The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has sued Celsius Network LLC for cryptocurrency related scams.  According to the FTC, Celsius lured people through YouTube videos and Twitter (can’t get used to X) that falsely claimed its cryptocurrency investments were safer than a savings bank account and were guaranteed to earn high interest at no risk.  All of these representations, according to the FTC, were lies and ultimately, Celsius, which the FTC says improperly used their investments for their own business expenses, went bankrupt resulting in huge losses for their investors.

TIPS

Before investing with anyone, you should investigate the person offering to sell you the investment with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Central Registration Depository.  This will tell you if the broker is licensed and if there have been disciplinary procedures against him or her.    You can also check with your own state’s securities regulation office for similar information.  Many investment advisers will not be required to register with the SEC, but are required to register with your individual state’s securities regulators.   You can find your state’s agency by going to the website of the North American Securities Administrators Association. https://www.nasaa.org/investor-education/how-to-check-your-broker-or-investment-adviser/ Many investment advisers will not be required to register with the SEC, but are required to register with your individual state securities regulators.  You should also check with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) for information about the particular  investment adviser. https://www.finra.org/investors/protect-your-money/ask-and-check  If investors had looked into the history of Ackerman, they would have found that he had let lapse several important securities licenses.

It is also important to remember that you should never  invest in something that you do not completely understand.  This was a mistake that many of Bernie Madoff’s victims made. Cryptocurrency scams quite often involve complicated language and investment terms that is purposefully unclear in an effort to confuse potential investors from understanding the real facts.  For more information about cryptocurrencies go to ftc.gov/cryptocurrency You also may want to check out the SEC’s investor education website at www.investor.gov.  Scammers can be very convincing and it may sound like there is a great opportunity for someone to make some money, but you must be careful that the person making money is not the scam artist taking yours.

In addition, as always, if the investment sounds too good to be true, it usually is.  In this case the guarantee of high returns at no risk should have been a red flag.

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