Trio Took in $100 Million for Shady Binary Options, SEC Says

Three men took in more than $100 million as part of fraudulent binary options scheme using three online brokerages, the SEC said Sept. 26.

Kai Christian Petersen, Gil Beserglik, and Raz Beserglik used misleading marketing and manipulative call centers to convince investors to purchase binary options through their websites, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

The online firms—Bloombex Options, Morton Finance, and Starling Capital—used professionally-designed websites and convincing trading platforms to trick investors into thinking they were legitimate, the SEC said. Investors often used credit cards, ...