SEC v. Irfan Mohammed — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Litigation Release No. 26443, dated December 15, 2025.
The SEC charged Irfan Mohammed with running an investment fraud scheme. He allegedly raised about $585,000 from members of the Islamic community by falsely claiming his company, Dgtal World LLC, had successful overseas operations and was expanding to the U.S. In reality, the company had no operations, and Mohammed misappropriated the funds for personal expenses and an unrelated business, using investor money to make sham payments.
In Plain English
Imagine someone told you they had a great business idea and asked for money to grow it. They promised you would make a lot of money back. But, in reality, they didn't have a real business and used your money for themselves or other things. They even sent you fake payments to make it look like you were earning money, sometimes using money from other people who invested. That's what happened here, and the SEC stepped in.
Disclaimer: all facts are drawn from the SEC's own filings; the claims described are allegations unless and until a court rules or the parties settle, and some cases end in dismissal.
How the Alleged Scheme Worked
- Establish a Fake Business In January 2021, Irfan Mohammed started seeking investments for his company, Dgtal World LLC. He claimed it was a successful payment processing company operating overseas and was expanding into the United States.
- Target Investors Mohammed approached members of the Islamic community in Central Illinois, many of whom were also members of this community, to invest in Dgtal World.
- Make False Promises He told potential investors that Dgtal World had interested vendors in Illinois and that their money would be used to operate and expand the business in the U.S. He promised returns ranging from a set monthly amount to a percentage of profits or annual return on investment.
- Receive Investments From at least January 2021 through March 2023, Mohammed received approximately $585,000 from three individuals based on these false representations.
- Misappropriate Funds Contrary to his promises, Dgtal World had no actual operations. Mohammed allegedly used the investor funds for his personal expenses and an unrelated business, not for developing Dgtal World.
- Create Sham Payments To make investors believe their investments were performing, Mohammed used investor funds to make payments to them. These payments totaled about $144,780.
- Execute Ponzi Payments Some of these sham payments were funded by returning the investors' own money. In at least one instance, a payment was sourced from another investor's funds, characteristic of a Ponzi scheme.
- Cause Investor Losses As a result of this fraudulent scheme, investors ultimately lost approximately $385,220.
The Enforcement Action
On December 12, 2025, the SEC filed a settled action against Irfan Mohammed. Mohammed consented to a judgment permanently enjoining him from violating charged provisions of federal securities laws, imposing a conduct-based injunction, and ordering him to pay disgorgement of $385,220, prejudgment interest of $70,640, and a civil penalty of $70,000. The settlement is subject to court approval.
Named in this action: Irfan Mohammed.