Crypto Instructor Duped Students With Fake Hedge Fund, SEC Says

The founder of an online crypto trading course called the American Bitcoin Academy scammed students out of more than $1 million by persuading them to invest in a fake hedge fund, the Securities and Exchange Commission claimed Friday.

From December 2017 through April 2018, Brian Sewell allegedly solicited investments for the Rockwell Fund, which would invest in digital assets using unique strategies and tools such as artificial intelligence.

Instead of launching the fund, Sewell converted the investments into Bitcoin, which he lost when the wallet he was using was hacked, the SEC said in a news release announcing the settled ...