A Florida investor has filed a lawsuit alleging fraudulent loss of $860,000 involving Denver-based cryptocurrency education provider Alpha Stock Investment Training Center (ASITC) and a non-existent trading platform named CoinBridge Partners. The complaint underscores persistent risks in unregulated cryptocurrency markets and the evolution of sophisticated investment scams.
The plaintiff contends that ASITC and the fraudulent CoinBridge Partners entity employed signal trading strategies to artificially inflate account balances before liquidating investor holdings. Court documents reveal the fictitious exchange falsely claimed $10 million in capital raised from 600 investors, while the authentic CoinBridge Partners firm issued public denials of association with the operation.
This alleged fraud surfaces amid escalating cryptocurrency thefts exceeding $2.1 billion industry-wide this year, where social engineering and phishing attacks constitute the primary threat vectors. Phishing schemes alone drained over $1 billion from victims in the preceding year.
The lawsuit brings multiple charges including fraud, theft, and racketeering against ASITC, CoinBridge, and implicated individuals. It emphasizes the necessity for coordinated legal interventions and regulatory frameworks to mitigate emerging threats in digital asset markets.