United States of America: Issued ruling in SEC investigation against Brian Sewell and Rockwell Capital Management

On 2 February 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced a settlement in an investigation against Brian Sewell and his company, Rockwell Capital Management, for fraudulent practices related to a crypto trading scheme. The SEC's complaint alleged that from early 2018 to mid-2019, Sewell encouraged students of his online course, the American Bitcoin Academy, to invest in the Rockwell Fund, a purported hedge fund that never launched. Sewell allegedly received approximately USD 1.2 million from 15 students, which he held in bitcoin and was later stolen when his digital wallet was hacked. The defendants have agreed to settle the charges, with Rockwell Capital Management paying disgorgement and prejudgment interest totalling USD 1'602'089, and Sewell agreeing to a civil penalty of USD 223'229.