'SEC-Licensed,' 60% a Month, 'Zero Risk': SEC Says BG Wealth Used Its Own Filing System to Fake Legitimacy

Published Oct. 30, 2026. Case statuses are current as of that date.

Returns of "at least 60%" a month. Double your money in 40 days. "Zero risk." And proof, supposedly, that regulators had signed off: certificates bearing the SEC's seal and real filings on the SEC's own website. According to a complaint the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed on Oct. 29, 2026, the filings were real, but what they said was false.

The SEC has charged BG Wealth Sharing Ltd and DSJ Exchange Pty Ltd, two Colorado-incorporated entities it describes as "foreign-operated." It alleges they raised more than $130 million from tens of thousands of retail investors through a crypto "wealth-sharing program" between at least October 2025 and June 2026 [1]. The case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California as No. 3:26-cv-12746 [2].

Important: This is a civil case. The SEC's allegations have not been proven, and no court has found either company liable. No individuals are charged. The complaint says that "upon information and belief, the scheme was operated by individuals located abroad," but it does not identify them. The complaint does list "Professor" Stephen Beard, the purported founder and chief executive, as a "related person" rather than a defendant, and says that, "upon information and belief," Beard is "an assumed identity" [2].

How the program allegedly worked

According to the SEC's complaint [2]:

1. The pitch. BG Wealth called itself "the world's largest hedge fund" and an SEC-licensed investment adviser. It said its purported founder, "Professor" Stephen Beard (not a defendant, and possibly an assumed identity, according to the complaint), had built trading "signals" using Super Intelligence (SI, the federal government's current term for AI) that were 99.6% accurate. Its websites promised "[t]he monthly fund return rate is at least 60%, forming a zero-cost, zero-risk investment environment."
2. The platform. Investors opened accounts on DSJ Exchange's website or mobile app, deposited crypto, and twice a day copied alphanumeric "signals" that the "Beard" persona sent through the BonChat messaging app into their accounts. Their displayed balances "generally doubled after approximately 40 days."
3. The recruiting. Investors were urged to "Level Up" by recruiting at least five more people. Recruiters could climb as many as 12 levels for bonuses, commissions and "transaction volume dividends." One promoter in the Bay Area allegedly reached Level 7 with about 5,000 downstream investors. The program was pushed on YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and Telegram, in weekly Zoom calls, and at roadshows in Las Vegas, Lā'ie (Hawaii) and Salt Lake City.
4. The "proof." BG Wealth filed a Form ADV with the SEC claiming to be an exempt reporting adviser, and DSJ Exchange filed a Form D for a purported $100 million offering. The companies then presented those filings, along with fabricated registration certificates bearing the SEC's seal, "as proof that the SEC had licensed or approved them."
5. The alleged reality. "The entire program was a fiction," the SEC alleges. It says investor money was not used for trading, the profits on screen "were illusory," and the companies misappropriated most of the money. They allegedly sent back no more than $25 million "in Ponzi-like payments" to keep the scheme going.

From March through early June 2026 alone, the SEC says, the companies received more than $130 million from over 223,000 blockchain addresses. It puts investor losses at more than $100 million [2].

The withdrawal trap

Early on, some withdrawals were allowed, which "increased investors' confidence." Later, the complaint says, withdrawals carried fees as high as 20% and multi-day delays. After the FBI seized BG Wealth's original website domain on April 23, 2026, Beard allegedly blamed a "Chinese hacker." DSJ Exchange then blocked withdrawals entirely [2].

Investors who asked for their money were allegedly told to pay a "tax" to "unlock" their accounts, and to deposit more to "move" to a new platform called HQI Exchange ("HQIEX"). "Investors who paid still could not withdraw their assets," the SEC alleges. On Sept. 29, 2026, the complaint says, DSJ Exchange changed its name in the SEC's EDGAR system to "Horizon Crest Capital Inc." and filed a new Form D [2].

The SEC says it has removed BG Wealth's Form ADV and DSJ Exchange's Form D from its website [1].

What the SEC is seeking

The SEC charges both companies with violating the antifraud provisions of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, and charges BG Wealth with violating Sections 204(a) and 207 of the Investment Advisers Act. It seeks permanent injunctions, disgorgement with prejudgment interest, civil penalties, and conduct-based injunctions against BG Wealth [1].

Red flags

These are general warning signs of this kind of scheme; not every one is alleged in this case.

• A filing on the SEC's website is not SEC approval. The SEC has warned that scammers use exempt reporting adviser filings "to create a false impression of legitimacy" [1][3].
• Certificates with the SEC seal. The SEC does not issue "registration certificates" for investors to show off [4].
• Guaranteed, enormous returns such as 60% a month or doubling in 40 days, and the words "zero risk."
• "Copy the signal" trading on a platform the promoter controls, where the profits exist only on screen.
• Recruiting bonuses and "levels." Your returns shouldn't depend on signing up friends.
• A "tax" or "migration" deposit to get your own money out. That is a classic sign the money is gone.

What to do

1. Look up any adviser or firm on Investor.gov and check its actual registration status. Exempt reporting advisers "are not registered with the SEC" and may not advise individual investors directly [4].
2. Don't pay to withdraw. Stop sending money, save screenshots, wallet addresses and transaction IDs, and report the scheme.
3. Report it to the SEC at sec.gov/tcr, to the FBI at ic3.gov, and to your state securities regulator.
4. Beware of recovery offers. Victims of crypto schemes are often targeted again by fake "fund recovery" services.

Case status (as of Oct. 30, 2026)

Defendant	Matter	Status as of Oct. 30, 2026	Source
BG Wealth Sharing Ltd (Colorado-incorporated, foreign-operated)	SEC v. BG Wealth Sharing Ltd, et al., No. 3:26-cv-12746 (N.D. Cal.) (civil)	Sued Oct. 29, 2026 (Securities Act, Exchange Act and Advisers Act charges); allegations unproven. Status pending.	[1], [2]
DSJ Exchange Pty Ltd (Colorado-incorporated; per SEC, renamed on EDGAR as "Horizon Crest Capital Inc.")	Same	Sued Oct. 29, 2026 (Securities Act and Exchange Act antifraud charges); allegations unproven. Status pending.	[1], [2]

No individuals have been charged. Statuses can change.

Sources

1. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, "Two Entities Charged in $130 Million Fraud Scheme That Used False SEC Filings to Boost Investor Confidence," Press Release 2026-110, Oct. 29, 2026. https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2026-110-two-entities-charged-130-million-fraud-scheme-used-false-sec-filings-boost-investor-confidence
2. Complaint, SEC v. BG Wealth Sharing Ltd and DSJ Exchange Pty Ltd, No. 3:26-cv-12746 (N.D. Cal., filed Oct. 29, 2026). https://www.sec.gov/files/litigation/complaints/2026/comp-pr2026-110.pdf
3. SEC Office of Investor Education and Assistance, investor alert on exempt reporting adviser filing scams, Investor.gov, accessed Oct. 30, 2026. https://www.investor.gov/introduction-investing/general-resources/news-alerts/alerts-bulletins/investor-alerts/ERA-filing-scams
4. Investor.gov, "False Claims of SEC Registration," accessed Oct. 30, 2026. https://www.investor.gov/protect-your-investments/fraud/types-fraud/false-claims-sec-registration

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