The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has charged four entities it says were behind two online investment schemes that allegedly misappropriated more than $15.3 million from hundreds of investors. The cases, filed on Sept. 29, name Cryptoaiml Ltd., Cryptoaiml Capital Foundation, TSAI Pro Ltd., and TSAI Capital Foundation.

According to the SEC, the programs were promoted through WhatsApp, Facebook, and company websites, where investors were presented with supposed crypto trading opportunities, AI-powered tools, and claims suggesting regulatory legitimacy. The agency said the operations were likely run by individuals overseas.

Two separate alleged schemes

The SEC alleges that the first scheme, tied to Cryptoaiml Ltd. and Cryptoaiml Capital Foundation, misappropriated more than $12.5 million. A second scheme involving TSAI Pro Ltd. and TSAI Capital Foundation allegedly took in about $2.8 million.

In both matters, the regulator says investors were drawn in through online outreach and assurances that their money would be used in profitable crypto or AI-based programs. The SEC alleges that the promised returns and oversight claims were false.

How Cryptoaiml allegedly operated

The SEC said Cryptoaiml used WhatsApp groups from at least August 2024 through March 2025 to build credibility by impersonating investment professionals. In those chats, participants were allegedly shown what were described as AI-generated trading signals and encouraged to move crypto assets to a platform linked to the scheme.

Once funds were transferred, the platform allegedly displayed profits even though no trades were actually carried out. The SEC also says some investors signed investment management agreements that were presented as legitimate.

When investors attempted to withdraw funds, the entities allegedly told them their accounts had been frozen and demanded advance payments before any release of money.

TSAI's alleged AI bot pitch

The SEC says TSAI Pro and TSAI Capital Foundation promoted a different offer between September 2024 and March 2025 using WhatsApp, Facebook, and their website. Investors were allegedly told they could rent AI trading bots that would generate guaranteed profits.

The program also allegedly promised earnings for recruiting other participants. According to the SEC, the trading bots did not exist and investor deposits were never used to produce the advertised returns.

False SEC-related documents and next steps

A central part of the alleged deception involved regulatory claims. The SEC said Cryptoaiml displayed a screenshot of a falsified Form D on its website, while TSAI posted what the agency described as a fake SEC certificate tied to another falsified filing. The regulator stressed that a Form D filing is not the same as SEC approval.

The SEC said it removed the Forms D submitted by Cryptoaiml Ltd. and TSAI Pro Ltd. from its website in connection with the Sept. 29 cases. More broadly, the agency has warned investors to verify the background of anyone offering investments, especially in group chats and social media channels where fake crypto projects, education-foundation themes, and AI trading pitches have been used to create a false sense of legitimacy.

Source: news.bitcoin.com