The Securities and Exchange Commission on Aug. 27, 2026, filed 38 civil complaints in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, alleging entities submitted false Forms ADV between 2025 and 2026 to pose as exempt reporting advisers and lure retail investors. The SEC says defendants listed Colorado addresses with no real presence, used disconnected or unrelated phone numbers, submitted nearly identical ownership and fund data, cited auditors absent from public registries, and in some cases displayed fake certificates using real CRD and SEC file numbers while claiming registered investment adviser status. Crypto-branded names among the defendants include CryptoOrbit Ltd, Ftaexchange Ltd, Pinnacle Crypto Exchange Inc, Quantum Financial Institute Ltd, RBH Infinity Exchange Inc and THEVGPRO Ltd; promotional material allegedly touted crypto swaps, bitcoin-related courses, a BTC-backed settlement security fund and health and intellectual-property tokens later described as worthless, while Better Business Bureau complaints against Absolutaris Base Limited cited worthless stock signals, a fake trading app and ads promising monthly returns of 20-60%. Several filings were accessed from foreign IP addresses, including Hong Kong and China connections for entities such as Apexium Securities Ltd and Web3 University. The Cyber and Emerging Technologies Unit led the case under Sections 204(a) and 207 of the Investment Advisers Act, seeking injunctions, civil penalties and bans on future ERA filings after the disclosures were removed from public databases. An SEC investor alert stressed that ERAs may advise only private funds, are not SEC-registered, and that an IAPD listing is not an endorsement; the FBI’s Operation Level Up assisted. Earlier related actions included a November 2025 six-entity sweep and April 2026 $1.2 million judgments against two prior defendants, while confirmed victims and total losses remain undisclosed.