Brothers charged by SEC for $60 million "crypto bot" Ponzi scheme

Brothers Jonathan and Tanner Adam were charged with violating the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws with their GCZ Global and Triten Financial Group entities, which the SEC alleges amounted to a $61.5 million Ponzi scheme that impacted more than 80 victims. The brothers claimed to have a crypto arbitrage bot that would pull from investor funds to perform profitable trades that would earn them 8–13.5% returns. They claimed to investors that, short of a complete meltdown in global financial markets, their funds would be safe.

However, $53.9 million of investor funds were used to pay other investors, in classic Ponzi fashion. The brothers also used investor funds to build houses for themselves and their family, purchase vehicles and designer goods, and make payments on a $30 million condo in Miami for Tanner.

One of the brothers, Jonathan, had in 2004 been convicted on felony securities law violations that resulted in a four-year jail sentence and more than $300,000 in restitution.