Litigation Releases (NanoBit Limited, et al.)

U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Litigation Release No. 26576 / June 29, 2026

Securities and Exchange Commission v. NanoBit Limited, et al., No 2:24-cv-06517-SJB-ST (E.D.N.Y. filed Sept. 17, 2024)

SEC Obtains Final Judgment Against Four Entities and Two Individuals in Alleged Relationship Investment Scam

On June 16, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York entered a final judgment by default against four entities and two individuals in connection with previously filed charges, which stemmed from a relationship investment scam involving the alleged fake crypto asset trading platform NanoBit.

The SEC's complaint, filed on September 17, 2024, alleged that the defendants, working with other scheme participants, solicited investors via social media apps, lied to them to gain their trust and confidence, and then stole their money. According to the complaint, from at least September 2023 to at least June 2024, scheme participants posed as financial industry professionals in WhatsApp groups to build investors' trust and then encouraged investors to put their money into the supposed NanoBit crypto asset trading platform. In order to persuade investors that the platform was safe, NanoBit allegedly falsely claimed that its affiliate, NanobitUS Securities, was a SEC-registered broker. The supposed financial professionals allegedly then promoted fake initial coin offerings as a way for the investors to make substantial returns. But, as alleged, no transactions took place on the NanoBit platform and investors' funds in fact went to scheme participants who wired more than $2 million to bank accounts in Hong Kong and misappropriated hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of investors' crypto assets.

The final judgment permanently enjoins the defendants from violating Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. It also orders NanoBit Limited to pay disgorgement of $532,649, prejudgment interest of $81,957, and a penalty of $1,182,251; Radiant Horizons to pay a penalty of $1,182,251; Zhao Deli to pay a penalty of $1,182,251; Sweet Karma to pay a penalty of $1,182,251; Liu to pay disgorgement of $60,603, prejudgment interest of $9,485, and a penalty of $50,000; and Zhao to pay disgorgement of $4,500, prejudgment interest of $704, and a penalty of $50,000.

The SEC's litigation was conducted by Todd Brody and Jeremy Brandt, with assistance from Neil Hendelman and supervised by Alexander Vasilescu, Rebecca Reilly, and Sheldon L. Pollock, all of the SEC's New York Regional Office. The litigation was also assisted by Nicholas Bohmann of the Division of Enforcement's Cyber and Emerging Technologies Unit.

The SEC's Office of Investor Education and Assistance has issued an investor alert warning investors that fraudsters may use popular social media platforms and messaging apps to lure investors into scams, and never to rely solely on information from group chats in making investment decisions. The SEC encourages investors to use Investor.gov to check the background of anyone offering or selling them an investment.