• The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a cease-and-desist order against crypto exchange giant Coinme and its business subsidiary Up Global Inc. for conducting an unregistered and disingenuous coin offering of the cryptocurrency UpToken.
• In addition, both companies, along with their founder and CEO, Neil Bergquist, have been ordered to pay fines summing up to a total of $3.9 million.
• The ICO was conducted back in 2017 with the aim of raising funds for expanding Coinme ATM operations across the country.
US SEC Issues Cease-And-Desist Order Against Crypto Exchange Giant
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a cease-and-desist order against crypto exchange giant Coinme and its business subsidiary Up Global Inc., accusing them of conducting an unregistered and disingenuous coin offering of the cryptocurrency UpToken. In addition to this, both companies, along with their founder and CEO Neil Bergquist have been ordered to pay fines totaling up to $3.9 million as settlement fees for the case against them.
Details Of The Case Against Coinme And Related Defendants
Back in 2017, Coinme and Up Global had conducted an initial coin offering (ICO) for Ethereum based asset UpToken in order to raise funds to expand their Coinme ATM operations across the country which generated a total sum of $3.65 million from investors which was partly used for deploying 30 new ATMs while the rest went towards other corporate purposes. According to SEC’s report however, Uptoken was marketed as an investment contract by all parties involved in this ICO which is considered as a security under U.S financial laws; thus making it illegal according to regulations set by SEC as these securities must be registered before they can be offered publicly or sold to investors within United States jurisdiction .
False Information To Investors
The SEC report also revealed that both Up Global Inc., as well as Bergquist had falsely informed potential investors about limiting the supply of UpToken so that it would increase its price over time due to high demand since Coinme would supposedly need plenty of tokens for funding its rewards program through ATMs; something which turned out not be true according to investigations done by SEC after examining internal transactions between two firms involved in this case along with roundtrip transaction involving Hong Kong affiliated company shortly before this ICO began which showed that substantial amount of tokens were already acquired by these parties prior launching token sale publicly – something they did not disclose while marketing this asset among public investors so they could reap maximum profits from unsuspecting buyers who thought limited supply would cause prices surge eventually leading them towards profits later on when situation normalizes again once pandemic ends .
Misleading The Public
Lastly but not least , the SEC reports also uncovered that representatives from these two firms had misled public regarding amount raised from ICO claiming it amounted up tp $18 .5 million whereas actual figure was much lower at just $3 . 65 million – something which could have caused even more losses if any one else besides those 2 got wind about it due t lack transparency among parties involved during investment process itself hence why investigations were conducted by authorities after receiving complaint about same matter last year December before finally coming conclusion earlier today when settlement was reached between all defendants mentioned above whose names cannot be disclosed publicly due too restrictions imposed upon such cases where information remains confidential unless otherwise noted otherwise .
Conclusion
To conclude , all accused parties including Coinme ,UpGlobal Inc.,as well as Neil Bergquist came into agreement with US Securities & Exchange Commission where they agreed upon paying fines totaling up tp$ 3 . 9 million dollars so case could be closed out without taking any further legal action against them due too possible repercussions same might cause including jail time if found guilty beyond reasonable doubt during trial proceedings held heard court premises under supervision judge presiding over matter itself resulting decision being taken based evidence presented forth either party respective sides representing each side respectively until verdict was eventually announced earlier Friday morning ending long drawn debate finally leading way towards closure this particular incident involving cryptocurrency related activities taking place within jurisdiction United States America where laws pertaining such matters must obeyed failure do so may result serious consequences depending severity crime committed accordingly law enforcement officials discretion per say yet still remain vigilant watchful eye open prevent similar incidents reoccurring anytime soon near future ahead us take necessary precautions protect ourselves against fraudulent activities happening online space especially when comes down investing cryptocurrencies itself should always double check credibility source beforehand investing money anything related digital assets according reliable sources trustworthy people industry avoid getting scammed end day everyone benefit equitably manner possible moving forward into 2020 2021 years come look forward brighter future await us till then bye now!