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May 21, 2019 at 01:55 PM
The Securities and Exchange Commission said Tuesday that it obtained a court order halting an ongoing $30 million Ponzi scheme orchestrated by a purported cryptocurrency business backed by diamonds targeting more than 300 investors in the U.S. and Canada.
The SEC complaint unsealed Monday charges South Florida-based Argyle Coin LLC and its principal, Jose Angel Aman, with using investor funds to run a Ponzi scheme.
According to the SEC compliant, from no later than May 2014, the defendants have raised about $30 million from approximately 300 investors through the sale of securities in the form of promissory notes and investment contracts in Argyle Coin and in two other companies Aman owns, Natural Diamonds Investment Co. and Eagle Financial Diamond Group.
“To lure investors, the defendants have knowingly or recklessly materially misrepresented how they would use investor funds and the safety of the investments,” the complaint states.
Aman engaged in unregistered offerings of securities in Natural Diamonds and Eagle as early as May 2014, falsely promising investors that the companies would invest in whole diamonds to cut down and sell for huge profits.
Instead, according to the complaint, Aman, Natural Diamonds, Eagle, and Argyle Coin misused or misappropriated more than $10 million of investor funds to pay other investors their purported returns and for Aman’s personal expenses, including rent on his home, purchases of horses, and riding lessons for his son.
