Summary
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged the HyperFund scheme with fraud and unregistered securities offering, alleging that the scheme raised over $1.7 billion from investors worldwide. The scheme, promoted by Xue Lee and Brenda Chunga (also known as Sam Lee and Bitcoin Beautee), claimed to be a profitable mining operation but was actually a pyramid scheme with no legitimate revenue sources. The SEC has filed a complaint against Lee and Chunga, and criminal charges have also been pressed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Chunga has already pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud.
Key Points
1. The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged the $1.7 billion HyperFund scheme with fraud and unregistered securities offering.
2. Xue Lee and Brenda Chunga, also known as Sam Lee and Bitcoin Beautee, raised over $1.7 billion from investors globally by advertising HyperFund as a profitable mining operation, but it was actually a pyramid scheme with no legitimate sources of revenue.
3. The SEC filed a complaint against Lee and Chunga for violating anti-fraud and registration provisions of federal securities laws, and criminal charges have been pressed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland. Chunga has already pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud.