The crypto industry has been catching the attention of the entire globe. With the value of Bitcoin reaching new heights, people have been making attempts to garner some easy money, not in the most honest way. Several governments have been trying to bring down illicit operations and Texas seems to be the latest to conduct a “series of sweeping actions.”
Texas State Securities Board Slaps Several Crypto Platforms With Cease And Desist Order
In an elaborate article titled, “Commissioner Announces Series of Sweeping Actions Against Fifteen Online Crypto, Forex and Binary Options Investment Scammers” published by the Texas State Securities Board, the agency revealed that several investment platforms were brought down for carrying out fraudulent investment schemes. The post penned down by Commissioner Travis J. Iles pointed out that over fifteen platforms including forex, binary options as well as crypto were formulating deceiving projects in the state. Three cease and desist orders were issued against the platforms. The first cease and desist order was issued against James Blundell, an individual who defrauded people through ten platforms that offered crypto investment opportunities.
Blundell, a resident of Seabrook Texas created social media profiles and lured people to invest in his platforms. His scammy platforms included, Proactive Expert Trading, Reliable Miners, BitcoinFX Options, Sure Trade Earnings, CryptoTradeFXWay, Proactive ExpertTrade, ReliableFX Internal Trade, MaxFX Internal Trade, AntPoolTop Mining and ExpertTrades247. The investment plans on these websites ranged from $10K all the way to $1,000,000 with a profit of 80% per hour for 24-hours.
Another order was issued against Binary Trade Forex, FX Trades, and IQTrade. These websites promised its users a daily return of 30% to 120%. The plans on this website ranged from $500 to $10,000.
Speaking about the same and alerting the investors, the Commissioner further wrote,
“Investors can’t afford to take everything at face value when transacting over the internet. They need to thoroughly investigate before they invest– because on the internet, anyone can fake a trading license, publish phony testimonials or falsely claim to be regulated by an offshore agency.”
Investors were urged by the Commissioner to steer clear of scammy operations. The Texas State Securities Board Commissioner also gave its citizens a means of contact in case they came across such schemes or platforms. The post read,
“Investors can begin the due diligence process by contacting the Texas State Securities Board by telephone at 512-305-8392 or by email at enforceinfo@ssb.texas.gov.”