Tagged: enforcement

June 21, 2023 @ 1:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed an enforcement action against audit firm Marcum LLP regarding its audit work for “hundreds” of SPACs. Marcum has settled the matter without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings, paying a $10 million penalty while agreeing to remedial… Read More

June 17, 2023 @ 9:56 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has received court approval for emergency relief regarding assets held by Binance for US customers. The SEC states that all defendants in its litigation against Binance Holdings Limited, BAM Management US Holdings Inc., BAM Trading Services Inc., and Changpeng… Read More

June 10, 2023 @ 5:54 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is claiming a significant legal victory in the litigation of Ooki DAO. According to the CFTC, the decentralized autonomous organization has received a default judgment in which the court held that Ooki DAO is a “person” under the Commodity… Read More

June 10, 2023 @ 4:56 pm By JD Alois  |  

The US Department of Justice has charged two Russians, Alexey Bilyuchenko, 43, and Aleksandr Verner, 29, with the hacking of Mt. Gox. The crypto exchange was plundered in 2011 and ultimately collapsed. At the same time, the Russians have been charged with operating the BTC-e… Read More

June 7, 2023 @ 4:41 pm By JD Alois  |  

  SEC Commissioners Hester Peirce and Mark Uyeda have issued a public dissent of the Commission’s decision to deny CryptoFed DAO’s request to withdraw its registration statement and the motion to dismiss the case by the Division of Enforcement. In brief, in November 2021, the… Read More

June 6, 2023 @ 9:04 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed an emergency action seeking a temporary restraining order to freeze the assets of Binance while requiring defendants to repatriate assets held for the benefit of customers of Binance.US. The SEC says the action is designed to protect… Read More

June 6, 2023 @ 6:49 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), Director of Finance Policy, John Berlau, has shared a comment on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s enforcement action targeting Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN). Earlier today, the SEC filed charges against Coinbase, alleging that the crypto platform is operating as an unregistered securities… Read More

June 6, 2023 @ 10:32 am By JD Alois  |  

Following the revelation of charges filed against Binance and its founder, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed similar charges against Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) – the US’s only publicly traded crypto exchange. The charges against Coinbase include operating an unregistered securities exchange, acting a broker,… Read More

June 5, 2023 @ 5:43 pm By JD Alois  |  

Shares in Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN), the only publicly traded pure-play crypto exchange and digital asset ecosystem, sank over 9% today as the news filtered out that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had filed 13 individual charges against Binance, Binance.US and its founder Chengpang Zhao. As… Read More

June 5, 2023 @ 1:07 pm By JD Alois  |  

Long anticipated and finally here, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed 13 charges against Binance and its founder and CEO, Changpeng Zhao. Binance is the largest crypto exchange in the world, garnering around 60% of crypto trading. Zhao, who goes by CZ, is… Read More

May 30, 2023 @ 4:20 pm By JD Alois  |  

Former Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) executive Ishan Wahi and his brother, Nikhil Wahi, have agreed to settle charges leveled by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In mid-2022, the SEC announced the charges alleging insider trading. The defendants were allegedly benefiting from information prior to it becoming public… Read More

May 26, 2023 @ 5:20 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has obtained final consent judgments against The Hydrogen Technology Corporation, its former CEO, Michael Ross Kane, and Tyler Ostern, CEO of Moonwalkers Trading Limited.  The SEC’s case involved the offering of unregistered securities in regard to the issuance of… Read More

May 25, 2023 @ 10:39 am By JD Alois  |  

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has filed an enforcement action in the US District Court for the Central District of California against David Carmona, Juan Arellano Parra, Moses Valdez, David Brend, and Marco A. Ruiz Ochoa, who were all doing business as a company… Read More

May 24, 2023 @ 10:40 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has obtained final judgments against HempAmerica and promoter Eleazer Kauderer. According to the SEC, the US District Court for the Southern District of New York has entered a final judgment on default against HempAmerica. Without admitting or denying the… Read More

May 19, 2023 @ 10:47 am By JD Alois  |  

A grand jury has issued an indictment in the case of Frank, a Fintech that helped college students gain access to grants and loans, and its founder Charlie Javice. The charges include bank fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy, and securities fraud while demanding the forfeiture of… Read More

May 19, 2023 @ 10:27 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has received a default judgment against Chicago Crypto Capital (CCC) and its founder Brian Amoah and former salesperson Elbert “Al” Elliott. The defendants were previously charged with fraud and the unregistered offering of digital asset securities. The SEC claims… Read More

May 5, 2023 @ 10:51 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced the largest-ever whistleblower award to the tune of $279 million. This is more than double the prior top amount of $114 million. Whistleblower awards are given to individuals who tip off the SEC in regard to infractions… Read More

April 18, 2023 @ 4:37 pm By JD Alois  |  

Robo-advisor Betterment has been hit by charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding material misstatements and omissions pertaining to a tax loss harvesting service (TLH). Betterment has settled the charges with the SEC without admitting or denying the claims, paying a $9 million penalty…. Read More

April 17, 2023 @ 10:25 am By JD Alois  |  

At the end of March, US-based crypto exchange Bittrex announced that it was shuttering its operations. Bittrex stated that it would cease operations on April 30, 2023, while providing a series of timelines for its users, recommending that accounts are closed as soon as possible…. Read More

April 3, 2023 @ 4:26 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged beaxy with operating as a national securities exchange minus the authorization to do so. The SEC filed charges against founder beaxy Artak Hamazaspyan, and his company Beaxy Digital, Ltd., for raising $8 million in an unregistered… Read More