Tagged: enforcement

March 30, 2023 @ 5:40 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has posted a notice that on March 15, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered a final judgment against Defendants John and sister JonAtina (Tina) Barksdale ordering permanent injunctions, disgorgement with interest, and… Read More

March 30, 2023 @ 11:11 am By JD Alois  |  

Do Kwon is expected to stand trial in Montenegro before facing charges in other interested jurisdictions. Kwon is the founder and CEO of Terraform Labs, the crypto company that created TerraUSD and LUNA. TerraUSD was an aspiring algorithmic stablecoin pegged to the US dollar. The… Read More

March 29, 2023 @ 11:35 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged the crypto exchange beaxy (beaxy.com) and its executives with operating an unregistered national securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency. The SEC states that it has also charged the founder of the platform, Artak Hamazaspyan, and Beaxy Digital, Ltd.,… Read More

March 28, 2023 @ 9:49 am By JD Alois  |  

This past week, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission filed an enforcement action against Binance and its founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ). The lawsuit comes as no surprise to industry followers as Binance is the largest crypto exchange globally and represents a fat target for regulators. The… Read More

March 24, 2023 @ 8:09 am By Omar Faridi  |  

  After trying to evade law enforcement for around six months, Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon has now been taken into police custody in Montenegro. Kwon and Terraform Labs were responsible for TerraUSD, an aspiring algorithmic stablecoin, and sister crypto Luna, which collapsed last year… Read More

March 22, 2023 @ 4:52 pm By JD Alois  |  

Eight Influencers Charged for Promotion of Digital Assets: Lindsey Lohan, Jake Paul, DeAndrew Cortez Way (Soulja Boy), Austin Mahone, Michele Mason (Kendra Lust), Miles Parks McCollum (Lil Yachty) Shaffer Smith (Ne-Yo), Aliaune Thiam (Akon).   The Securities and Exchange Commission has posted another digital asset… Read More

March 6, 2023 @ 4:31 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission has obtained an asset freeze in an emergency action regarding BKCoin Management, a digital asset hedge fund, and principal Kevin Kang. Kang was reportedly fired from BKCoin last October for allegedly misappropriating assets. Kang co-founded BKCoin and, at one point,… Read More

February 18, 2023 @ 12:40 pm By JD Alois  |  

Paul Anthony Pierce, a former NBA pro and sports analyst, has agreed to settle with the Securities and Exchange Commission for promoting EMAX tokens on social media. As was previously reported, the same digital asset embroiled influencer Kim Kardashian who had to cough up a… Read More

February 16, 2023 @ 9:16 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Binance, the world’s largest digital currency exchange, is reportedly expecting to pay monetary penalties in order to settle US regulatory and law-enforcement investigations of its operations. This, according to the company’s CSO (as reported by the WSJ). Over the past five years, Binance has managed… Read More

February 14, 2023 @ 3:11 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

More than $115 million in refunds are being “sent to consumers nationwide” as a result of a 2018 action the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice brought against MoneyGram (NASDAQ: MGI) for “failing to crack down on scammers using their payment system.”… Read More

February 10, 2023 @ 9:25 am By JD Alois  |  

  SEC Chair Gary Gensler received some face time this morning on CNBC in the wake of the Commission’s enforcement action taken against crypto exchange Kraken. The platform was compelled to pay a $30 million penalty for its staking service offered to US investors. Staking… Read More

February 9, 2023 @ 4:06 pm By JD Alois  |  

Following industry rumblings anticipating the move, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has taken action against crypto exchange Kraken in regard to their staking service. Kraken has settled the charges by the SEC without admitting or denying the allegations and paying a $30 million penalty…. Read More

February 3, 2023 @ 5:07 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed fraud charges against a US-based LLC – Windsor Jones and its principal based in the UK, Anthony Collins. According to the SEC, the firm and Collins pursued a fraud involving purported fine wine investments raising at least $4… Read More

January 26, 2023 @ 11:10 am By JD Alois  |  

The DNB considers the non-compliance to be very severe. The Dutch Central Bank (De Nederlandsche Bank or DNB) has fined Coinbase Europe Limited €3,325,000. The administrative penalty was assessed as Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) had been providing digital asset services in the Netherlands without registration and thus… Read More

January 22, 2023 @ 3:59 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Avraham Eisenberg, a 27-year-old U.S. citizen who was arrested and detained at MDC Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, with attempting to manipulate MNGO tokens – the native token of Mango Markets. Eisenberg is expected to appear before the Southern… Read More

January 19, 2023 @ 5:27 pm By JD Alois  |  

Beleaguered crypto firm Nexo has had to pony up a $45 million penalty following charges filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings, Nexo agreed to a cease-and-desist order. Nexo had previously announced its exit from the United… Read More

January 19, 2023 @ 12:39 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research, and Zixiao (Gary) Wang, the former Chief Technology Officer of FTX Trading Ltd. (FTX), for their part in the “multi-year scheme” to commit fraud in regards to FTX, once… Read More

January 19, 2023 @ 12:18 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a litigation release regarding allegations that Sam Bankman-Fried defrauded equity investors in FTX. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have also announced charges against Bankman-Fried…. Read More

January 17, 2023 @ 5:25 pm By JD Alois  |  

Unikrn, a token issuer that attempted to remain compliant while issuing digital assets but ended up being the target of a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforcement action, settled with the Commission in 2020. As was reported at that time, Unikrn was assessed a $6.1 million… Read More

January 13, 2023 @ 1:24 pm By JD Alois  |  

Yesterday, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced an enforcement action against Gemini, a digital asset platform, and Genesis – a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group (DCG). The revelation of the lawsuit arrived at a challenging time for both firms as Gemini is in the… Read More