Key facts
- The SEC won a fraud suit against crypto platform NanoBit Limited.
- The court ordered NanoBit and its affiliates to pay a total of $5.4 million in fines, disgorgement, and interest.
- NanoBit allegedly operated a fake crypto trading platform, impersonating financial professionals to solicit funds.
- Investor funds were allegedly diverted to scheme participants, with hundreds of thousands of dollars in crypto assets misappropriated.
- The court issued permanent injunctions against the defendants, prohibiting them from engaging in securities transactions.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has secured a final judgment of $5.4 million against NanoBit Limited and its affiliates in a fraud case concerning a fake cryptocurrency trading platform. The SEC accused NanoBit of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from at least 18 investors between 2023 and 2024.
The judgment, entered by the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York, found that the defendants violated US securities laws. NanoBit was ordered to pay a $1.18 million fine, over $532,000 in disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, and nearly $81,200 in prejudgment interest, totaling approximately $1.8 million. Its affiliates, Radiant Horizons, Sweet Karma, and Zhao Deli, were each ordered to pay a $1.18 million fine. Jiajie Liu, identified as a main orchestrator of the scheme, was ordered to pay about $120,000 in penalties, disgorgement, and prejudgment interest.
According to the SEC's allegations, NanoBit's operators impersonated financial professionals on social media platforms like Instagram and in WhatsApp groups to lure investors. Investors were allegedly shown a fake dashboard depicting rising returns, creating the illusion of growth. The platform falsely claimed its affiliate, NanobitUS Securities, was SEC-registered and promoted fake initial coin offerings (ICOs) promising substantial returns. The SEC stated that no transactions occurred on the NanoBit platform; instead, investor funds were diverted to scheme participants, with over $2 million wired to Hong Kong bank accounts and hundreds of thousands of dollars in crypto assets misappropriated. Investors seeking withdrawals were reportedly met with excuses, asked to pay large fees, or removed from groups for questioning the platform's legitimacy.