Fraud crypto site in Missouri ordered to cease and desist

A fraudulent cryptocurrency site operating out of St. Louis, Missouri, has been ordered to cease and desist from activities amounting to misleading investors, in the latest crypto scam to be flagged by enforcement agencies.

Mavixbtc was served a final notice by the Securities Division after the firm was found to be misleading investors by claiming it was registered with both the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and the Securities Investor Protection Corporation—claims that were both untrue.

Using false registration numbers belonging to unrelated companies, Mavixbtc is alleged to have been misleading investors about its registration status since at least September 2019.

The firm was offering investment advisory and brokerage services, despite being unregistered and unlicensed to do so. Offering 55% returns in as little as six days for investments in cryptocurrency, Mavixbtc is thought to have successfully deceived a number of investors due to these and other misrepresentations addressed in the notice.

The scam is only the latest investment fraud to surface in the cryptocurrency space, with investors still being regularly conned with unrealistic claims from unregulated enterprises and investment advisors.

According to the Securities Division, the final cease and desist notice was served to protect future investors from falling foul of Mavixbtc.

By request of the Secretary of State and the Securities Division, the host of the Mavixbtc domain has since taken down the firm’s website to comply with the terms of the cease and desist notice.

With crypto frauds hitting record highs, Securities Commissioner David M. Minnick said investors should be mindful of the risks of crypto scams and dodgy investment products.

Scam artists commonly use professional looking websites to promise immense investment returns, but don’t be fooled. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Mavixbtc has been handed a civic penalty, as well as costs for the investigation, which amounts to a fine in excess of $30,000.