How much do you know about cryptocurrency? If your answer is “not much,” that’s exactly what crypto scammers want to hear. And that’s exactly who one cryptocurrency company targeted with its false and misleading claims, according to a lawsuit filed by the FTC.
The FTC’s complaint against Celsius Network LLC says the company marketed and sold financial services using YouTube and Twitter to promote marketing videos that were full of false and misleading claims. For example, Celsius claimed its crypto platform was safer and more stable than a bank. (It wasn’t.) And it told people that depositing crypto onto its platform came with a “no risk” promise that they’d earn high interest on their deposits. (A lie.) Even worse, the FTC says the company used people’s crypto deposits without permission to spend, trade, invest, or pay business expenses. When Celsius started running out of money, it blocked people’s account access, preventing them from withdrawing their crypto. Now, Celsius is in bankruptcy, and consumers are unlikely to get all their crypto back.