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SEC Charges 3 Individuals, 5 Companies With Operating Pig Butchering Scams

Author: Content Editor
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed lawsuits against three individuals and five companies for allegedly operating pig butchering scams, a type of investment scam in which fraudsters befriend victims over text-based social media apps and convince them to invest in fictitious crypto platforms before stealing their funds. These are the SEC's first enforcement actions against this type of crypto scam. The lawsuits come ahead of a hearing on pig butchering scams by the U.S. House Financial Services Committee. The SEC alleges that the fraudsters created fake crypto ecosystems that displayed false information to investors. The scams involved two purported crypto trading platforms, NanoBit and CoinW6, and resulted in the defrauding of at least 18 investors of nearly $1 million and 11 investors of $2.2 million, respectively. The SEC warns the public to be alert about potential scams involving investment opportunities promoted by strangers on social media. According to a recent FBI report, investors lost a record-high $5.6 billion to crypto fraud in 2023.

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