The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has unsealed its civil case against USFIA, revealing details from an investigation that began in November 2014. SEC attorney Peter Greco filed a declaration on September 28th, outlining the agency's findings and its coordination with other federal law enforcement bodies.

Greco's declaration indicates the SEC first received complaints from individuals alleging they had been defrauded by USFIA. The case was then assigned to Greco for a formal inquiry. Early in the investigation, the SEC became aware of a parallel criminal investigation being conducted by the FBI.

Discussions between the SEC and the FBI revealed concerns that an overt SEC investigation might jeopardize the FBI's ongoing undercover operation. Federal agents worried that public investigatory actions by the SEC could alert a key subject of their investigation, whom they believed posed a flight risk. This individual was identified as Steve Chen, the owner of USFIA.

To avoid compromising the criminal probe, the SEC agreed to a temporary deferral of its overt investigative actions, such as issuing subpoenas. In return, the FBI committed to sharing bank records and other information gathered during its investigation. This arrangement likely delayed regulatory action against USFIA but allowed the FBI more time to build its criminal case against Chen.

The SEC declaration also names several key promoters who solicited investments in GemCoin, USFIA's purported product, across various countries. These individuals include Wendy Liu in the USA, associated with alliancefinancialgroupusa.com and ahomeusa.com; Richard Mertz and Numora International Inc. in the USA, operating gemcoin-usfia.com; Phillippe Dupuis in France, running gemcoin-investment.com; Tze Hong Sim in Singapore, with investgemcoin.com; Ethan Zhang in Canada, owner of 1gemcoin.com, who identified Yan Chen, Steve Chen’s brother, as the owner of a Dominican Republic amber mine; and Sebastian Catusse in Switzerland, managing gemcoin.ch and usfia.ch.

The document further details the experiences of USFIA investors, including the extravagant claims made to market the scheme and its eventual collapse. Between August and September 2015, five USFIA investors were interviewed by investigators from the FBI, SEC, and IRS. Their testimonies provided regulators with a direct account of their involvement with USFIA and GemCoin. One investor, identified as Investor A, reported first learning about USFIA from a friend.