Tagged: enforcement action

SEC Charges Texas Resident with Orchestrating $12.3M Crypto Investment Fraud Involving Fabricated AI Trading Technology

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has taken legal action against Nathan Fuller, a resident of Cypress, Texas, accusing him of masterminding a significant cryptocurrency fraud that defrauded approximately 150 investors of around $12.3 million. The SEC has filed its complaint on May 28,… Read More

New York Attorney General Reaches $5 Million Settlement with Crypto Platform Uphold Over Misleading Promotion of Risky Investment Product

New York Attorney General Letitia James has secured more than $5 million from cryptocurrency trading platform Uphold HQ Inc. in a settlement resolving allegations that the company misled customers by heavily promoting a third-party yield product that ultimately collapsed, resulting in substantial investor losses. The… Read More

International Crackdown on Crypto “Pig Butchering” Scams Leads to 276 Arrests

The US Justice Department has recent noted that law enforcement agencies from the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Thailand, and China have dismantled multiple overseas operations tied to cryptocurrency investment scams, resulting in the arrests of at least 276 people. The coordinated action, which… Read More

US Federal Authorities Charge Crypto Executives in Global Crackdown on Market Manipulation Schemes

Federal authorities have unveiled charges against ten executives and employees from four cryptocurrency market-making companies in what officials describe as a coordinated international effort to combat deceptive trading practices in the digital asset sector. The indictments, handed down by grand juries in San Francisco and… Read More

PRA Fines The Bank of London and Its Parent Oplyse Holdings Limited for Alleged Breaches of Integrity and Misleading Regulator on Capital Position

The UK’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) has imposed a £2 million fine on The Bank of London Group Limited and its parent company, Oplyse Holdings Limited—previously known as The Bank of London Group Holdings Limited—following an investigation into multiple serious shortcomings. The firms were found… Read More

Binance Australia Derivatives Ordered to Pay AUD 10M Fine for Onboarding Failures That Led to Millions in Client Losses

The Federal Court has ordered Oztures Trading Pty Ltd, operating as Binance Australia Derivatives, to pay a A$10 million civil penalty for widespread failures in classifying clients during a nine-month period in 2022–2023. The company, part of the global Binance Group—the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange… Read More

FTC Seeks Contempt Ruling Against Payment Processor for Breaching Decade-Old Fraud Prevention Order

In a recent move to enforce consumer protection standards in the US financial services sector, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has petitioned a federal court to declare a payment processing company and its top executives in contempt of court. The action targets Cliq, Inc., previously… Read More

SEC Charges Crypto Trading Platforms and Investment Clubs with Scheme Targeting Retail Investors via Social Media

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently filed charges against purported crypto asset trading platforms Morocoin Tech, Berge Blockchain Technology, and Cirkor, and investment clubs AI Wealth Inc., Lane Wealth, AI Investment Education Foundation, and Zenith Asset Tech Foundation alleging that they defrauded retail investors “out of… Read More

FinCEN Assesses Penalty Against Paxful for “Willfully” Facilitating Suspicious Activity Involving Illicit Actors

The Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has assessed a $3,500,000 civil money penalty against Paxful, Inc. and Paxful USA, Inc. (collectively doing business as, Paxful) for its (alleged) willful violations of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), the primary U.S. anti-money laundering… Read More

FINRA Targets Former Synapse Execs in Misconduct Probe Following Fintech’s Collapse

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has launched an investigation into allegations of misconduct by former executives of Synapse Financial Technologies Inc., a now-defunct fintech company whose collapse earlier this year left thousands of customers unable to access their savings. The regulatory scrutiny centers on… Read More

Global Crackdowns on Crypto Crime : $47M in Pig Butchering Funds Frozen, OFAC Targets DPRK and Russian Sanctions Evasion

Cryptocurrency’s rise as a global financial tool has brought both tech advancements and challenges, with illicit actors exploiting its decentralized and permissionless nature. As noted in an update from Chainalysis, recent enforcement actions underscore a concerted international effort to combat crypto-enabled crime, from pig butchering… Read More

SEC Charges Unicoin, Top Execs for Allegedly Offering Fraud That Raised $100M from Thousands of Investors

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged New York City-based Unicoin, Inc. and three of its top executives—CEO and Board Chairman Alex Konanykhin; Silvina Moschini, former president, former board chairwoman, and current board member; and former Chief Investment Officer Alex Dominguez—for “false and misleading statements… Read More

Central Bank of Ireland Takes Enforcement Action Against Waystone for “Breaches” of Alternative Investment Fund Managers Regulations

The Central Bank of Ireland takes enforcement action against Waystone Fund Management (IE) Limited for breaches of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Regulations. The Central Bank of Ireland has reportedly fined Waystone Fund Management (IE) Limited (WFM) the sum of €393,512 for allegedly breaching requirements… Read More

FTC Highlights Actions to Protect Consumers from Impersonation Scams that Resulted in Losses Totaling $2.95B in 2024

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) highlighted actions taken to protect consumers from impersonations scams since the Government and Business Impersonation Rule took effect in April 2024. Scams impersonating businesses and government are consistently among the top frauds reported to the FTC; these scams resulted in… Read More

Cleo AI to Pay $17M As Result of FTC Lawsuit Charging Firm “Deceived” Consumers

Online cash advance company Cleo AI has agreed to pay $17 million to settle the Federal Trade Commission’s allegations that the company allegedly “deceived” consumers about “how much money they could get and how fast that money could be available.” The complaint, filed in federal… Read More

UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) Fines Major Banks £104.5M for Alleged Bond Market Misconduct

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has imposed a hefty £104.5 million fine on four global banking giants—Citi, HSBC, Morgan Stanley, and the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC)—for “illegally” sharing sensitive details regarding UK government bonds, known as gilts, between 2009 and 2013. Unveiled… Read More

Crypto Exchange KuCoin Pleads Guilty to Running Unlicensed Operations, Will Pay $300M Penalty

Danielle Sassoon, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that PEKEN GLOBAL LIMITED, a Seychelles-based entity that, since at least September 2019, has operated KuCoin, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges, pled guilty to “one count of operating an unlicensed… Read More

NYDFS Superintendent Harris Secures $2 Million Cybersecurity Settlement with PayPal

New York State Department of Financial Services Superintendent Adrienne A. Harris announced that PayPal, Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL) will pay a $2 million penalty to New York State for violations of DFS’s Cybersecurity Regulation. An investigation determined PayPal failed to use qualified personnel to manage key… Read More

Crypto Market Maker CLS Global FZC Agrees to Resolve Criminal Charges Relating to Fraudulent Manipulation of Trading Volumes

CLS Global FZC LLC, a financial services firm known in the cryptocurrency industry as a “market maker,” has agreed to resolve criminal charges relating to its fraudulent manipulation of cryptocurrency trading volume. As part of the criminal resolution, CLS Global will plead guilty to the… Read More

CFPB Sues Walmart and Branch Messenger for “Illegally” Opening Deposit Accounts for Delivery Drivers

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) sued Walmart (NYSE: WMT) and Branch Messenger for forcing delivery drivers to use costly deposit accounts to get paid and for deceiving workers— “last mile” drivers in Walmart’s Spark Driver program—about how they could access their earnings. The CFPB’s… Read More

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