The Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI), Securities Division has received a complaint from a Washington resident regarding h5.BITFII.com (“BITFII”), a cryptocurrency trading platform, and the ONA Community website, www.onamkt.com. The ONA Community website claims to provide training and education on how to trade stock and cryptocurrency.
The investor heard about BITFII through an advertisement on Facebook. The advertisement claimed to teach you how to trade on the stock market using AI technology and various trading strategies.
After clicking on the advertisement, the investor became part of a WhatsApp group called “ONA-Y37” that is associated with the ONA Community website. Later, the investor was invited to another WhatsApp group called, “Hands-On Trading Camp-Y051.” Both WhatsApp groups were operated by people using the names Emory
Callahan (“Callahan”), Sophia Davis (“Davis”), and William Mellon (“Mellon”). Callahan is listed as the founder of
ONA Community and uses the title “Professor.” Davis and Mellon are described as Callahan’s “assistants.”
Within the WhatsApp groups, Callahan made recommendations on which stock to purchase, provided investment strategies, and promoted what he claimed to be a quantitative trading system called “AlphaStream 5.0” created by ONA Community. Callahan and Davis offered what they described as “profit opportunities” or “profit plans” where trading signals would be given to the group. If followed, Callahan and Davis claimed that investors would receive a large return, anywhere from a 300% to 900% return.
Davis walked the investor through how to open various trading accounts, including an account on Coinbase. The investor was told to use the ONA Community website along with the BITFII platform as the ONA Community website provided daily check-ins, surveys, and trading strategies.
After transferring money to the BITFII trading platform, the investor was directed to invest in a token called ONA
Token. Later, the investor sold the ONA tokens, converted the tokens to Bitcoin, and attempted to transfer the Bitcoin to their Coinbase account but the investor kept receiving a message stating that the transfer failed. The investor became locked out of their BITFII account, and their funds were frozen. The investor lost approximately $5,500. These allegations have not been verified by DFI.
Below are the WhatsApp phone numbers, and Telegram usernames used by Davis, Callahan, and Mellon:
- Sophia Davis: WhatsApp: 1 (518) 528-4935, 1 (313) 394-8479; Telegram: https://t.me/Aa04173*
- Emory Callahan: 1 (424) 460-9982; 1 (206) 608-9925; 1 (213) 756-7515; Telegram: https://t.me/onaceo
- William Mellon: 1 (760) 508-6121; Telegram: https://t.me/ONA_WM
This appears to be what is commonly called a cryptocurrency investment scheme that uses social media groups, such as WhatsApp groups, to solicit and/or guide investors in cryptocurrency trading.
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