Crypto

Criminal Indictment alleging fraud involving IcomTech, described as "a purported cryptocurrency mining and trading company that promised to earn its victim-investors profits in exchange for their purchase of purported cryptocurrency-related investment products" in USA v. David Carmona, Marco Ruiz Ochoa, Moses Valdez, Juan Arellano, David Brend, and Gustavo Rodriguez at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Defendant's Notice of Removal, including a copy of the complaint, in Michael Nguyen and Nader George v. OKCoin USA Inc., described as "a web-based cryptocurrency exchange", at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Complaint in Datachain Labs LLC v. Roger Gabriel Benites Quijano, a.k.a. Roger Benites; Bitinka Limited, of Hong Kong; Inka Ventures Ltd., of Guam; Chasqui Tech AB, of Sweden; Blockzy OU, Blockzy Technologies Srl, of Estonia; Blockzy Technologies SL, of Estonia, and Roger M. Benites at the Superior Court of Connecticut, Stamford/Norwalk.

Public Notice by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control that Bittrex Inc., which operates a crypto exchange, has agreed to pay $24.2 million to settle an investigation into "violations of multiple sanctions programs".

Consent Order imposing a penalty of $29 million, of which $5 million will be paid after a $24 million credit to OFAC is taken into account, for violations of the Bank Secrecy Act in Financial Crimes Enforcement Network v. Bittrex Inc., a crypto exchange.

Complaint alleging breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and negligence regarding the promotion of an Initial Coin Offering in Nathan Christian, described as "a heralded and respected advisor in the blockchain technology sector" v. Loyakk Inc., Loyakk Ltd., of England; Salim Ali, and Sadiq Quasim, of England, at the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming.

Defendants' Motion to Dismiss regarding a dispute involving digital assets in Axtra LLC, of Wyoming, and The AXIA-Axtra Trust, described as “a unit trust formed under the laws of the Cayman Islands” v. AXIA Issuer Inc., described as "a for-profit corporation incorporated in the British Virgin Islands" whose "sole director ... is a corporation domiciled in Nevis", and AXIA Foundation Inc., described as “a non-profit corporation incorporated in the Commonwealth of Dominica” whose directors reside in Canada and Dominica, at the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming.

Complaint alleging breach of contract in Sprume.IO Ltd., described as a British Virgin Islands-domiciled "software development company that offers various blockchain-based services" v. Atlantic International Capital LLC, d.b.a. Digital Assets Group, described as a Florida-domiciled company "that marketed itself to Sprume as an experienced global team of financial experts" that "represented that it had a special relationship with key people at" Deltec Bank and Trust and Delchain Limited, both of the Bahamas, "that would enable it to onboard Spume to these platforms in a much shorter period of time than if Spume sought to obtain Deltec and Delchain services by itself", at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Administrative Order by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission imposing penalties totaling $1.26 million on Kimberly Kardashian, described as "a well-known media personality and businesswoman" for promoting "a crypto asset security" known as EthereumMax (EMAX) without disclosing that she received compensation of "approximately $250,000".

Report identifying directors and shareholders of Blockster Holdings Limited, obtained from Companies House Gibraltar on October 2nd, 2022.

Complaint alleging fraud involving "an illegal digital asset derivatives trading platform" in Commodity Futures Trading Commission v. Adam Todd, Digitex LLC, of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Digitex Limited, of the Seychelles; Digitex Software Limited, of Ireland, and Blockster Holdings Limited, of Gibraltar, at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Statement of Allegations alleging a US$51 million crypto-based investment fraud in the Ontario Securities Commission v. Troy Richard James Hogg, of Canada; Cryptobontix Inc., of Canada; Arbitrade Exchange Inc., of Canada; Arbitrade Ltd., of Bermuda; T.J.L. Property Management Inc., of Canada, and Gables Holdings Inc., of Canada, before the OSC's Capital Markets Tribunal.

Nearly four years after it was exposed by OffshoreAlert, Bermuda-domiciled Arbitrade Ltd. and related parties, including Troy Hogg, Stephen Braverman, James Goldberg, and Max Barber, have been accused of perpetrating a $51 million crypto-based investment fraud by securities regulators in the United States and Canada.

Complaint alleging "a crypto asset pump-and-dump scheme" in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Arbitrade Ltd., of Bermuda; Cryptobontix Inc., of Canada; Troy R.J. Hogg, of Canada; James L. Goldberg, Stephen L. Braverman, and Max W. Barber, as Defendants, and SION Trading FZE, of the United Arab Emirates, as Relief Defendant, at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

New York property developer Kent Swig and firms he controls, including his Dignity Gold group that claims to have billions of dollars of gold backing a scandal-plagued, crypto-based investment scheme that has operated in Canada, Bermuda, and the United States, are being sued for $7.1 million in allegedly outstanding loans.

