The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed an action against an online crypto lending platform, its founder, its chief domestic promoter and his affiliated company.
Per the SEC, the action was levied against BitConnect, the firm’s founder Satish Kumbhani, Glenn Arcaro and others — alleging they defrauded retail investors out of $2 billion via a global fraudulent and unregistered offering of investments into a program involving digital assets.
“We allege that these defendants stole billions of dollars from retail investors around the world by exploiting their interest in digital assets,” Lara Shalov Mehraban, associate Regional Director of SEC’s New York Regional Office, said. “We will aggressively pursue and hold accountable those who engage in misconduct in the digital asset space.”
The complaint was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
The SEC complaint charges the defendants with violating federal securities law antifraud registration provisions, seeks injunctive relief, disgorgement plus interest and civil penalties.
The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy and Enforcement’s Retail Strategy Task Force provided an Investor Alert on Digital Asset and Crypto Investment. Also, Investor.gov could be accessed by investors as a means of garnering more information about digital asset and crypto investments, as well as fraud warning signs.