- SEC settles charges with Brian Sewell and Rockwell Capital Management.
- It involved an alleged crypto trading scheme targeting students of the American Bitcoin Academy.
- The defendants agree to settlement terms, with penalties totaling $1.8 million.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced a settlement with alleged fraud entities Brian Sewell and Rockwell Capital Management. The settlement resolves charges from a scheme that preyed on students enrolled in Sewell’s online crypto trading course, “the American Bitcoin Academy.”
The SEC alleges that Sewell orchestrated a deceptive scheme from early 2018 to mid-2019. He purportedly encouraged hundreds of online students to invest in the Rockwell Fund. This was a hedge fund supposedly leveraging advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and crypto asset trading strategies for profit.
However, the complaint reveals that Sewell failed to launch the fund or execute the promised trading strategies. Instead, he retained approximately $1.2 million from 15 students, storing the funds in Bitcoin. Tragically, the Bitcoin was reportedly stolen when Sewell’s digital wallet fell victim to hacking.
Gurbir S. Grewal, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, emphasized the gravity of Sewell’s actions. Grewal noted that Sewell allegedly defrauded students by peddling false promises of lucrative investment opportunities guided by nonexistent technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning.
The SEC’s complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware. It charges the defendants for violating federal securities laws’ antifraud provisions. While the defendants have agreed to settle the charges without admitting or denying the allegations, they face injunctive relief.
Meanwhile, Rockwell Capital Management is set to pay disgorgement and prejudgment interest totaling $1,602,089, while Sewell agrees to a civil penalty of $223,229. Per the SEC’s statement, the settlement remains subject to court approval.
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