380 Investors Hit by Alleged $22M US Crypto Mining Scheme

The Securities and Exchange Commission filed charges on July 20, 2026, alleging that Mining Automatic, operated by Zan Shaikh through Bright Vision Distribution LLC, raised about $22 million from more than 380 investors and spent only about 13% of the funds on its stated crypto-mining operation.

The SEC complaint contends the defendants promised guaranteed monthly returns between about June 2023 and May 2025 despite lacking the capacity to deliver those returns. The filing reports Mining Automatic and Shaikh collected roughly $22 million and repaid far less, taking in at least $20 million more than was returned to investors.

The regulator’s complaint says most investor funds were used for marketing to recruit new investors, Shaikh’s personal expenses and unrelated business costs rather than for mining equipment or operations.

Shaikh and Bright Vision Distribution have agreed to proposed consent judgments that, if approved by a federal court, would include permanent injunctions. Shaikh accepted an officer-and-director bar and a conduct-based injunction as part of the proposals. The SEC will seek monetary remedies — including disgorgement, prejudgment interest and civil penalties — in a later motion if the court enters the consent judgments; amounts for those remedies have not been specified.

The FBI’s Boston Division has opened a victim-information page for potential victims connected to Shaikh and associated business names, including YT Automatic, RankOne Ecommerce and Replic8. The bureau’s notice says investors were primarily targeted from 2022 through 2025, that submissions are voluntary, and that providing information may lead agents to request additional documentation.

The FBI notice states victims may be eligible for services, restitution and rights under federal or state law but does not explain how submitting the form affects formal claim status or guarantees recovery. The outreach could expand the pool of identified victims beyond the more than 380 investors named in the SEC complaint, though no updated total has been published.

The next formal step is court review of the proposed consent judgments. If a judge approves those orders, the SEC will move for monetary relief and a court will determine any disgorgement, interest and penalties. Until those proceedings conclude, the amount investors might recover remains unresolved.