The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged New York-based crypto investment Unicoin and three top executives for allegedly misleading investors and defrauding over $100 million from customers.
The regulatory agency accused the Defendants of making false and misleading statements related to the Unicoin token and the offering of the company’s common stock, charging Unicoin, Konanykhin, Moschini, and Dominguez with violations of the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws.
It also charged Konanykhin and Unicoin with violating the registration provisions of the Securities Act of 1933, and Konanykhin as a control person for certain of the company’s antifraud violations.
According to Mark Cave, Associate Director in the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, Unicoin and the executives “exploited thousands of investors with fictitious promises that its tokens, when issued, would be backed by real-world assets including an international portfolio of valuable real estate holdings.”
However, “the real estate assets were worth a mere fraction of what the company claimed, and the majority of the company’s sales of rights certificates were illusory. Unicoin’s most senior executives are alleged to have perpetuated the fraud, and today’s action seeks accountability for their conduct,” Cave explained.
The SEC also alleges that the crypto company falsely claimed the right certificates and Unicoin tokens were “SEC-registered” or “US-registered,” and made extensive promotional efforts to market the right certificates to the public, including advertisements in major airports, New York taxis, on television, and on social media.
As such, the complaint seeks permanent injunctive relief, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains with prejudgment interest, and civil penalties against the Defendants. Additionally, it seeks officer-and-director bars against Konanykhin, Moschini, and Dominguez.
