SEC links AI-branded group chats, fake crypto platforms, and deepfake guru marketing into one $14M fraud narrative and a fresh warning shot at retail-facing “AI trading” plays.
By Yana Khlebnikova
Editor Julia Sakovich
Updated
3 mins read
The SEC charged three crypto trading platforms and four AI investment clubs on December 22 for allegedly stealing over $14 million from U.S. retail investors. According to a press release, the victims were shepherded in from social media and WhatsApp groups.
The complaint names Morocoin Tech Corp., Berge Blockchain Technology Co. Ltd., and Cirkor Inc., along with AI Wealth Inc., Lane Wealth Inc., AI Investment Education Foundation Ltd., and Zenith Asset Tech Foundation. It alleges that from January 2024 through January 2025, they ran fake “crypto asset trading platforms” and club-style pools that never executed real trades.
According to the SEC, promoters pulled victims from social media ads. Some featured deepfake videos of prominent figures in finance. People were lured to get into WhatsApp groups branded as investment clubs, where “professors” and “assistants” pushed AI-generated trading “signals” and then steered users to open accounts on Morocoin, Berge, and Cirkor.
“Our complaint alleges a multi-step fraud that attracted victims with ads on social media, built victims’ trust in group chats where fraudsters posed as financial professionals and promised profits from AI-generated investment tips, then convinced victims to put their money into fake crypto asset trading platforms where it was misappropriated,” SEC Cyber and Emerging Technologies Unit Chief Laura D’Allaird stated in the release.
The SEC says the clubs and platforms also pushed “Security Token Offerings” that they presented as zero-risk, high-yield products issued by legitimate businesses. In reality, neither the offerings nor the underlying companies existed, and the platforms fabricated trading activity.
When victims tried to withdraw, the defendants allegedly demanded upfront “taxes,” “fees,” or “deposits,” at times claiming that the SEC or another agency had frozen or was about to freeze accounts. SEC detailed this pattern again in a separate Investor.gov alert on group-chat scams published the same day.
The enforcement action was filed in the District of Colorado. It alleges violations of the antifraud provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. It seeks permanent injunctions, disgorgement with interest from Morocoin, Berge, and Cirkor, and civil penalties against all named defendants.
In a parallel move, the SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Assistance flagged that fraud rings now combine AI tools, including deepfake impersonations of “gurus” and scripted bot-style commentary, with private group chats to create the appearance of expert-led trading communities. Later, they route users into sham crypto platforms and “AI node” schemes.
The Commission tied the Dec. 22 charges to a rising trend in social media-to-messaging app fraud. It cites prior actions against relationship-based crypto scams that also funneled victims from WhatsApp, LinkedIn, and Instagram into fake exchanges like NanoBit and CoinW6 starting in 2024.
FINRA, in a separate December 9 alert, reported a 300% jump in complaints about fraudulent “investment groups” that start on Instagram or Facebook and migrate to encrypted chats such as WhatsApp. The regulators now view closed chat funnels as a primary venue for retail exploitation.
Disclaimer: Coinspeaker is committed to providing unbiased and transparent reporting. This article aims to deliver accurate and timely information but should not be taken as financial or investment advice. Since market conditions can change rapidly, we encourage you to verify information on your own and consult with a professional before making any decisions based on this content.
Yana Khlebnikova joined CoinSpeaker as an editor in January 2025, after previous stints at Techopedia, crypto.news, Cointelegraph, and CoinMarketCap, where she honed her expertise in cryptocurrency journalism.
