The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission indicted eight individuals and businesses for the fraudulent scheme.
The regulator has accused eight individuals and businesses of selling unregistered securities through blockchain firm CoinDeal.
Fraud Charge from SEC
Neil Chandran, Garry Davidson, Michael Glaspie, Amy Mossel, Linda Knott, AEO Publishing Inc, Banner Co-Op, Inc and BannersGo, LLC are among the individuals and businesses charged, according to the SEC’s statement.
Chandran, Davidson, Glaspie, Knott, and Mossel allege CoinDeal will be sold for trillions of dollars, although no acquisitions have been made or funds have been allocated to investors. It was also stated that Chandran used millions of dollars from investor funds for a boat, real estate, car and other personal uses.
The SEC filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
It promises investors more than 500,000 times the return on investment, Daniel Gregus, director of the SEC’s Chicago Regional Office, said in a statement.
Neil Chandran has been detained in the United States since September 14, 2022, on charges related to electronic fraud.
The SEC claimed that Chandar defrauded more than 10,000 people with investment scam schemes involving CoinDeal and other firms.