EL7.AI
GeneralMediumUpdated×2•Originally published 29 October 2026•Updated 29 October 2026•
4 min read

Fraud Allegations Involving More Than $130 Million Target BG Wealth and DSJ Exchange

Key Facts

1The SEC accused the two entities of raising more than $130 million from tens of thousands of retail investors.
2The alleged scheme ran from at least October 2025 through June 2026 and targeted investors in more than 40 U.S. states.
3The SEC charged 38 entities in a separate case announced on August 27, 2026, concerning Form ADV filings submitted between 2025 and 2026.
4The SEC accuses BG Wealth of violating Sections 204(a) and 207 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, alongside the fraud charges against the two entities.

On October 29, 2026, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged BG Wealth Sharing Ltd and DSJ Exchange Pty Ltd with orchestrating a fraudulent scheme that raised more than $130 million from tens of thousands of retail investors. The SEC said the entities, which it described as operating from abroad and founded in Colorado, promoted an investment program for trading crypto assets. The complaint says the scheme targeted investors in more than 40 U.S. states and multiple U.S. territories. The alleged period ran from at least October 2025 through June 2026. The facts set out in the lawsuit remain allegations before the court, not final judicial findings.

According to the SEC, the program promised investors extraordinary, risk-free returns through crypto-asset trading "signals." BG Wealth claimed to be the world's largest hedge fund and presented itself as registered with the SEC as an investment adviser. The two entities, according to the complaint, used Form ADV and Form D filings to make it appear that the SEC had licensed or approved their activities. The filings were publicly available and were also shared with investors, making them part of the evidence used to promote the program. But submitting a form to the SEC or making it available in its database does not mean, as the agency has explained to investors, that it has granted a license or endorsed the investment.

The head of the SEC's Cyber and Emerging Technologies Unit said the defendants kept investors engaged through multiple communication channels. She added that the complaint alleges they presented fake certificates bearing the SEC seal, made periodic payments to some investors, and misused the remaining funds. These allegations link the promotional materials and regulatory documents that the SEC said were used to build confidence with the way the raised funds were managed. In a separate warning about adviser-filing-related fraud, the SEC explained that registration numbers shown on some fake certificates are assigned when Form ADV is filed and do not establish that a license or approval was granted. It said numbers from the Central Registration Depository and an SEC file number may appear on those certificates simply because they were assigned to the entity upon filing.

The SEC filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, accusing the entities of violating the anti-fraud provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. It also accuses BG Wealth of violating Sections 204(a) and 207 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. The SEC is seeking permanent injunctions against the companies, disgorgement with prejudgment interest, and civil penalties. Its requests also include conduct-based injunctions against BG Wealth. The SEC's statement did not specify a date for a future hearing.

In a separate regulatory matter, the SEC announced on August 27, 2026, that it had charged 38 entities with filing misleading information in Form ADV filings submitted between 2025 and 2026. That case does not involve BG Wealth or DSJ Exchange, but concerns separate allegations that included Colorado business addresses where the entities had no presence and disconnected phone numbers or numbers belonging to unrelated companies. The complaints in the August case said ownership information and financial figures in several forms were identical or nearly identical, and that the SEC could not find in public accounting records the two firms said to have audited private funds. The SEC quoted the head of its Cyber and Emerging Technologies Unit as saying the complaints allege "widespread misuse of adviser filings with the SEC," and that some individuals are believed to be outside the United States. Those complaints were filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, seeking permanent injunctions, a bar on the entities filing Form ADV as exempt reporting advisers, and civil penalties.

In the separate August case, the SEC said the 38 entities' Form ADV filings had been removed from its Investment Adviser Public Disclosure website, and noted that some websites promoted them with fake certificates. The SEC explains that an exempt reporting adviser is not registered with the agency, and its activities are limited to advising private funds and do not include providing investment advice directly to individuals. In the October case, the SEC said it had removed BG Wealth's Form ADV filing and DSJ Exchange's Form D filing from its website. In its statement, it thanked regulators in Alberta, Hawaii, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin for their assistance. It urged investors to use Investor.gov to check the background of any entity offering or selling an investment; in its warning about filing-related fraud, it advised investors not to do business with, send money to, or transfer crypto assets to an entity falsely claiming to be registered, and to report misleading claims.