SEC obtains emergency asset freeze against crypto hedge fund amid fraud allegations

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has obtained an asset freeze order against quantitative trading firm Virgil Capital, according to a statement from the regulator.

The asset freeze is related to allegations of securities fraud filed December 22 against Virgil Capital's crypto trading fund, Virgil Sigma Fund. The SEC claims the fund's owner, Stefan Qin, has been knowingly defrauding investors of the Sigma Fund, using the investment proceeds for "personal purposes or for other undisclosed high-risk investments." 

The new order is to "prevent further harm," according to the Chief of the Enforcement Division's Cyber Unit, Kristina Littman. 

Virgil Capital reportedly manages $100 million in assets, and was accepting new investors for its waiting list as of April of this year. Qin founded the company in 2016, when he was 19 years old.