The Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI), Securities Division has received a complaint from a Washington resident regarding a digital asset trading platform, Linuscoin.co. It appears the website has been taken down.
The investor heard about Linuscoin.co through an online advertisement. The investor joined an investment group purportedly run by an individual named Carl Roberts. The investor invested at least $125,000 in cryptocurrency on the Linuscoin.co platform.
After investing, an individual approached the investor about trading privately. After trading, the investor was unable to withdraw funds and at one point his account was wiped out. The investor discovered that there were other people who had similar issues when investing with Carl Roberts on Linuscoin.co. The investor lost approximately $125,000 trading on the Linuscoin.co platform. These allegations have not been verified by DFI.
This appears to be a common type of 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
Protecting Yourself from Financial Fraud
Virtual Currency, Cryptocurrency, and Digital Assets Information for Consumers