Tagged: enforcement

September 30, 2019 @ 3:58 pm By JD Alois  |  

On September 26, 2019, Judge Denise L. Cote of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered a default judgment against Longfin and former CEO Venkata S. Meenavalli ordering a total of $3,532,235 in disgorgement of all proceeds raised in Longfin’s… Read More

September 30, 2019 @ 1:33 pm By JD Alois  |  

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has charged Jon Barry Thompson of Easton, Pennsylvania, with fraud. Thompson allegedly “knowingly or recklessly making false representations to customers in connection with the purported purchase of Bitcoin worth over $7 million.” The CFTC’s complaint alleges that Thompson… Read More

September 23, 2019 @ 8:12 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Two individuals who requested anonymity are claiming that Kik has begun disbanding the Isreali subsidiary responsible for running its messaging app, CalcalistTech reports. According to the outlet: “The company is moving all the app’s users to alternative platforms…The 70 employees of Kik’s Israeli cryptocurrency subsidiary… Read More

September 23, 2019 @ 2:45 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed its latest complaint targeting another allegedly fraudulent initial coin offering (ICO). According to a release, the SEC has charged Jonathan C. Lucas, the former founder and CEO of Fantasy Market, an online adult entertainment marketplace, with orchestrating… Read More

September 19, 2019 @ 2:25 pm By JD Alois  |  

Yesterday, Crowdfund Insider covered the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforcement action brought against ICOBox and its founder Nikolay Evdokimov. The complaint by the SEC specifically targeted ICOBox’s own initial coin offering (ICO) and the fact that ICOBox provided services to other ICOs acting like… Read More

September 18, 2019 @ 11:33 pm By Cali Haan  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed civil charges against a “long-time” Florida securities lawyer accused of aiding and abetting”  an alleged $322 million USD securities fraud. Criminal charges were laid simultaneously September 17th against Attorney Jan Douglas Atlas, 74 of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. The… Read More

September 18, 2019 @ 5:21 pm By JD Alois  |  

ICO Securities Fraud The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has continued its long march of enforcement actions regarding initial coin offerings (ICO) and the platforms that supported them. According to the SEC, ICOBox and founder Nikolay Evdokimov conducted an “illegal $14 million securities offering of… Read More

August 27, 2019 @ 7:51 pm By JD Alois  |  

Paragon, a Cannabis-focused company that completed an initial coin offering (ICO) that was determined to be an offering of unregistered securities by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has begun accepting applications for investor refunds. According to a recent update on the Paragon site, the… Read More

August 20, 2019 @ 8:51 pm By JD Alois  |  

ICO Rating, a Russia based initial coin offering and research firm, has paid a fine to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding allegations that it failed to disclose payments received from issuers for publicizing their digital asset securities offerings. According to a statement from… Read More

August 16, 2019 @ 10:09 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed an Administrative Proceeding earlier this week regarding an initial coin offering (ICO) affiliated with SimplyVital Health – a company that pursued an ICO in late 2017 and early 2018. The SEC claims that SimplyVital sold unregistered securities. SimplyVital… Read More

August 13, 2019 @ 4:44 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Enforcement Division has announced charges against Reginald “Reggie” Middleton who allegedly engaged in fraud related to a digital securities offering. The courts have granted an emergency freeze on $8 million in assets of a reported $14.8 million that Middleton… Read More

August 7, 2019 @ 8:53 am By JD Alois  |  

Kik Interactive has responded to the Security and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) enforcement action alleging the sales of unregistered securities. The legal fisticuffs are being intently followed by the crypto industry and any decision may impact the entire US digital asset industry. Earlier this year, a… Read More

July 18, 2019 @ 10:29 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Attorney General of New Jersey and the Chief of the New Jersey Bureau of Securities have filed a civil action complaint against Sarvajnya G . Mada (“Mada”) and Pocketinns, Inc., accusing them of selling, “approximately $410,000 of unregistered securities to 217 investors in violation of…New Jersey… Read More

July 17, 2019 @ 5:42 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has posted final judgments in the case of real estate crowdfunding platform iFunding and co-founders William Skelley and Sohin Shah.  The two founders were charged last year by the SEC Enforcement Division regarding allegations of fraud in the misappropriation… Read More

July 12, 2019 @ 7:14 am By Cali Haan  |  

The Massachusetts Securities Division of the Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth Enforcement Section is seeking orders to force a 62-year-old woman in Florida to cease perpetuating a fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme operating in at least 6 American states. The agency is also asking that… Read More

July 11, 2019 @ 11:18 am By JD Alois  |  

In a case brought by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), two defendants, Morgan Hunt and Kim Hecroft, were ordered to pay almost $400,000 in penalties and restitution regarding Bitcoin-related fraud. The CFTC cautioned that the repayment of funds to victims may not result in… Read More

July 3, 2019 @ 5:16 am By Cali Haan  |  

A judge in the state of New York has sentenced Blake Kantor (also known as “Bill Gordon”), 44, to 86 months’ (~7 years’) imprisonment and three years’ supervised release for defrauding 700 people in a binary options and cryptocurrency scheme. Kantor pleaded guilty to charges… Read More

July 2, 2019 @ 2:52 am By JD Alois  |  

Last week, the Blockchain Association announced in a blog post that it would take over the Defend Crypto campaign, launched by Kik Interactive. Kik is engaged in a legal battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding an initial coin offering that raised about… Read More

June 11, 2019 @ 4:33 pm By JD Alois  |  

It has been widely known that Kik was engaged in a cage match with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ever since Kik went public regarding a Wells Notice submitted by the SEC. A Wells Notice informs an entity they may be the target of… Read More

June 5, 2019 @ 4:32 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has added new fraud charges against Longfin Corp. and its CEO for falsifying the company’s revenue. Longfin’s former consultant Andy Altahawi was also included in the action for “fraudulently securing the company’s listing on Nasdaq.” In April of 2018,… Read More