The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a civil lawsuit against five people accused of promoting BitConnect, a now-defunct crypto Ponzi

SEC files lawsuit against alleged promoters of crypto Ponzi scheme BitConnect

submited by
Style Pass
2021-05-30 00:00:05

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a civil lawsuit against five people accused of promoting BitConnect, a now-defunct crypto Ponzi scheme. 

The regulator contends the platform's "lending program" constituted a $2 billion unregistered securities offering since the firm wasn't a registered broker-dealer. Bitconnect first debuted in 2016 and shuttered its primary lending platform in early 2018 amid allegations of fraud and warnings from regulators. The FBI publicly sought out potential BitConnect victims in 2019.

Now, the SEC is holding Trevon Brown, Craig Grant, Ryan Maasen and Michael Noble to account for their alleged advertisement of the merits of the platform's lending program. They created YouTube videos touting their success using the platform to solicit investor funds, per the SEC's complaint, and received commissions for their efforts. 

Joshua Jeppesen is also a defendant in the case for his alleged role as a liaison between BitConnect and its promoters. Jeppesen represented BitConnect at events. 

Leave a Comment