A source-backed encyclopedia documenting cryptocurrency scams and fraud. Browse by category in the sidebar, or search by name, token, wallet address or URL.
A Solana memecoin announced by Melania Trump on Jan 19, 2025. Per FT analysis, ~24 wallets bought in minutes before the public announcement and netted ~$99.6M as retail piled in; the token then fell 95%+. Early buys were traced to wallets linked to $LIBRA figure Hayden Davis. No charges have been filed.
Reported NFT mint that allegedly took mint funds without delivering art. Awaiting verification.
WLFI, a DeFi project linked to Donald Trump and his family, blacklisted/froze the wallet of major investor Justin Sun in Sept 2025 — ~540–595M unlocked WLFI tokens (~$107M) plus ~2.4B locked. Sun sued, alleging an undisclosed admin 'blacklist backdoor'; WLFI denied it and threatened a countersuit. The dispute is ongoing.
A Solana memecoin launched days before Donald Trump's second inauguration (Jan 2025). Trump-linked entities hold 80% of supply and earned $320M+ in fees while ~760,000 mostly-retail wallets lost money; a 'dinner with the president' promotion for top holders drew conflict-of-interest scrutiny. The 'scam' label is contested and no charges have been filed.
A ~$16M token offering (SAFTs for 'Bitcoin Latinum' / LTNM) that the SEC charged in 2026 as fraud: founder Donald Basile falsely called LTNM 'the world's first insured digital asset' backed by an 'existing trust,' neither of which existed, and diverted investor funds for personal use (including a $160,000 horse).
A 2017–2018 ICO for 'LOCIcoin' tied to the InnVenn IP-search platform. The SEC charged Loci and CEO John Wise with fraud for raising $7.6M on false claims about revenue, headcount, and user base; Wise also misused investor funds. Settled with a $7.6M penalty and an officer/director bar.
A 2017–2018 ICO (BCT tokens, ~$30M) for a 'Blockchain Terminal' — a Bloomberg-style crypto trading terminal. The SEC and DOJ said convicted ex-hedge-funder Boaz Manor secretly ran it under a fake identity ('Shaun MacDonald'), using associate Edith Pardo as a front, and lied about the product's adoption.
A 2018 ICO for 'Crowd Machine Compute Tokens' (CMCT) that the SEC charged as fraudulent: founder Craig Sproule raised ~$33M to build a decentralized app platform but secretly diverted $5.8M to South African gold-mining entities. Consent judgments ordered ~$20M+ and barred Sproule as an officer/director.
A purported gold/art-backed digital asset that the SEC called a fraud: it falsely claimed backing by $1B in art or $2B in gold and 'risk-free' returns up to 224,923%, raising $4.3M+ from 150+ investors. Defendants were jailed for contempt; founder Robert Dunlap was later convicted of mail fraud.
A Las Vegas company that the SEC said was a $12M+ Ponzi scheme: it told 277+ investors their money would be invested in securities and crypto via an 'artificial intelligence supercomputer' guaranteeing 20–30% annual returns. The SEC halted it in 2021; over 90% of funds came from investors.
An ICO for the DROP token built around a fake 'Dex' trading bot. The SEC said it raised ~$1.9M while claiming $54M from 34,000 investors, and that the founders falsified evidence during the probe. Founders Jeremy McAlpine and Zachary Matar pleaded guilty to securities fraud (36 and 30 months).
A mobile crypto-investing app that the SEC and New York AG said was fraudulent: it sold unregistered 'CSD' tokens, misrepresented its management, charged hidden fees, and traded in customers' accounts without permission. A NY court shut it down in 2021 with a $3M judgment against CEO Delgerdalai Davaasambuu.
A blockchain 'universal shopper profile' startup whose 2017–2018 ICO raised ~$42.5M. The SEC and New York AG said it was fraudulent — fake retailer partnerships, no working product. Founder Eran Eyal pleaded guilty to felony securities fraud (NY) and settled with the SEC.
