The SEC continues to make cryptocurrency-related enforcement a top priority under Chair Gary Gensler, bringing 30 enforcement actions against digital-asset market participants in 2022, up 50% from the 20 actions brought in 2021 and the highest number since 2013, according to a Cornerstone Research report released today. The report, SEC […]
Cryptocurrency
SEC Charges 8 in Connection with $45 Million Crypto Fraud
Jan. 4, 2023 —The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Neil Chandran, Garry Davidson, Michael Glaspie, Amy Mossel, Linda Knott, AEO Publishing Inc, Banner Co-Op, Inc, and BannersGo, LLC for their involvement in a fraudulent investment scheme named CoinDeal that raised more than $45 million from sales of unregistered securities […]
SBF Borrowed a Half Billion Dollars from his Fund
Interesting article from Forbes – SBF borrowed half a billion dollars from his hedge fund to finance a purchase of Robinhood stock. When Sam Bankman-Fried bought a nearly 7.6% stake in Robinhood, the popular stock-trading app, earlier this year, he financed the deal with more than half a billion dollars […]
Creator of Global Crypto Ponzi Scheme Charged with $295 Million Fraud
Nov. 4, 2022 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against Douver Torres Braga, Joff Paradise, Keleionalani Akana Taylor, and Jonathan Tetreault for their roles in Trade Coin Club, a fraudulent crypto Ponzi scheme that raised more than 82,000 bitcoin, valued at $295 million at the time, from […]
Kim Kardashian Settles SEC Charges for Unlawfully Touting Crypto Security
October 3, 2022 – The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against and settlement with, Kim Kardashian for touting on social media a crypto asset security offered and sold by EthereumMax without disclosing the payment she received for the promotion. Section 17(b) of the Securities Act makes it unlawful […]
Sparkster to Pay $35 Million to Harmed Investor Fund for Unregistered Crypto Asset Offering
Sept. 19, 2022 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today issued a cease-and-desist order against Sparkster Ltd. and its CEO, Sajjad Daya, for the unregistered offer and sale of crypto asset securities from April 2018 through July 2018 and charged crypto influencer Ian Balina for failing to disclose compensation he […]
Cryptomining and Trading Scheme Charged
Washington D.C., May 6, 2022 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced fraud charges against MCC International Corp. (MCC), which does business as Mining Capital Coin Corp., its founders Luiz Carlos Capuci, Jr. (aka Junior Caputti or Capuci) and Emerson Souza Pires (Pires), and two other entities controlled by […]
SEC Examing Crypto as Securities
The SEC is attempting to gain regulatory oversight of cryptocurrency products and platforms that may be engaging in the sale and offering of securities. Securities are strictly regulated and require detailed disclosures to inform investors of potential risks. Since the first cryptocurrency (Bitcoin) launched in 2009, the question of how […]
BlockFi Agrees to Pay $100 Million in Penalties and Pursue Registration of its Crypto Lending Product
Introduction BlockFi is a cryptocurrency lending startup that offers crypto loans. Since its launch, the company has been criticized for its lending practices. In particular, it has faced questions about whether it can comply with regulations requiring it to register as a money transmitter and obtain a license. SEC Charges […]
CoinBase Cancels Proposed Lending Program after SEC Scrutiny
As we posted last week, CoinBase’s proposed lending program, where its customers would be able to use cryptocurrency to make loans to third parties raised objections from the SEC. Coinbase objected to the objections in a public statement, claiming it didn’t know what the problem was. There isn’t much public […]