American Bitcoin Academy Founder Charged By SEC With Opening Scam Courses

Key Points:

• The SEC charges American Bitcoin Academy founder Brian Sewell with a $1.2 million Bitcoin fraud scheme targeting 15 students.
• Sewell misled investors with claims of advanced AI strategies that were never implemented.

In a recent development, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged 51-year-old Brian Sewell and his firm, Rockwell Capital Management, with fraud in connection with a Bitcoin investment scheme targeting students of the American Bitcoin Academy.

SEC Allegations Against American Bitcoin Academy Founder Brian Sewell

Sewell, based first in Hurricane, Utah, and later in Puerto Rico, enticed students to invest in the Rockwell Fund, touting revolutionary investment strategies grounded in artificial intelligence and machine learning for substantial returns in the volatile crypto market.

However, investigations revealed that Sewell never launched the fund nor implemented the advanced technologies he promised. The founder of the American Bitcoin Academy allegedly swindled 15 students out of $1.2 million with false promises of a crypto hedge fund.

Gurbir Grewal, the Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, stated, “Sewell defrauded students in his online American Bitcoin Academy of over a million dollars through a series of lies about investment opportunities in his purported crypto hedge fund.” Sewell falsely claimed the fund would utilize non-existent AI and machine learning technology.

Sewell’s False Promises of AI-Driven Crypto Strategies

In a twist, Sewell’s crypto wallet was allegedly hacked, leading to the disappearance of the funds. The SEC took enforcement actions against Sewell and Rockwell Fund for the fraudulent scheme. As part of the settlement, Rockwell Capital Management will pay $1.6 million, and Sewell will pay $223,229 to the SEC.

This case underscores the SEC’s commitment to holding accountable those who use attention-grabbing technologies to defraud investors. Gurbir S. Grewal emphasized, “Whether it’s AI, crypto, DeFi, or some other buzzword, the SEC will continue to hold accountable those who claim to use attention-grabbing technologies to attract and defraud investors.”

As Coincu reported, the SEC attributed the recent unauthorized post about Bitcoin ETF approvals to a “SIM swap” attack, emphasizing the external nature of the security breach within the cryptocurrency sector.