Adam Family

Brothers allegedly raised $60 million with a phony crypto bot and spent investors' money on new homes and luxury goods

“If you don't believe me or don't get it, I don't have time to try to convince you, sorry.” - Satoshi Nakamoto, the name used by bitcoin’s supposed creator.

What if I told you about a guy in Texas who invented a “bot” that could net you a 13.5% monthly investment return?

Jonathan Adam, a self-described “tech nerd,” claimed he’d created an algorithmic spider that can crawl around crypto trading platforms looking for arbitrage trading opportunities.

All he and his brother Tanner needed was your money for a lending pool to fund “flash loans” to arbitrage traders.

Never mind if you don’t fully understand this crypto concept. It’s supposed to sound cryptic. It’s crypto!

Never mind that Jonathan is a felon who was sentenced to more than four years in prison in 2004 for three felony securities violations.

The Adam brothers took $60 million from more than 80 investors across the country with this pitch between January 2023 and June 2024. Then they spent millions of the proceeds on themselves and their family, according to a civil complaint filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission this week.

Investor funds went toward custom-built homes in Texas for Jonathan, his parents and his in-laws, as well as a $30 million penthouse condo in Miami for Tanner, the SEC alleges.

We’re also talking cars, trucks, and recreational vehicles for themselves and their parents – plus living expenses and designer purchases from Louis Vuitton, Carolina Herrera and Jimmy Choo.

“So put a witch's shawl on
A broomstick you can crawl on
We're gonna pay a call on
The [Adam] family.”

Clarification: Gomez Addams was not involved in the alleged Adam brothers Ponzi scheme and spells his name differently … although you have to admit the pinstripe suit and the cigar smoke should arouse investors’ suspicion. (Photo Credit: 1965 publicity photo from ABC Television via Wikimedia Commons.)

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- Al Lewis