Complaint alleging a scheme "to fraudulently manipulate the price and volume of Hydro tokens traded on crypto asset trading platforms so that Hydrogen could sell its own Hydro tokens at a greater profit" involving, inter alia, Moonwalkers Trading Limited, of South Africa, in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. The Hydrogen Technology Corporation, Michael Ross Kane, and Tyler Ostern at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Class Action Complaint alleging securities fraud in Dennis Dean Laffoon v. Coinbase Global Inc., described as "one of the world’s largest crypto asset exchanges"; Brian Armstrong, Alesia J. Haas, and Emilie Choi at the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.

Complaint and Emergency Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order alleging "threats and actions carried out by two disgruntled former employees of the Debtors" in Voyager Digital Holdings Inc., Voyager Digital Ltd., and Voyager Digital LLC v. Adam Lavine and Shingo Lavine at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

Director Details for Nexo Capital SEZC, obtained from the Cayman Islands General Registry on September 27th, 2022.

Director Details for Nexo Capital Inc., obtained from the Cayman Islands General Registry on September 27th, 2022.

Director Details for Nexo Inc., obtained from the Cayman Islands General Registry on September 27th, 2022.

"Whatever you think of the underlying technology, there's no denying that the crypto industry is rife with fraud," said OffshoreAlert's founder and editor, David Marchant. "It has created an abundance of opportunities for investigators and asset recovery specialists."

Statement of Charges in Washington State Department of Financial Institutions v. Nexo Inc., of the Cayman Islands; Nexo Capital Inc., of the Cayman Islands, and Antoni Trenchev, a citizen of Bulgaria.

Cease and Desist Order in the South Carolina Securities Commission v. Nexo Inc. and Nexo Capital Inc., both of the Cayman Islands.

Cease and Desist Order in Maryland Securities Commission v. Nexo Inc., of the Cayman Islands; Nexo Capital Inc., of the Cayman Islands, and Antoni Trenchev, a citizen of Bulgaria.

Forfeiture Complaint regarding the proceeds of "a transnational criminal organization running an exploitation of elderly and social engineering scam" that were seized from a wallet at Binance crypto exchange in the name of Avinash Pal in USA v. 0.24247794 Bitcoin and 38,616.40303284 Tether at the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina.

Cease and Desist Order by the Oklahoma Department of Securities against Nexo Financial LLC, of Delaware; Nexo Inc., of the Cayman Islands, and Nexo Capital Inc., of the Cayman Islands, which collectively operate a crypto lending platform.

Complaint for "acting as unregistered securities brokers or dealers and/or commodities broker-dealers" in New York Attorney General v. Nexo Inc. and Nexo Capital Inc., both of the Cayman Islands, which operate a crypto lending platform, at the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York.

Cease and Refrain Order by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation against Nexo Group, which "comprises business entities organized primarily in European countries and territories"; Nexo Inc., of the Cayman Islands, and Nexo Capital Inc., of the Cayman Islands, which collectively "a crypto platform that offers crypto interest accounts, self-directed and over-the-counter trade execution, and lending, borrowing, and exchange services".

Forfeiture Complaint regarding the proceeds of "a transnational criminal organization running an exploitation of elderly and social engineering scam" that were seized from a wallet in the name of Manprett Singh at Binance crypto exchange "by agents with the United States Secret Service during an investigation into in USA v. 726,602.61971034 Tether at the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina.

Ex Parte Order to Cease and Desist by the State of Vermont Department of Financial Regulation in re. Nexo Inc., of the Cayman Islands; Nexo Capital Inc., of the Cayman Islands, and Nexo Financial LLC, a Delaware entity based in London, England, collectively described as "a financial services company that generates revenue by providing, deploying, and investing digital assets and virtual currencies".

Emergency Order to Cease and Desist Order in the Kentucky Department of Financial Institutions v. Kentucky Department of Financial Institutions v. Nexo Inc., of the Cayman Islands; Nexo Capital Inc., of the Cayman Islands, and Nexo Group, which "comprises business entities organized primarily in European jurisdictions".

Police in Malta are investigating lawyer Aron Mifsud Bonnici and businessman Yorgen Fenech regarding "the unlawful acquisition of firearms" on the "Dark Web" using Bitcoin. Details are contained in an application to collect evidence from crypto exchanges Poloniex and Coinbase that was filed at federal court in Delaware by the USA after receiving a request for judicial assistance from Malta.

Amended Complaint that "arises from GoDaddy’s breach of its agreement to respect, acknowledge, and protect the duly registered and extremely valuable eth.link domain name" in True Names Ltd., d.b.a. Ethereum Name Service, of Singapore, and Virgil Griffith v. GoDaddy Inc., GoDaddy.com LLC, Dynadot LLC, and Manifold Finance Inc. at the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona.

