The US Securities and Exchange Commission says fake AI trading platforms used WhatsApp and Facebook to build trust with investors before taking their money.
America's markets watchdog has gone to court against four entities it says ran fake online investment platforms that stole more than $15 million from hundreds of small investors, using WhatsApp group chats and Facebook to win people over first.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the agency that regulates investments in the United States, announced the cases on 29 September 2026. It filed two separate complaints in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Who has been charged
The first complaint names Cryptoaiml Ltd. and Cryptoaiml Capital Foundation. The SEC says these entities took more than $12.5 million from investors between at least August 2024 and March 2025.
The second names TSAI Pro Ltd. and TSAI Capital Foundation, accused of misappropriating more than $2.8 million between September 2024 and March 2025.
The SEC says the people behind the entities are likely operating from outside the United States. It did not name any individuals.
How the alleged schemes worked
According to the SEC, the Cryptoaiml operators set up WhatsApp group chats where they posed as investment professionals and shared supposed AI-generated trading "signals" promising big profits. Investors were then told to open accounts on the group's trading platform and move crypto assets into it.
The regulator alleges there was no real trading at all. The profits shown on screen were made up, and anyone who tried to withdraw money was told their account was frozen until they paid extra fees.
In the TSAI case, the SEC says investors were told they could rent trading bots powered by artificial intelligence that would trade on their behalf and deliver guaranteed profits. Investors were also offered rewards for recruiting other people into the programme. The SEC says the bots did not exist and deposits were never invested.
Fake regulator stamps
A common thread in both cases, the SEC says, was the claim of official approval. Both groups allegedly told investors they were regulated by the SEC. Cryptoaiml is accused of posting a screenshot of a falsified Form D filing on its website, while TSAI allegedly displayed a phony SEC certificate referring to its own falsified Form D. Both filings have since been taken down from the Commission's website.
"Promise potential investors outsized returns, claim that they were legitimate entities regulated by the SEC, and then steal their money," said David Woodcock, Director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement, describing the pattern.
Why it matters here
WhatsApp investment groups and "AI trading" offers circulate widely among Ghanaians at home and in the diaspora, and cross-border crypto transfers are hard to reverse once sent.
The SEC says investors should check the background of anyone selling an investment on Investor.gov, and report suspected schemes through its online tip portal. Guaranteed returns and claims of regulatory certification, it warns, are common features of these frauds.
