How many of you would enroll in the trading course of the one who:
- Claims to manage a proprietary trading system worth ₹140 crores – ₹283 crores.
- Gives you a guarantee of 40% yearly profit on your investment.
- Recovery of course fees worth ₹7 lakh in a few months.
Well, most of you who are looking forward to beginning your trading journey will find it a golden opportunity, right?
Many so-called trading gurus exploit the lack of awareness among beginner traders and run unregistered advisory businesses in the name of course.
After losing money, many victims hope for legal action or some way to recover their funds
Hard to digest, but true!
This is reflected in the social media presence of Asmita Patel.
- YouTube- 526k subscribers
- Instagram-290k followers
- Facebook-73k followers
- LinkedIn-1.9k followers
- Twitter- 4.2k followers.
Let’s get into the details to understand what the SEBI investigation uncovered and what lessons you can learn from this.
SEBI Exposed So Called She Wolf of the Stock Market
Asmita Patel, with a massive social media presence, placed herself as a go-to guru for stock market success.
She called herself ‘She-Wolf-of-the-Stock-Market’. She built her brand by making fake promises of guaranteed high returns by following her secret trading strategies.
As per the data collected from one of her websites, her trading school, AGSTPL, offered multiple courses like Master in Price Action Trading (MPAT), Option Multiplier, Let’s Make India Trade (LMIT), etc at around ₹7,00,000.
She and her team marketed all these courses on YouTube and other social media platforms.
Further, they create inducement and upsell their higher-plan courses to students during LIVE sessions on Zoom.
During the marketing, they claim to offer a structured program with the promise of converting trades into money-making machines.
However, the recent interim order by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has sent shockwaves through the trading community, exposing what appears to be a web of unregistered advisory services, misleading claims, and potential financial misconduct.
No doubt, people fall into the trap of her fake promises and later on 42 course participants who didn’t find any useful strategy in the class reported a complaint in SEBI.
On receiving bulk complaints against her and her trading school, SEBI did an investigation which led to eye-opening data.
SEBI’s Investigation: What Went Wrong?
Now as per SEBI providing stock market education is not wrong. What’s wrong is misguiding people, providing tips, creating inducement, assuring guaranteed returns, etc.
All these are violations and Asmita Patel Global School of Trading(APGST) was doing all in here free seminars and LIVE sessions.
Here’s what SEBI uncovered:
- Unregistered Investment Advisory Services: The investigation revealed that Patel and her team were not just teaching trading strategies but also providing direct buy/sell recommendations to students through private Telegram channels and emails.
- Cross-Selling: They asked their enrolled student to open a trading account with ABC Limited. Asmita Patel was the AP of this stockbroker. Thus availing additional benefits from students.
Around 38 complainants out of 42 opened trading accounts with this broker and invested in the range of ₹20k to ₹35 lakh. - Misleading Claims: Patel publicly claimed to be managing a ₹283 crore trading fund, but SEBI found that her actual trading activity was limited, with a total turnover of only ₹15.27 crores.
- Collecting Huge Fees: The trading school collected over ₹104.60 crores from students, often routing payments through third-party firms, potentially evading taxes.
- Psychological Manipulation: She and her team pressured students to liquidate their savings, borrow money, and invest in trading, believing they would recover their course fees within a short period.
SEBI Action Against Asmita Patel & Her Trading School
In response to these findings, SEBI took stringent action:
- SEBI barred AGSTPL and its directors from the securities market.
- ₹53.67 crores penalty is imposed to safeguard investors’ interests.
- Also, the regulatory body ordered the company to cease all unregistered advisory services.
- A refund process for affected students was mandated.
- Legal proceedings are underway, with potential further penalties.
The Bigger Lesson for Traders
This incident is not just about one individual or one company—it’s a wake-up call for every aspiring trader.
- Beware of “Get Rich Quick” Promises
One bitter truth is people like Asmita Patel don’t get famous themselves.
Instead, it is people’s greed that makes them follow such finfluencers, eventually increasing their demand.
But in the real world, only those fake finfluencers get rich by fooling people.
So, if you are looking forward to generating regular or passive income from the share market, then it is important to understand that no mentor or legitimate trader would ever promise guaranteed returns.
The stock market is unpredictable.
Hence one can make money only after gaining experience, practicing discipline, and with proper risk management. - Verify SEBI Registration
Be honest and answer this.
Whenever someone invites you to join a telegram group to avail tips, how many of you ask for SEBI registration?
or
how many of you check a person’s eligibility for the same?
None of you.
That’s the reason why most people and beginner traders get trapped in a wrong or fake advisory
So, even if someone claims to offer you trading recommendations don’t fall for the promise of guaranteed returns.
Instead, ask for their registration and certification.
This will make it difficult for them to convince you to be part of their evil practice.
Now in the case of Asmita Patel, who was misleading people in the name of courses, people must report unethical practices right away instead of hoping to earn the fake profits she claimed in her free sessions. - Don’t Fall for Social Media Hype
Just because someone has thousands of followers and flashy testimonials doesn’t mean they are credible.
Always research their actual trading history and regulatory compliance before paying for any of their premium courses, subscriptions, or channels. - Invest in Learning, Not Just Signals
Just imagine a scenario where schools focus on sharing questions going to come in exams, instead of teaching you a whole chapter.
Would that be enough?
Ofcourse not. Yes, in that case, many students would have got good marks but looking forward you might fail in your long-term career growth.
The same goes with the stock market, following someone just for tips & recommendations might make you profitable in the beginning but has no future outcome or growth potential.
In short, true trading education equips you with the skills to analyze the market independently, not just blindly follow someone else’s recommendations.
Conclusion
SEBI’s crackdown on AGSTPL is a much-needed step to clean up the financial education space.
For traders, it serves as a crucial reminder—your financial success should not depend on someone else’s signals but on your knowledge and strategy.
The trading world is full of opportunities, but only those who approach it with diligence, patience, and a well-informed mindset will thrive.
Be cautious, and most importantly, be educated.
