San Diego man says he lost living savings in crypto retirement plan

SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — A San Diego man said he put all his retirement money into a crypto platform only to have it disappear.

Now, a state financial watchdog agency said the company where that man and thousands of others invested wasn’t license to operate in California at the time.

Joe White spent a long career working for several start-up companies.

“I think it’s over 10 startups that I worked at, and then it’s like a numbers game, and then finally I got a good exit,” White said.

He used the money he earned to invest and plan for retirement.

“I learned about Nexo from Reddit, and then a co-worker introduced me to them,” he added.

Nexo is a digital platform for crypto that advertises it helps users “grow your wealth.”

White thought his money would be safe in what Nexo called a “Crypto Credit Line.” With crypto-backed credit lines, borrowers can take out loans backed by their crypto instead of selling it off. According to Nexo’s website, you can then repay “whenever you want, in any amount and at your own pace."

In 2021, White said he transferred his crypto investments to Nexo, which operates several entities.

It says on its website, the credit line can be used “as part of a longer-term strategy.”