World Crypto Global
- Written by: Jared Kirui
- Fri, 02 Feb 2024
- Israel
The Founder of the American Bitcoin Academy isfacing scrutiny from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) overallegations of fraud targeting his students.Based in Hurricane, Utah, and later Puerto Rico, Brian Sewell enticed hundreds of students into investing in his Rockwell Fund.He boasted of groundbreaking investment strategies based on artificialintelligence and machine learning, promising lucrative returns in the volatilecrypto market. Unmasking a Fraudulent SchemeHowever, investigations revealed that Sewell neverlaunched the fund nor implemented the advanced technologies he flaunted. TheSEC alleges that 15 students, lured by Sewell's promises, invested $1.2 millioninto the non-existent hedge fund. Gurbir Grewal, the Director of the SEC's Division ofEnforcement, mentioned: "We allege that Sewell defrauded students in hisonline American Bitcoin Academy of over a million dollars through a series oflies about investment opportunities in his purported crypto hedge fund.""Among other things, he falsely claimed thathis investment strategies would be guided by his own 'artificial intelligence'and 'machine learning' technology, which, like the fund itself, never existed.Whether it's AI, crypto, DeFi, or some other buzzword, the SEC will continue tohold accountable those who claim to use attention-grabbing technologies toattract and defraud investors."Failure to Safeguard InvestmentsInstead of fulfilling his commitments, Sewell purportedly retained the funds in Bitcoin, which were subsequently stolen when his digitalwallet fell victim to hacking. The SEC's complaint, filed in the U.S. DistrictCourt for the District of Delaware, charges Sewell and Rockwell CapitalManagement with violating antifraud provisions of federal securities laws.According to the securities watchdog, Sewell and his companyconsented to injunctive relief without admitting or denying the allegations.Rockwell Capital Management agreed to disgorge $1,602,089 in addition toprejudgment interest, while Sewell faces a civil penalty of $223,229, pendingcourt approval.Recently, the SEC attributed the unauthorized post declaring the approval of Bitcoin ETFs to a "SIM swap" attack involving the unauthorized transfer of a mobile phone number to a different device. This security breach, which occurred externally through a telecommunications network, sparked a widespread frenzy within the cryptocurrency sector.This article was written by Jared Kirui at www.financemagnates.com.
