US Exchange Authority Considers Additional Custodians for 2 Cryptocurrencies

Previously, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it had frozen the assets of Jonathan Adam of Angleton, Texas, and his brother, Tanner Adam, of Miami, Florida, and their companies, GCZ Global LLC and Triten Financial Group LLC.

The SEC accused the brothers of operating a Ponzi scheme worth USD 60 million or equivalent to IDR 924.8 billion (assuming an exchange rate of IDR 15,424 per US dollar), which affected more than 80 investors throughout the United States.

According to the SEC complaint, between January 2023 and June 2024, Adams falsely promised investors up to 13.5 percent monthly returns through a crypto-asset trading “bot.”

Associate Director of Enforcement at the SEC Atlanta Regional Office, Justin C. Jeffries said, the Adam brothers promised their investors high returns on nonexistent crypto investments, and then used investor funds to make Ponzi-like payments.

“The two used client funds to purchase designer goods, recreational vehicles and multi-million dollar homes,” Jeffries said, as quoted by Bitcoin.com, written Saturday (8/31/2024).

The SEC claims the bots and lending pools described to investors did not exist, and investor funds were instead misused for personal use and to make payments to previous investors.

The complaint further reveals that Tanner Adam allegedly used investor money to finance a $30 million Miami condominium, while Jonathan Adam allegedly spent $480,000 on vehicles.