TrageTech, aka Trage Applied sciences, has acquired a securities fraud desist and chorus order from California’s Division of Monetary Safety and Innovation (DFPI).
DFPI’s November 4th order names three respondents;
- Trage Applied sciences, aka Trage Tech, a Marshall Islands registered shell firm
- Michael “Mike” Holloway and
- Simon Lee
Mike Holloway is cited as Trage Tech’s CEO. It must be famous that when BehindMLM reviewed TrageTech in August 2024, “Michael Hearn” was the corporate’s CEO.
“Hearn” was performed by UK nationwide Daniel Poole. It seems shortly after BehindMLM outed Trage Tech’s Boris CEO, the corporate discovered a brand new actor.
I don’t have a reputation however TrageTech’s “Michael Holloway” seems to be an expat dwelling in Thailand.
DFPI cites Simon Lee as TrageTech’s International Advertising Director.
Pertaining to TrageTech’s alleged securities fraud;
Starting no less than as early as 2024, Trage provided and bought securities within the type of funding contracts in California by way of common solicitations on its web site.
Trage refers to those funding contracts as “Crypto Arbitrage Funding Packages” (Packages).
In actuality, Trage is a fraudulent pyramid and Ponzi scheme, wherein traders are paid utilizing funds deposited by different traders somewhat than income from cryptocurrency arbitrage buying and selling.
DFPI claims TrageTech solicited $79 million in crypto funding since launch.
A part of TrageTech’s advertising ruse was baloney about registering with the SEC.
Right here’s DFPI’s tackle TrageTech’s “SEC registered” claims;
Trage falsely represents that it’s registered with the U.S. Securities and Trade Fee (SEC). Trage shouldn’t be registered with the SEC.
In actuality, Trage filed a Kind D with the SEC on February 22, 2024, after which amended the Kind D on June 4, 2024.
Trage doesn’t restrict gross sales to accredited traders and doesn’t take affordable steps to confirm purchasers’ accredited investor standing. As such, Trage doesn’t qualify for the protected harbor underneath Rule 506(c) of Regulation D.
Moreover, Trage filed the Types D to say an exemption particularly for an providing of fairness securities.
Trage gives Crypto Arbitrage Funding Packages, not fairness securities. The Kind D filings don’t present a protected harbor for the Crypto Arbitrage Funding Packages that Trage gives to traders.
BehindMLM accurately concluded as a lot in our TrageTech assessment.
DFPI goes on to conclude;
The Packages provided by Trage are securities which are neither certified nor exempt from the qualification requirement underneath the CSL.
The Division has not issued a allow or different type of qualification authorizing Trage to promote these securities in California.
Pursuant to Companies Code part 25532, Trage Applied sciences Ltd a/ok/a Trage Tech, Simon Lee, and Michael “Mike” Holloway are hereby ordered to desist and chorus from providing or promoting or shopping for or providing to purchase any safety in California.
DFPI’s desist and chorus order follows a TrageTech securities fraud warning from Texas final month.
As US authorities closed in, TrageTech went to break down on or round October thirtieth. Since then TrageTech’s web site has been unavailable.
This leaves TrageTech traders with no less than $79 million in losses. The vast majority of TrageTech traders are believed to be US residents.
As of September 2024, SimilarWeb tracked 1.1 million month-to-month visits to TrageTech’s web site. 63% of TrageTech’s web site visitors originated from the US, adopted by 22% from Canada.
TrageTech is believed to be run by Russian and/or Chinese language scammers working from Thailand.