Unicoin Inc. Charged by the SEC with Committing a $100 Million Fraud Scheme

Unicoin Inc., a company based in New York, along with its top executives, committed a $100 million fraud scheme, according to accusations from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Unicoin Inc., a New York-based company, and its top executives are being sued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for allegedly defrauding investors in a $100 million cryptocurrency and stock rights scam.

A complaint filed by the SEC on Monday, May 15, names Alex Konanykhin, Silvina Moschini, and Alex Dominguez, along with their company, in the charges.

According to the agency, the executives made false statements about certificates linking to cryptocurrency and stock rights in order to deceive investors.

“We allege that Unicoin and its 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,” said Mark Cave, associate director in the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, in a statement.

But the company allegedly presented real estate assets that are a fraction of the percentage value that Unicoin disclosed to investors.

The executives also allegedly deceived investors about the status of the company’s stock registration and the price at which it would be sold to the public.

Unicoin allegedly had no revenue-generating operations during the relevant period and touted its tokens and certificates as SEC-registered.

The company also falsely claimed to have sold more than $3 billion of the certificates and tokens, although it sold only $110 million, according to the SEC.

The agency further charges that Richard Devlin, serving as Unicoin’s general counsel, violated federal securities laws.

Without admitting or denying the SEC’s charges, Devlin agreed to pay a civil penalty of $37,500 to settle the agency’s allegations.

Earlier this year, reports surfaced that the SEC was preparing to sue Binance and Coinbase over their alleged violations of U.S. securities laws.

The crypto exchange Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao are being sued by the SEC for allegedly engaging in fraud and money laundering activities.

The agency is also suing Coinbase for allegedly operating a "blatantly illegal" cryptocurrency exchange.

However, the agency dropped both cases in April, and it remains unclear whether or not they will be pursued at a later date.

After Donald Trump’s administration saw a lull in such cases, the SEC has been ramping up its actions against crypto firms.

During the Trump administration, the SEC dropped several high-profile crypto cases.

The agency is currently handling a large number of cases related to cryptocurrencies.

Recently, the SEC announced charges against Praetorian Group International Corp., a crypto and foreign exchange firm, for allegedly defrauding investors in a $198 million Ponzi and pyramid scheme.

According to the SEC, investors were told that their funds would be used for foreign exchange trading and to fund a digital asset mining venture.

However, the SEC claims that the vast majority of the funds were misappropriated by Praetorian’s principals, who used them for personal expenses and to pay earlier investors.

Unicoin is being sued for violations of Section 12(b) of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 17(a) of the Securities Act, and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

Its executives are being sued for violations of Section 12(b) of the Securities Act, Section 17(a) of the Securities Act, and Section 20(a) of the Exchange Act.

The SEC’s complaint follows a previous report by FOX Business’ Eleanor Terrett on April 21, stating that the SEC had issued a Wells notice to Unicoin in December regarding a token airdrop and invited them to a settlement meeting on April 18.

However, Konanykhin told Terrett that his company declined the meeting invitation due to what they deemed unacceptable conditions set by the regulator, indicating their intent to contest the matter in court.