{"id":86004,"date":"2023-10-20T11:45:30","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T08:45:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/?p=86004"},"modified":"2025-09-13T02:46:20","modified_gmt":"2025-09-12T23:46:20","slug":"sec-drops-charges-against-brad-garlinghouse-and-chris-larsen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/sec-drops-charges-against-brad-garlinghouse-and-chris-larsen\/","title":{"rendered":"SEC drops charges against Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) withdrew the lawsuit against Ripple co-founders Chris Larsen and CEO Brad Garlinghouse, accusing them of violating securities laws.<\/p>\n<p>Against this backdrop, the XRP token rose above $0.50.<\/p>\n<p>The parties reached a global settlement on the claims. This means that no future claims on the same grounds can be brought against the defendants.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cThe SEC made a serious mistake pursuing Brad and Chris personally \u2013 and now, they\u2019ve capitulated, dismissing all charges against our executives. This is not a settlement. This is a surrender,\u201d said Ripple&#8217;s chief legal officer Stuart Alderoty.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The SEC made a serious mistake going after Brad &#038; Chris personally \u2013 and now, they\u2019ve capitulated, dismissing all charges against our executives. This is not a settlement. This is a surrender by the SEC. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/TOsG64ZdEx\">https:\/\/t.co\/TOsG64ZdEx<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Stuart Alderoty (@s_alderoty) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/s_alderoty\/status\/1715107927428837875?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 19, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>In December 2020, the SEC <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/sec-files-suit-against-ripple\">filed a lawsuit<\/a> against the California-based company Ripple. The regulator alleged that the firm sold unregistered securities in the form of XRP over seven years, totaling about $1.39 billion.<\/p>\n<p>The defendants in the suit included Garlinghouse and Larsen, whom the regulator described as <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/us-prosecutors-charge-gemini-and-dcg-with-defrauding-investors-of-more-than-1-billion\">&#8220;major holders of the security&#8221;<\/a>. According to the complaint, they collectively sold tokens worth $600 million.<\/p>\n<p>Among the allegations against the Ripple chief were his statements about &#8220;playing the long game.&#8221; Allegedly hinting to investors that he was withholding coins, Garlinghouse was actually disposing of them.<\/p>\n<p>On June 13, 2023, the company <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/ripple-wins-case-against-the-sec-as-xrp-jumps-24-in-an-hour\">secured a partial victory<\/a> in the case. Judge Analisa Torres ruled that programmatic sales and other distributions of tokens did not constitute the sale of investment contracts. However, according to the court&#8217;s decision, XRP&#8217;s sale to institutional participants in the industry violated securities laws.<\/p>\n<p>The SEC <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/sec-appeals-partial-ruling-in-ripple-case\">attempted to appeal<\/a> the court&#8217;s order, but Torres <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/court-rejects-sec-appeal-in-ripple-case\">rejected<\/a> the regulator&#8217;s interlocutory appeal. She found that the Commission had not provided enough evidence, and the arguments presented could not substantially advance the final dismissal of the case.<\/p>\n<p>Alderoti noted that dropping the suit against Ripple&#8217;s leadership marked the regulator&#8217;s third defeat in the litigation, with no victories. Garlinghouse echoed the sentiment.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Today was an even better day. <br \/>Ripple: 3 <br \/>SEC: 0<\/p>\n<p>In all seriousness, Chris and I (in a case involving no claims of fraud or misrepresentations) were targeted by the SEC in a ruthless attempt to personally ruin us and the company so many have worked hard to build for over a\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/YsQxewFnj9\">https:\/\/t.co\/YsQxewFnj9<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/bgarlinghouse\/status\/1715108497107694019?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 19, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cWe, Chris and I, were seriously targeted by the SEC in a merciless bid to destroy us personally and the company, after more than a decade of work by many,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The Ripple chief also hinted that, in pursuing them and the firm, the SEC turned a blind eye to consumer protection in real-world situations such as FTX.