The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has secured a final default judgment in its case against NanoBit Limited and several linked defendants.
Summary
- SEC judgment orders NanoBit-linked defendants to pay over $5.5M after alleged WhatsApp investor fraud scheme.
- Regulators said the fake platform used group chats, false broker claims, and fake ICO pitches.
- The case shows fraud enforcement continues even as broader crypto rulemaking moves toward clearer standards.
According to the SEC litigation release, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York entered the judgment on June 16, nearly two years after the agency filed its complaint.
The court ordered NanoBit, Radiant Horizons Limited, Sweet Karma Fashion Inc., Zhao Tropical Deli Inc., Jiajie Liu and Hua Zhao to pay penalties, disgorgement and interest. The final judgment lists total payment obligations of about $5.52 million across the defendants.
SEC says NanoBit platform was fake
The case centered on claims that NanoBit operated as a fake crypto trading platform. The SEC said the defendants and other scheme participants used social media apps to reach investors before moving them into WhatsApp groups.
In its September 2024 complaint, the agency said the participants posed as financial industry professionals and built trust with investors. The SEC alleged that NanoBit falsely claimed an affiliate, NanobitUS Securities, was registered with the regulator.
WhatsApp groups and false broker claims
The SEC said the supposed financial professionals promoted fake initial coin offerings and presented NanoBit as a working trading venue. Investors allegedly saw platform screens that appeared to show crypto prices, account balances and trading activity.
“No transactions took place on the NanoBit platform” and that “investors’ funds in fact went to scheme participants,” the regulator said.
According to the SEC, more than $2 million was wired to bank accounts in Hong Kong, while hundreds of thousands of dollars in crypto assets were misused.
Fraud enforcement continues
The NanoBit judgment adds to a string of crypto fraud actions even as U.S. regulators change their wider approach to digital asset policy. As reported by crypto.news, the SEC had already named NanoBit and CoinW6 among relationship investment scam cases in its 2024 enforcement review.
As reported by crypto.news, the SEC also charged Texas resident Nathan Fuller in May over an alleged $12.3 million AI crypto arbitrage scheme. That case involved claims of guaranteed returns from a trading robot, according to the report.
The same fraud risks have spread beyond fake trading platforms. As reported by crypto.news, TRM Labs warned this month that scammers had created World Cup-related crypto fraud operations, including fake ticketing sites and a fixed-match betting scheme.
The SEC has also warned investors about group-chat scams. In a December 2025 investor alert, Investor.gov said people should “never rely solely on information from group chats” when making investment decisions. The agency also urged investors to check the background of anyone offering or selling investments.
