The Securities and Exchange Commission has brought fraud charges against two Colorado-based companies for orchestrating a $130 million crypto scam. The scheme ran from October 2025 through June 2026, deceiving tens of thousands of retail investors across more than 40 U.S. states, even though the firms were incorporated in Colorado but operated from overseas locations.
BG Wealth Sharing positioned itself as the “world’s largest hedge fund” and falsely claimed SEC licensing. The firm guaranteed investors monthly returns of at least 60% with “zero risk,” backed by AI-driven trading signals developed by its founder, “Professor” Stephen Beard. To enhance credibility, BG Wealth partnered with DSJ Exchange, a crypto trading platform it advertised as “secure.”
The SEC’s filing shows both entities submitted fraudulent Forms ADV and D, documents typically used to register investment advisors, directing victims to deposit funds into DSJ Exchange and follow BG Wealth’s trading instructions. The firm claimed only 1% of investor money was automatically traded, with the remainder held in an “open crypto market.” In reality, the SEC alleges no investments were ever executed, and the promised profits were entirely fabricated. Some funds were redirected to earlier investors to sustain the deception.
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The fraud relied on a multi-level marketing approach, including weekly video conferences, encrypted communications, and in-person gatherings. In April 2026, BG Wealth hosted an event in Sandy, Utah, where attendees received giveaways such as a Tesla, iPhones, and cash to draw in new participants. Despite regulatory warnings from foreign authorities as early as May 2025 and cease-and-desist orders from states including Alaska, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin beginning in March 2026, the operation continued until June 2026.
Withdrawals were made difficult through fees as high as 20% and processing delays of multiple days. When the FBI seized one of BG Wealth’s websites in April 2026, the firm falsely attributed the breach to a “Chinese hack.” Later, DSJ Exchange completely blocked withdrawals. The SEC has since removed the fraudulent filings from public records and is pursuing injunctions and civil penalties against both entities.
This case follows a larger enforcement push: in late August 2026, the SEC charged 38 separate entities in federal court for submitting false Form ADV filings, some originating from servers located abroad. The agency’s Office of Investor Education has also cautioned that scammers increasingly exploit SEC-exempt filings to create false legitimacy, a tactic now common in crypto fraud.