Interpol has issued a “red notice” on behalf of Finland for Richard James Schueler, the founder of HEX, PulseChain, and PulseX, better known in the cryptocurrency industry as Richard Heart.
He is wanted for deliberate tax evasion and assault.
According to the Europol website, Heart is listed among the EU’s most wanted criminals. The total amount of undeclared income is said to be “hundreds of millions of euros.”
“Schueler attacked a 16-year-old victim by grabbing her hair, dragging her into a stairwell, and throwing her to the ground. While the victim lay on her back on the floor, Schueler struck her four to five times with his fist in the face, nose, eyes, and head area. […]”, Europol describes the entrepreneur’s second crime.
In July 2023, the SEC filed a lawsuit against the founder of HEX, PulseChain, and PulseX for alleged sales of unregistered securities. The regulator claims Heart raised over $1 billion through the sale of HEX, PLS, and PSLX tokens. The agency also accused him of fraud.
In September 2024, media reported that Finnish police had taken an interest in the businessman.
On the night of December 22, Heart posted a cryptic message on X, hinting at news of his being wanted.
My whole life I’ve been preparing for the future. Anticipating it. Creating it. I’ve never been safer and I’m excited for the future.
The Honorable Justice in SEC v me should have her ruling out soon. Donald Trump will be in office soon. PulseX, PulseChain, HEX, INC are all…
— Richard Heart (@RichardHeartWin) December 21, 2024
“My whole life I’ve been preparing for the future. Anticipating it. Creating it. I’ve never been safer and I’m excited for the future. The Honorable Justice in SEC v me should have her ruling out soon. Donald Trump will be in office soon,” he wrote.
Heart added that “PulseX, PulseChain, HEX, and INC are functioning perfectly,” and “some entities are driven crazy by this.”
“It’s a pleasant feeling to be wanted. Nothing can stop an idea whose time has come,” the entrepreneur concluded.
The HEX token reacted negatively to the news, dropping nearly 30% over the week to $0.0039. However, over the past six months, the asset has gained about 190%.
HEX and Heart have often faced criticism from cryptocurrency industry participants. An analyst under the pseudonym Goldman Sats suggested that the project aims solely to enrich its creator at the expense of other users.
In November 2022, the SEC sent subpoenas to influencers involved in promoting HEX, Pulsechain, and PulseX. At the time, community members dismissed the news as fake.
In 2020, HEX advertisements appeared during English Premier League football matches, touting a 11,500% increase in the platform’s internal token over 129 days.