The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission secured a default judgment against NanoBit Limited and several affiliated companies, ordering them to pay more than $5.5 million after finding that a WhatsApp‑based investment scheme involved alleged fraud. The judgment was entered by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York on June 16.

The case alleged that NanoBit and its partners used group chats on messaging apps, false broker claims and counterfeit initial coin offering pitches to persuade investors to join WhatsApp groups. The defendants presented trading interfaces that displayed crypto prices and account balances, but no actual transactions occurred. According to the SEC, the scheme diverted more than $2 million to bank accounts in Hong Kong and misused additional crypto assets.

The court ordered NanoBit, Radiant Horizons Limited, Sweet Karma Fashion Inc., Zhao Tropical Deli Inc., Jiajie Liu and Hua Zhao to pay penalties, disgorgement and interest, resulting in a total payment obligation of approximately $5.52 million. The judgment was issued nearly two years after the SEC filed its complaint in September 2024.

The ruling adds to a series of enforcement actions targeting crypto‑related fraud. In May 2024 the SEC charged Texas resident Nathan Fuller with an alleged $12.3 million AI‑driven arbitrage scheme, and earlier in 2024 it identified NanoBit and CoinW6 among relationship‑investment scam cases. TRM Labs warned in June 2026 that scammers had created World Cup‑related crypto operations, including fake ticketing sites and betting schemes, while Investor.gov issued an alert in December 2025 urging investors to avoid reliance on group‑chat information.

The decision highlights the SEC’s continued focus on digital asset fraud as regulators develop broader policy frameworks for the crypto market.