Attorney General Bonta Secures $750,000 in Settlement with Unlicensed Day Trader, AwesomeCalls and Its CEO

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today announced a $750,000 settlement with AwesomeCalls, a digital day trading chatroom, and its CEO Anthony Haworth, for giving investors advice without a license and misleading investors though false advertising and testimonials touting the amount of money they could make, in violation of California law. The settlement in the form of a stipulated judgment includes $750,000 in civil penalties and injunctive relief barring AwesomeCalls and Mr. Haworth from giving investment advice without an investment adviser license or publishing misleading advertisements highlighting the quality of AwesomeCalls’ investment advice.

“AwesomeCalls deceived consumers by marketing Mr. Haworth as a brilliant day trader and boasting that they could help subscribers make thousands of dollars a day, when in reality they were operating without a license,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Our settlement requires AwesomeCalls and its CEO to stop misleading consumers and serves as a reminder: Offering investment advice without a license is illegal.”

AwesomeCalls is a daily day trading chat room in which Mr. Haworth dispenses advice and comments on the stock market, largely focused on making a quick profit from the day’s movement of stocks. Since at least 2014, AwesomeCalls and Mr. Haworth have marketed and sold daily, monthly, and annual subscription memberships to the chatroom to consumers in California and throughout the United States. Mr. Haworth claims to be “clairvoyant” about stock trading, and AwesomeCalls’ website and Mr. Haworth's social media accounts regularly feature anecdotes about supposedly profitable trade recommendations and positive testimonials from purported subscribers. However, Mr. Haworth himself does not have a successful trading history and has been debarred as an escrow agent for misappropriating escrow funds — which was not disclosed to consumers. 

 A copy of the stipulated judgment can be found here.