Horatiu Charlie Caragaceanu and his organizations, The Shark of Wall Street and Hedge4.ai, have been issued cease-and-desist orders by the Texas State Securities Board and other state regulators.

The orders aim to curb what is deemed a fraudulent securities scheme that capitalizes on the increasing interest in artificial intelligence (AI). The scheme promotes two cryptocurrencies, TruthGPT Coin and Elon Musk AI Token, and markets TruthGPT Coin as a highly profitable venture that uses an AI system called Elon Musk AI.

The Emergency Cease and Desist Order indicates that investors are being misled about Elon Musk's endorsement of the TruthGPT Coin, and the use of animated avatars and images of Musk implies his support. The orders seek to prevent investors from falling victim to these false claims. Securities Commissioner Travis Iles cautioned that bad actors are continuing their attempts to exploit the widespread public interest in cryptocurrencies and AI.

Investors are warned to be vigilant and avoid being emotionally swayed by investment offers, especially those coming from unknown individuals online. Fraudsters often use buzzwords such as artificial intelligence to lure investors into pump-and-dump schemes

Data from Chainalysis shows that out of the 40,521 tokens launched in 2022, 9,902 or 24% saw a decline in price during the first week, indicating possible pump-and-dump activity.

Sources:

https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/state-regulators-crack-down-on-fraudulent-cryptos-promoted-as-elon-musk-ai-token-and-truthgpt-coin-3072190

https://cointelegraph.com/news/state-regulators-crack-down-on-fraudulent-cryptos-promoted-as-elon-musk-ai-tokens-and-truthgpt-coin

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-05-03/truthgpt-elon-musk-ai-crypto-tokens-draw-the-ire-of-state-regulators#xj4y7vzkg