The SEC charged Nathan Gauvin, who held himself out as a successful manager of a New York-based financial firm Blackridge, LLC ("Blackridge"), and entities he controlled, Gray Digital Capital Management USA, LLC ("Gray Digital"), and Gray Digital Technologies, LLC ("Gray Digital Technologies"), for two separate but related offering frauds. Gauvin claimed that Blackridge managed over a billion dollars in assets under management. Gauvin positioned himself within a community on the Discord social media platform called "Cryptonaiz" and built a reputation and amassed a following on that platform. He later created the Gray Digital community on Discord and charged a $200/month subscription fee or membership for educational services. Using social media and the firm's website, he allegedly raised more than $18 million from retail investors in an unregistered fraudulent offering that he called the Gray Fund, described as a diversified investment fund advised by Gray Digital and Gauvin that would purportedly hold and trade debt and equity securities, derivatives, and crypto assets. Gauvin and Gray Digital reportedly restricted investment in the Gray Fund to “participating members” of the Gray Digital community. Investors sent money to invest in the Gray Fund through Gray Digital’s website, which accepted stablecoins, fiat currency via wire transfers, and credit card payments. Gray Digital’s website stated that Gray Digital would take a 15% fee when investors withdrew their purported profits, but that investors could withdraw their principal investment during specific times without incurring a fee. According to the SEC's complaint, Gauvin overstated fund assets, fabricated investor statements, and falsely claimed that the Gray Fund generated monthly returns ranging from 1.14%-21.14%, with double-digit monthly returns in 17 of the 24 months. The SEC noted that in reality, Gauvin had no professional financial experience (his resume was a fraud and Blackridge was a mere shell entity), the trading in all accounts effected on behalf of the Gray Fund generated monthly compounded returns of approximately 1.4% during the pertinent timeframe, and Gauvin, via Gray Digital and Blackridge accounts, misappropriated approximately $6.3 million in investor money and Gray Fund assets to finance a lavish lifestyle. The scheme ultimately unraveled in 2024 when Gauvin and Gray Digital stopped honoring investor withdrawal requests, triggering a series of false and misleading excuses to investors. In the second scheme, Gauvin allegedly offered “seed stock” in Gray Digital Technologies at $30,000 per share, claiming that seed investors would receive “a digital certificate secured on the blockchain” via NFT as proof of ownership, along with additional benefits, in exchange for a $30,000 investment.” The SEC alleged that Gauvin falsely claimed the company had a $60 million valuation and more than $12 million in annual revenue, while in reality, there were no assets or revenue attributable to Gray Digital Technologies. The SEC's complaint notes that Gauvin stopped communicating with the two known seed investors shortly after accepting their money. The SEC case, charging Gauvin with fraudulent activities as an unregistered investment adviser, is being litigated, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York announced parallel criminal charges against Gauvin.