SEC Charges 11 in $300m Crypto Pyramid Scheme

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged 11 people for their roles in creating and promoting a fraudulent crypto pyramid called Forsage that raised more than $300 million from retail investors worldwide, including in the US.

Those charged include the four founders of the scheme last known to be living in Russia, Georgia and Indonesia, the SEC said in a statement.

Launched in January 2020, the scheme's website allowed millions of retail investors to enter into transactions via smart contracts and earn profits by recruiting others. The pyramid scheme has been operating for more than two years, the SEC said.

Forsage is a fraudulent pyramid scheme launched on a massive scale and aggressively marketed to investors,

said Carolyn Welshhans, acting chief of the SEC's Crypto Assets and Cyber unit.

Two of the accused agreed to settle the charges and one of them agreed to pay penalties, even though they neither admitted nor denied the allegations.