The Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI), Securities Division has received a complaint from an investor regarding Cervius Capital (www.cerviuscapital.com). The website claims that their “sustainable investment strategy focuses on investments in Agriculture, Cryptocurrency, and Real Estate” and that they “focus on liquidity and transparency to capture systematic sources of return.”
The investor invested in crypto assets through Cervius Capital. When the investor attempted to withdraw funds, Cervius Capital demanded the investor invest more money, each time demanding the investor make larger deposits. After depositing additional funds numerous times, Cervius Capital demanded the investor deposit another $20,000 in order for the investor to receive their profits and withdraw funds from their account. The investor refused and lost $39,000. These allegations have not been verified by DFI.
This complaint contained several other red flags indicating fraud (which have also not been verified by DFI), including:
- The Cervius Capital website claims to offer three different investment plans, with a minimum investment of $100, $20,000, and $50,000 respectively. The plans claim to offer a 2%, 5%, and 10% daily return. Be careful of investments claiming to provide high returns as they usually involve a high amount of risk.
- An internet search of text within the Cervius Capital website results in hundreds of other websites using the same text, indicating a possible template was used for the Cervius Capital website.
- The Terms of Use section of the Cervius Capital website states that their program “is exempt from the Finland Securities Act of 1933, the Finland Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Finland Investment Company Act of 1940.” It does not appear that Finland has such Acts. These purported securities laws are similarly named to securities laws that were created and adopted by the United States.
This appears to be what is commonly called “Advance Fee Fraud." Learn more about advance fee fraud.
It also appears to be a “Cryptocurrency Scheme." Learn more about cryptocurrency schemes.
DFI urges consumers to exercise extreme caution before responding to any solicitation offering investment or financial services. Investment professionals need to be licensed with DFI to offer investments to Washington residents. In addition, most investment products sold need to be registered with DFI. To check the licensing status and to find out if there are any complaints against an investment professional or investment product, please visit FINRA Brokercheck or contact the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions, Securities Division at (360) 902-8760. If you live outside of Washington State, contact your state securities regulator.
If a consumer believes a person or company has violated state law or acted improperly regarding an investment product or service, they may file a formal complaint with the Securities Division.
Additional Resources
Virtual Currency, Cryptocurrency, and Digital Assets Information for Consumers