A 2017–2018 ICO for the VERI token that the SEC said raised ~$14.8M via false statements and that founder Reginald Middleton manipulated on secondary markets. Middleton and Veritaseum settled with the SEC in 2019 for ~$9.5M and a permanent digital-securities bar.
A Miami-based crypto token (CLU) that ran a 2021 ICO and pivoted to NFTs and a metaverse game. Founder Austin Michael Taylor ('DNPthree') secretly siphoned ~$1.14M of investor funds into online casinos; he pleaded guilty to wire fraud and was sentenced in 2025 to 27 months.
A prominent crypto 'market maker' that the U.S. DOJ says ran wash-trading/market-manipulation services (2018–2024) to fake trading volume for token clients (including Saitama and Robo Inu) and win exchange listings. Charged in the FBI's 'Operation Token Mirrors'; founder Aleksei Andriunin pleaded guilty in 2025 and Gotbit forfeited $23M.
A Solana memecoin riding rumors of a Jordan Belfort ('Wolf of Wall Street') token. Launched March 8, 2025 with ~82% of supply bundled under one entity, it peaked near $42M and then crashed ~99% within two days. On-chain analysts (Bubblemaps) traced it to Hayden Davis, of $LIBRA/$MELANIA infamy.
Founder behind Bitcoin Latinum (LTNM). The SEC charged him in 2026 with defrauding investors of ~$16M by falsely claiming the token was insured and asset-backed, and misappropriating funds for personal use (including a $160,000 horse).
A promoter (and SEC recidivist) who sold Green United's 'Green Boxes,' allegedly acting as an unregistered broker and misrepresenting GREEN's value and returns. Charged by the SEC for fraud and registration violations.
Founder and CEO of Loci, which ran the LOCIcoin ICO. The SEC charged him with fraud for false claims about Loci's revenue, staff, and user base (raising $7.6M) and for misusing $38K of investor funds; he settled with an officer/director bar.
A New Jersey associate of Boaz Manor whom the SEC said acted as a 'front' presented as the owner of the Blockchain Terminal businesses to conceal Manor's control. Charged civilly by the SEC and criminally in 2020.
A previously convicted Canadian ex-hedge-fund manager who, per the SEC and DOJ, secretly ran the $30M Blockchain Terminal ICO under the alias 'Shaun MacDonald' to hide his criminal past. Charged civilly and criminally in 2020.
Australian founder of Crowd Machine and Metavine who the SEC said ran a fraudulent CMCT ICO (~$33M) and secretly diverted $5.8M to South African gold mining. He consented to antifraud judgments, a $195K penalty, and an officer/director bar.
A large-scale promoter of the $722M BitClub Network crypto-mining Ponzi. He pleaded guilty in 2020 to conspiring to sell unregistered securities and to filing a false tax return (unreported BitClub crypto income).
Former CFO of the crypto lender Cred. He pleaded guilty in 2025 to wire-fraud conspiracy over Cred's misleading marketing and was sentenced to 36 months in prison.
A Meta 1 Coin promoter (and Robert Dunlap's partner) charged by the SEC in 2020 over the fraudulent, falsely gold/art-backed coin offering.
A former Washington state senator who helped market the Meta 1 Coin, telling investors it was secured by $2B in gold under audit. The SEC charged him in 2020 and a court jailed him for civil contempt for defying its orders.
Son of Joy Kovar and a 'recidivist' co-operator of Profit Connect, who promoted its fake 'AI supercomputer.' Charged civilly by the SEC in 2021 and later indicted on federal fraud and money-laundering charges in 2025.
Founder and president of Profit Connect, which the SEC called a $12M+ Ponzi scheme built on a fictitious 'AI supercomputer.' The SEC said she moved millions of investor dollars to her personal accounts.
Co-founder of Dropil and its fraudulent DROP-token ICO. He pleaded guilty to securities fraud in 2021 and was sentenced to 30 months in prison.