BitConnect's YouTube Promoters Ordered to Pay: SEC Wins Judgments Against Three Who Pitched the Crypto 'Lending Program'

Published Oct. 9, 2026. Case statuses are current as of that date.

In 2017, BitConnect's "lending program" was everywhere on YouTube. Promoters posted "testimonial" videos, sometimes several a day, urging viewers to sign up through their referral links. Nearly a decade later, a federal court in New York has entered final judgments ordering three of those U.S. promoters to pay a combined total of about $5.7 million.

On Sept. 30, 2026, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced judgments against Trevon Brown, Craig Grant and Michael Noble in SEC v. Brown et al., No. 1:21-cv-04791, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York [1].

What these judgments are, and aren't: This is a civil case, not a criminal prosecution. The SEC charged these three promoters with selling securities without registering the offering and without being registered as broker-dealers. It did not charge them with fraud [1][2]. Brown's judgment was entered by consent, Grant's by default, and the release does not say whether Noble's final judgment was by consent. None of the three has been convicted of a crime.

How the BitConnect pitch worked

According to the SEC's May 2021 complaint against the promoters [2]:

1. A "lending program." From about January 2017 to January 2018, BitConnect marketed and sold investments in what it called a "lending program" through a network of promoters.
2. Video testimonials. The promoters advertised the program "including by creating 'testimonial' style videos and publishing them on YouTube, sometimes multiple times a day."
3. Paid by referrals. According to the complaint, the promoters received commissions based on how much investor money they brought in.
4. No registration. The SEC alleged the offering was never registered with the Commission and the promoters were not registered broker-dealers, as federal law requires.

The SEC said the overall BitConnect offering raised more than $2 billion from retail investors [2]. In a separate case filed in September 2021, the SEC sued BitConnect itself, its founder and its top U.S. promoter, alleging they defrauded retail investors through false claims about a "volatility software trading bot" that would supposedly generate high returns. The SEC alleged that, instead of trading, investor funds were siphoned off to wallets controlled by the defendants and others [3]. The three promoters profiled here were not defendants in that fraud case.

The three promoters and their judgments

According to the SEC's Sept. 30 release, the three promoted BitConnect and sold securities in its "lending program" from approximately June 2017 to January 2018. All three are permanently enjoined from violating the registration provisions charged; Grant and Noble are also barred from participating in certain marketing or sales programs and in digital asset securities offerings [1]. Ages and cities were not listed in the release.

Trevon Brown (also known as Trevon James, according to the SEC's 2021 announcement [2])

• Final judgment on consent entered Sept. 9, 2026.
• Ordered to pay $1,728,563 in disgorgement, $182,902.15 in prejudgment interest and a $75,000 civil penalty, for a total of $1,986,465.15 [1].

Craig Grant

• Final default judgment entered Aug. 7, 2026, for his alleged involvement with BitConnect.
• Ordered to pay $1,748,147 in disgorgement, $702,105.84 in prejudgment interest and a $230,480 civil penalty, for a total of $2,680,732.84 [1].
• A default judgment means the court ruled without the defendant contesting the case; the SEC release describes his involvement as "alleged."

Michael Noble (also known as Michael Crypto, according to the SEC's 2021 announcement [2])

• A partial judgment on consent entered Aug. 12, 2021, imposed permanent injunctions.
• Final judgment entered July 17, 2026, ordering $731,281 in disgorgement, $293,703.36 in prejudgment interest and a $50,000 civil penalty, for a total of $1,074,984.36 [1].

The SEC's 2021 complaint also named two other people, another promoter and a liaison between BitConnect and its promoters; the SEC said in September 2021 that it had already reached settlements with two of the five individuals charged [3]. They are not part of the Sept. 30 announcement and are not named here.

Red flags in crypto "lending" and yield programs

• Guaranteed or eye-popping daily returns tied to a secret "trading bot" or proprietary software.
• Referral commissions. When promoters earn a cut of what you deposit, their videos are advertising, not independent reviews.
• Pressure to reinvest or "compound" instead of withdrawing.
• No registration. You can look up whether an offering or salesperson is registered using the SEC's free tools; Investor.gov explains common fraud types, including high-yield investment programs and Ponzi schemes [4].
• Withdrawal limits or new "fees" that appear when you try to cash out.

What to do if you invested in a program like this

1. Stop depositing money, including "fees" to unlock withdrawals.
2. Save records: referral links, videos, wallet addresses, transaction IDs, emails and chats.
3. Report it to the SEC at sec.gov/tcr and to the FBI at ic3.gov.
4. Beware of "recovery" offers. People who lost money in a crypto program are often targeted again by people promising to get the money back for a fee.
5. Check before you invest next time: Investor.gov's fraud pages are a good starting point [4].

Case status (as of Oct. 9, 2026)

Defendant	Court	Status as of Oct. 9, 2026	Source
Trevon Brown (aka Trevon James)	U.S. District Court, S.D.N.Y. (1:21-cv-04791)	SEC civil: final judgment on consent Sept. 9, 2026; $1,986,465.15 total; injunctions; registration charges (not fraud); no criminal charges in this case	[1], [2]
Craig Grant	Same	SEC civil: final default judgment Aug. 7, 2026; $2,680,732.84 total; injunctions; registration charges (not fraud)	[1], [2]
Michael Noble (aka Michael Crypto)	Same	SEC civil: partial consent judgment Aug. 12, 2021; final judgment July 17, 2026; $1,074,984.36 total; registration charges (not fraud)	[1], [2]

Civil judgments are not criminal convictions. Statuses can change, including through motions to vacate or appeal.

Sources

1. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, "SEC Obtains Judgments Against Three BitConnect Promoters," Litigation Release No. 26660, Sept. 30, 2026. https://www.sec.gov/enforcement-litigation/litigation-releases/lr-26660
2. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, "SEC Charges U.S. Promoters of $2 Billion Global Crypto Lending Securities Offering," press release 2021-90, May 28, 2021. https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2021-90
3. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, "SEC Charges Global Crypto Lending Platform and Top Executives in $2 Billion Fraud," press release 2021-172, Sept. 1, 2021. https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2021-172
4. Investor.gov (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission), "Types of Fraud," accessed Oct. 9, 2026. https://www.investor.gov/protect-your-investments/fraud/types-fraud

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