target U.S. retail investors with devastating consequences”.</p><p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://image.coinlive.com/cryptotwits-static/5ceab3d0a273759f470361a85d4a6e3c.webp?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://image.coinlive.com/cryptotwits-static/5ceab3d0a273759f470361a85d4a6e3c.webp"/></p><p><em><span>Laura D’Allaird heads the SEC’s Cyber and Emerging Technologies Unit, leading enforcement against cyber fraud, AI scams, and crypto misconduct to protect retail investors.</span></em></p><h2>Regulatory Action And Ongoing Warnings</h2><p>The SEC filed the case in the US District Court for the District of Colorado.</p><p>It is seeking permanent injunctions, civil penalties, and the return of funds with interest.</p><p>All seven companies have since shut down their websites or vanished online.</p><p>Regulators in several US states had already received complaints from victims before the federal case was filed.</p><p>Laura D’Allaird emphasised in a statement that the SEC remains committed to protecting investors, saying,</p><blockquote>“Fraud is fraud. We will vigorously pursue securities fraud that harms retail investors, regardless of the technology or terminology used to disguise it.”</blockquote><p>Alongside the lawsuit, the SEC has warned investors not to rely on tips shared in private messaging groups and to independently verify anyone offering investment opportunities, especially those promising steady or AI-driven returns.</p></div></div></div>

WhatsApp Investment Clubs Run by Fake “Professors” Tricked US Investors Out of $14 Million, US SEC Says