How to read an AI investment claim without mistaking branding for proof

Translate the marketing

Practical checklist · not an audit of another provider

Write down what the product actually claims to do: generate signals, execute trades, hold funds or guarantee a result. AI-assisted analysis is different from a managed investment account. Identify the operator and who controls the money. If the explanation stops at a proprietary algorithm, the operating and financial questions remain unanswered.

Classify the performance evidence

Practical checklist · not an audit of another provider

Mark each exhibit as a simulation, backtest, selected screenshot or independently verifiable live record. Record the period and whether fees and losing periods are included. The EmpiresX plea shows that a persuasive technology narrative can coexist with false return claims. It does not mean every automated strategy is fraudulent, but it does mean the label cannot perform the verification for you.

Verify the non-technical promises

Practical checklist · not an audit of another provider

Check custody terms and any claimed regulatory status against the appropriate official sources. Do not let an impressive demo substitute for these checks. The FTC identifies guaranteed profits as a warning sign; treat pressure to deposit immediately as a reason to pause. Keep the original pitch and the answers received so that later changes can be compared accurately.

Separate software identity from account authenticity

Practical checklist · not an audit of another provider

For an AI trading pitch, make two columns. In the first, record what the software supposedly does and which results are claimed. In the second, record the legal account holder, actual broker, independently located broker contact route and the reporting period. Screenshots supplied only by the promoter cannot authenticate the second column. Never give a stranger brokerage credentials to perform this check. If account existence cannot be verified through a legitimate channel, keep performance claims unverified even if the technical explanation of the model sounds plausible.

Sources, dates and limits

Checked 23 October 2026. The CFTC's 2025 order concerns commodity-pool conduct and a different monetary scope from the DOJ's earlier scheme-wide account. Those amounts are not added together as independent losses; a default judgment is labelled as such.