SEC charges five BitConnect promoters

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Trevor Brown, Craig Grant, Ryan Maassen and Michael Noble. Authorities say they were promoters of the fraudulent cryptocurrency project BitConnect.

SEC charges U.S. promoters of $2 billion global crypto lending securities offering. Learn more: https://t.co/ZKkl9ZVmlR

— SEC_News (@SEC_News) May 28, 2021

According to the SEC, from January 2017 to January 2018 the defendants promoted the company. The regulator alleges they sold unregistered securities and earned a share of the deals.

“We allege that these defendants illegally sold unregistered securities under the guise of digital assets, actively promoting the BitConnect lending program among retail investors,” said Lara Shalov Mehroban, deputy director of the SEC in New York.

The agency also charged Joshua Jeppesen, who is described as “the link between BitConnect and the promoters”.

The regulator asked the court to bar the defendants from further such activity and to recover the misappropriated funds with interest and penalties.

In January 2018, BitConnect was accused of operating a pyramid scheme. At the height of its popularity, the BitConnect coin price topped $500 and was in the top ten of CoinMarketCap.

Investors were warned off BitConnect by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, billionaire Mike Novogratz and Litecoin creator Charlie Lee.

Back in November 2020, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission brought charges against John Bigatton. Authorities consider him a BitConnect promoter.

Read ForkLog’s bitcoin news on our Telegram — cryptocurrency news, prices and analysis.