Joseph Frank Abel recently pled guilty to conspiring to offer and sell unregistered securities and to filing a false tax return in connection with his role in the BitClub Network, a cryptocurrency mining scheme worth at least...more
9/15/2020
/ Bitcoin ,
Bitcoin Mining ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
Government Investigations ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Indictments ,
Investment Fraud ,
Securities Violations ,
Tax Fraud ,
Unregistered Securities
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged two promoters for acting as unregistered brokers. The SEC action was filed in tandem with a criminal indictment by the U.S. Department of Justice against the same...more
Earlier this month, a superseding indictment was unsealed in the Southern District of New York, charging Pablo Rodriguez, Gutemberg Dos Santos, Scott Hughes, Cecilia Milan, and Jackie Aguilar for their roles in a...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently charged two Maryland companies and their executives in a scheme that allegedly defrauded approximately 1,200 investors of more than $27 million. ...more
9/1/2020
/ Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Transactions ,
Investment ,
Investment Fraud ,
Misappropriation ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Rule 10(b) ,
Rule 10b-5 ,
Section 17(a) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently announced charges against Boon.Tech and its chief executive officer for fraud and registration violations in connection with a $5 million initial coin offering (ICO)...more
In a lesson to everyone that the use of foolish monikers will come back to haunt you, Kais Mohammad, 36, a.k.a. “Superman29,” has met his Kryptonite - the U.S. Department of Justice. ...more
8/10/2020
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bitcoin ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Transactions ,
FinCEN ,
Money Laundering ,
Money Services Business ,
Money Transmitter ,
Registration Requirement ,
Risk Management ,
Virtual Currency
After an extended fight with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), Telegram has agreed to resolve charges the company's unregistered offering of digital tokens called "Grams" violated the United States federal...more
Regulators routinely warn the public not to believe everything you read on the internet and that is especially true as it relates to start-up Centra Tech, Inc. (“Centra Tech”). Founded by Robert Farkas, Sohrab Sharma and...more
6/25/2020
/ Celebrity Endorsements ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Debit Cards ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Currency ,
FinTech ,
Influencers ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Instagram ,
MasterCard ,
Misleading Statements ,
Offering Fraud ,
Securities Violations ,
Startups ,
Visa Inc
The U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) is asking a court to freeze the assets of a cryptocurrency mining and multilevel marketing scheme that allegedly defrauded investors of $12 million. The SEC's complaint alleges...more
6/16/2020
/ Asset Freeze ,
Bitcoin ,
Bitcoin Mining ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Investment Fraud ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Scams ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Virtual Currency
With the world slowly coming out of the COVID-19 lock down and the economy hopefully on the path to recovery there have been many developments in the blockchain / crypto space over the last few weeks....more
5/19/2020
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
FinTech ,
Fraudulent Investment ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Stock Exchange ,
Unregistered Securities ,
Virtual Currency
“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Like the Shakespearean rose, Ripple Labs faces another claim that its digital asset XRP is a security in a new federal lawsuit in California. The suit filed by Bitcoin...more
The SEC recently filed suit against Dropil, Inc. (“Dropil”), Jeremy McAlpine, Zachary Matar, and Patrick O’Hara, alleging the defendants had defrauded investors in an unregistered offerings of securities described by the...more
The CFTC recently filed a multi-million dollar fraud action charging three individuals and three companies with fraudulently soliciting tens of millions of customers and prospective customers to open and fund off-exchange...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently filed settled charges against Bloomberg Tradebook LLC (Bloomberg) for making material misrepresentations and omitting material facts about how the firm handled certain...more
While many businesses and government offices have closed or slowed as a result of the onset of COVID-19, the Securities and Exchange Commission remains open for business. On April 3, 2020, Sagar Teotia, the SEC’s Chief...more
Enzo Ferrari, the founder of Scuderia Ferrari Grand Prix motor racing team and the Ferrari motor company, would be mortified to know that a group of fraudsters used a digital asset scam to buy one of the masterpieces of...more
The SEC has settled charges against action star Steven Seagal for failing to disclose payments he received for promoting an investment in an initial coin offering (ICO) conducted by Bitcoiin2Gen (B2G)....more
2/28/2020
/ Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Failure To Disclose ,
Financial Promotions ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Token Sales ,
Unregistered Securities ,
Virtual Currency
On December 30, 2019 the Second Circuit issued its opinion in United States v. Blaszczak, finding that the government can criminally prosecute insider trading under 18 U.S.C. 1348 without proving personal benefit to the...more
1/9/2020
/ Appeals ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Criminal Liability ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Defense Strategies ,
Federal Prosecutors ,
Illegal Tipping ,
Insider Trading ,
Non-Public Information ,
Personal Benefit ,
Rule 10(b) ,
Rule 10b-5 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud