- フィリピンのSEC（証券取引委員会）が、BG Wealthに対して不遵守を理由に差止命令（Cease and Desist）を出し、金融詐欺として警告しました。
複数の法域（米国、サモア、そしてフィリピンを含む）で約1年間、事業を運営していた後、フィリピン側の証券取引委員会（SEC）はついにBG Wealth Sharing Ltdに対して差止命令を発出しました。フィリピンの規制当局の「執行・投資家保護部門（Enforcement and Investor Protection Department）」を通じて、同社の経営陣、代表者、そしてプロモーターを含む関係者に対し、取引およびマーケティング活動を停止するよう指示しています。
What is BG Wealth
BG Wealth is a crypto scam ring founded and operated by Stephen Beard, a self-proclaimed professor and investment guru. According to the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI), the company marketed itself as an investment group and “the world’s largest hedge fund.”
The fake investment firm enticed people to join its social media channel, particularly on Facebook. From there, its operators urged unsuspecting victims to join its group via messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, or Bonchat, where they encouraged them to invest in an associated trading platform, DSJ Exchange.
ADVERTISEMENTInitially, BG Wealth gradually builds its members’ confidence by generating “advanced trading signals” with “zero risk.” These eventually translate into unrealized gains in their DSJ accounts of up to $1,500 for every $2,000 invested.
In reality, the perpetrators are allegedly just doctoring all the exchange’s data to make it appear that actual trading is taking place and that its users are benefiting from its sophisticated strategy. Meanwhile, BG Wealth immediately siphons all the money investors have poured into DSJ into its own bank accounts.
Overall, it’s a clear Ponzi scheme since it generates revenue only from new users to pay out older ones. The scam eventually unraveled when various regulators flagged BG Wealth’s activities, and users began having trouble withdrawing their funds. DSJ mysteriously freezes during those attempts, masking the issue as a mere technical glitch rather than a measured exit scam from the culprits.
ADVERTISEMENTWhat’s worse, as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) seized its platforms, BG Wealth made a last-ditch effort to demand “advanced fees” from users with frozen funds to supposedly help them withdraw their money.
差止命令の根拠
Bitpinasによると、フィリピンSECは、BG Wealthの事業が証券規制コード（SRC）および金融商品・サービス消費者保護法（FCPA）に違反していると判断しました。当局は差止命令の根拠として画期的なHoweyテストを用い、同社の一般向けの公開募集において証券を販売または提供するための登録およびライセンスが欠けていることが、金融詐欺に当たると判断しました。
不思議なことに、SECの最新の命令はBG Wealthの事業のコンプライアンス面にのみ焦点を当てていました。同命令では、ポンジスキームのような欺瞞的な勧誘も金融詐欺に含まれると述べていたものの、事業が周到なポンジスキームを運営しているという、以前の判断を改めて繰り返しませんでした。
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