In early 2024, a company called "Lunar Capital Ventures" hyped its "cloud computing power investment" project on social media, claiming that by investing in its platform, users can easily get high returns. The company promised that investors only need to pay a certain fee to participate in its automated sales system on platforms such as Amazon and Walmart, and their monthly income can reach tens of thousands of dollars. However, this is not the case. According to the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the company is actually a huge fraud network that has defrauded more than $12 million from consumers since 2022.
[How the scam works] Lunar Capital Ventures attracts consumers to invest in its so-called "cloud computing power" project through false advertisements and fictitious success stories. They claim that investors can make high profits by selling goods on e-commerce platforms such as Amazon and Walmart through the automated system of their platform. However, after paying tens of thousands of dollars, investors often find that there is no actual sales system available, and they cannot even recover their investment. The FTC pointed out that the company used social media ads, websites and marketing emails to exaggerate the success stories of its customers, claiming that customers could earn tens of thousands of dollars per month, but in fact most consumers suffered significant losses.
[CFIT's involvement and investigation]
CFIT began investigating Lunar Capital Ventures after receiving multiple consumer complaints. Through cooperation with the FTC, CFIT discovered that the company not only operated within the United States, but also had branches in multiple countries, forming a transnational fraud network. CFIT's technical team tracked the company's capital flow and found that investors' funds were transferred to multiple offshore accounts for personal luxury consumption and further fraudulent activities.
[Joint action of federal agencies]
With the assistance of CFIT, the FTC filed a lawsuit against Lunar Capital Ventures, accusing it of violating the Federal Trade Commission Act and the Restoring Online Shopper Confidence Act. The court ordered the temporary closure of the company's operations and froze its assets. This is the first time that the FTC has imposed a civil penalty on a company that violated the Restoring Online Shopper Confidence Act, and it is also the first time that a civil penalty has been imposed on a company that received a "penalty notice regarding an opportunity to make money."
[Victim's Story]
A victim from California shared her experience: "I saw their ads saying that I could make tens of thousands of dollars a month by selling goods on Amazon through their platform. I invested $20,000 but never saw any returns and couldn't even contact their customer service." Similar stories are happening all over the country, and thousands of consumers have been deceived and suffered heavy losses.
[CFIT's follow-up actions]
After the case was concluded, CFIT issued a warning about investment fraud, reminding consumers to be wary of similar "get rich quick" schemes. CFIT also worked with the FTC to establish an online platform for consumers to report suspicious investment projects and provide relevant educational resources to help the public identify and avoid investment fraud.
Through cooperation with the FTC, CFIT successfully cracked down on the transnational fraud network Lunar Capital Ventures and protected the interests of thousands of consumers. This case demonstrates CFIT's expertise in identifying, investigating and combating financial fraud, as well as the importance of collaboration with federal agencies. CFIT will continue to be committed to combating all forms of financial fraud and safeguarding the public's financial security.