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cHow many millions of taxpayer dollars have been spent in vain?! It\u2019s nice to finally be vindicated,\u201d Garlinghouse said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What next?<\/h2>\n<p>Earlier, attorney Jeremy Hogan <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/lawyer-forecasts-timeline-for-the-secs-ripple-lawsuit\">predicted<\/a> possible paths for the SEC&#8217;s case against Ripple. One of the most likely possibilities he identified was settling claims against individual defendants and appealing the prior ruling.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cThis is the best option for the SEC. For that reason I doubt they will go that route,\u201d the lawyer said with irony.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>However, the Commission has chosen that path. The regulator said that after settling with Garlinghouse and Larsen it would focus on Ripple&#8217;s claims.<\/p>\n<p>Modifications to the case schedule are required. The SEC intends to present its proposed amendments by November 9.<\/p>\n<p>According to Hogan&#8217;s earlier assessment, under this scenario a final verdict on the suit is not expected before August 14, 2026.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">XRP and Bitcoin rose on the news<\/h2>\n<p>Over the past 24 hours, XRP rose more than 7% (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.coingecko.com\/\">CoinGecko<\/a>). As of writing, the asset was trading near $0.51, with intraday moves above $0.53.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/kxEGbiz4iu82iUFXMhSyCuBNfPLcV1IjHEiUFzWsOJrcV9oTJql-pIs2AiG8bG1k03FgHkPLxyhGnEi_wic0b8J8xXDECMq-KTZg-jlASTX14Iz8J2w7iddGz0EoaAJVA06-EvCSt4-paWJ9fosV1jU\" alt=\"Hourly XRP\/USDT chart on Binance\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Hourly XRP\/USDT chart on Binance. Data: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tradingview.com\/symbols\/XRPUSDT\/?exchange=BINANCE\">TradingView<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/5Ei9Ng4KGlitwaZbP3qR_cD84uyCllhSh1UPef8bFSiJPmXnu9On-qwNhBzlJUQqLMpNHozRwSYI9RoavowRSAvKM9pbC4qZMRD-KPqT1EP9Y8_thurXqhTbQFG-7P6VBpHFWVPH5PEENMSnqQkGbIk\" alt=\"Data: CoinGecko\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Data: CoinGecko.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The rally was not helped by negative news. Yesterday, New York prosecutors <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/us-prosecutors-charge-gemini-and-dcg-with-defrauding-investors-of-more-than-1-billion\">accused<\/a> major industry players\u2014the Winklevoss twins&#8217; Gemini and Barry Silbert&#8217;s Digital Currency Group\u2014of deceiving investors by more than $1 billion.<\/p>\n<p>In June the SEC <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/sec-files-suit-against-binance-and-changpeng-zhao\">filed<\/a> suits against the Bitcoin exchanges <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/sec-files-suit-against-coinbase-exchange\">Binance<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/sec-files-suit-against-coinbase-exchange\">Coinbase<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In September the regulator said that beyond these two platforms there are other <span data-descr=\"centralized exchanges\" class=\"old_tooltip\">CEX<\/span>, as well as DeFi protocols, whose activities <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/sec-threatens-centralized-exchanges-and-defi-projects\">are being studied for potential violations<\/a> of the law.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dropped the lawsuit against Ripple co-founders Chris Larsen and CEO Brad Garlinghouse, accusing them of securities-law violations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":86005,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"select":"1","news_style_id":"1","cryptorium_level":"","_short_excerpt_text":"","creation_source":"","_metatest_mainpost_news_update":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1274,1354,1162,1150,112,128],"class_list":["post-86004","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-brad-garlinghouse","tag-chris-larsen","tag-court-cases","tag-news-plus","tag-ripple","tag-sec"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"views":"31","promo_type":"1","layout_type":"1","short_excerpt":"","is_update":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86004","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86004"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86004\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86006,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86004\/revisions\/86006"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/86005"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86004"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86004"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86004"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}