SEC says two firms raised $130 million with fake crypto 'signals' and bogus SEC filings

Summary

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Oct. 29 charged BG Wealth Sharing Ltd and DSJ Exchange Pty Ltd, two foreign-operated companies incorporated in Colorado, with a fraud that raised more than $130 million from tens of thousands of retail investors, according to the agency's press release.

The SEC alleges that from at least October 2025 through June 2026 the pair promised extraordinary, risk-free returns from so-called SI-generated "signals" for crypto asset trading in a supposed "wealth-sharing program."

According to the complaint, BG Wealth falsely claimed to be the world's largest hedge fund and an SEC-registered adviser partnered with a licensed crypto trading platform, DSJ Exchange, and the two filed false Form ADV and Form D filings that were shown to investors as supposed proof of SEC approval.

The SEC is seeking permanent injunctions, disgorgement with interest and civil penalties, and says the false filings have been removed from its website.

Key facts

• Investors were located in more than 40 U.S. states and multiple U.S. territories, the SEC said. (SEC)
• The SEC says the defendants displayed fake certificates bearing the SEC's seal and made periodic payments to some investors, a Ponzi-like tactic, while misappropriating the rest of the money. (SEC)
• The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California and charges both firms under the antifraud provisions of the Securities Act and Exchange Act, and BG Wealth under the Investment Advisers Act. (SEC)
• "This alleged scheme was well-planned," said Laura D'Allaird, chief of the SEC Enforcement Division's Cyber and Emerging Technologies Unit. (SEC)
• The SEC urged investors to check anyone offering an investment on Investor.gov and said scammers are using exempt reporting adviser filings to fake legitimacy. (SEC)