Better Business Bureau: Consumers say BG Wealth / DSJEX turned trust into a crypto trap

A few months ago, my colleague's mom was invited to invest in a crypto exchange by members of her church family. Surrounded by friends who said they were watching their own money grow, she said yes. A few months later, she had lost everything.

Since January, the Better Business Bureau’s Scam Tracker has logged more than $1.1 million in reported losses from a crypto scheme operating as BG Wealth and DSJEX. The danger in that scheme lies in who delivers the pitch. The invitation comes from a sister, a son, a fellow church member, or a community leader. And they all seem to be getting rich.

The offer sounds simple. Open an account, deposit money into a crypto-linked wallet, and then enter trading codes shared by a “professor” and their assistant twice a day. After that, you watch the balance climb.

Several reports identify “Professor Stephen Beard” and “Elena” as figures sending the codes. Each trade appears to add another 2% to 5% in returns. Investors are told they can earn even more by recruiting friends and family.

The money looks real until you try to take it out. Victims say withdrawals are delayed, frozen, or blocked, and that before funds can be released, they are forced to pay a 12% “tax” out of their own pocket. For many, that tax is more than they invested. A legitimate platform never makes you pay an outside fee to reach your own money.

But the scheme works hard to look legitimate. It points to SEC filings and state business registrations as proof it's real. None of those filings alone, however, are proof that a business is licensed, endorsed by regulators, or approved to sell investments.

Be cautious of any investment opportunity that promises high or steady returns, requires cryptocurrency deposits, rewards recruitment, uses private group chats, discourages questions, or demands an upfront fee or “tax” before you can withdraw.

And one more warning. BG Wealth's exchange has been shut down, but the danger hasn't gone away. The same people behind the fake exchange are now working the victim list, posing as law firms or recovery services that want a retainer to get your money back. Don't pay them either.

If this has happened to you, you're not alone, and it's not your fault. Save your records and report to BBB Scam Tracker and the FBI at ic3.gov. For a step-by-step recovery plan, use BBB's Scam Survival Toolkit. And before you invest, work with a licensed adviser you can verify at BBB.org.

Dené Joubert is the senior investigations manager of BBB Great West + Pacific.