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence from crypto exchanges Poloniex and Coinbase - pursuant to a request for judicial assistance from Malta - for a criminal investigation into Maltese businessman Yorgen Fenech and Maltese lawyer Aron Mifsud Bonnici for "the unlawful acquisition of firearms".

Forfeiture Complaint regarding the proceeds of an alleged crypto fraud in USA v. 14.77997889 Ethereum seized from an account at Binance crypto exchange in the name of Efeoghene Greatnes Oboghenemiepha, described as the holder of a Nigerian driver's license who appears to operate from Nigeria and South Africa, filed at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois.

Order that the Bitfinex/Tether defendants produce financial records that "relate to the backing of USDT" in Aaron Leibowitz et al et al v. BFXNA Inc., BFXWW Inc., Bittrex, Inc., Crypto Capital Corp., Giancarlo Devasini, DigFinex Inc., Reginald Fowler, Global Trade Solutions AG, Poloniex, LLC, Philip G. Potter, Tether Holdings Limited, Tether International Limited, Tether Limited, Tether Operations Limited, iFinex Inc., and Ludovicus Jan van der Velde at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Petition to Enforce Arbitration Subpoena for an arbitration action “against Nithin Eapen and Madhu Kutty” alleging “massive fraud in the handling and investment of Petitioners’ crypto assets” in Arcadia Crypto Ventures LLC, Richard Rofe, and Jennifer Rofe v. Matthew Kirincic at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Administrative Order by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission imposing fines and disgorgement totaling $30.75 million on Sparkster Ltd. of the Cayman Islands, and Sajjad Daya, a resident of the United Kingdom, for conducting an unregistered securities offering involving crypto.

Director Details for Sparkster Ltd., obtained from the Cayman Islands General Registry on September 19th, 2022.

Complaint alleging an "unregistered offering and promotion" of crypto involving "Sparkster, Ltd., a software development company incorporated in the Cayman Islands" that raised "approximately $30 million from nearly 4,000 investors" in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Ian Balina, a resident of Austin, Texas and "a self-described crypto asset investor, promoter, and influencer", at the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.

Complaint alleging unpaid loans totaling $7.1 million in Louden Broadway Properties LLC v. Kent M. Swig, HSI Holdings LLC, Dignity Gold LLC, and Dignity Holdings LLC at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Director Details for Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd., obtained from the Cayman Islands General Registry on September 18th, 2022.

Complaint "to hold Galaxy responsible for its unjustified, bad faith repudiation of the parties' merger agreement, which damaged BitGo in an amount not less than $100 million" in BitGo Holdings Inc., described as a Delaware-domiciled, California-based "technology and financial services company that established the first independent, regulated custodial business for digital assets" v. Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd., described as a Cayman Islands-domiciled, New York-based "investment bank in the cryptocurrency sector"; Galaxy Digital Holdings LP, of the Cayman Islands, and Galaxy Digital Inc., of Delaware, at the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware.

Complaint alleging a $4.39 million crypto-related investment fraud in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Gabriel Edelman, who is "presently a resident of Spain"; Creative Advancement LLC, and Edelman Blockchain Advisors LLC at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Complaint alleging a $1.5 million investment fraud regarding crypto tokens issued by Saint Kitts and Nevis-domiciled Beaxy Digital Ltd. in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Chicago Crypto Capital LLC, Brian B. Amoah, Darcas Oliver Young, and Elbert G. Elliott at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Ex Parte Order to Cease and Desist regarding a cryptocurrency group in Vermont Department of Financial Regulation v. Voyager Digital Ltd., of British Columbia, Canada; Voyager Digital Holdings Inc., of Delaware, and Voyager Digital LLC, of Delaware.

Notice of Application "for a collective proceedings order permitting it to act as the class representative bringing opt-out collective proceedings on behalf of UK based holders of the cryptocurrency Bitcoin Satoshi Vision against various cryptocurrency exchanges who it is contended colluded to de-list BSV in 2019" in BSV Claims Limited, of England v. Bittylicious Limited, of England; Payward Limited, of England; ShapeShift Global Limited, of England; Payward, Inc., d.b.a. Kraken, of California, USA; ShapeShift AG, a Swiss company based in Denver, USA, and Binance Europe Services Limited, of Malta, at the United Kingdom's Competition Appeal Tribunal.

Hong Kong resident Guang Huang has asked a Cayman Islands court to appoint Inspectors to investigate the affairs of crypto fund manager BBShares Capital Management Ltd., two of whose fellow principals - Connecticut residents Hongtao Jason Qiao and JingJing Zhou - he accused of committing a $7.2 million 'freeze out' fraud against him in a lawsuit filed three months ago in New York.

Corporate Report and Director Details for BBShares Fund SPC, obtained from the Cayman Islands General Registry on September 12th, 2022.