$49 million crypto fraud: SEC files charges against US firm

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a temporary restraining order against a Utah-based company, DEBT Box, accusing the firm and its principals of conning investors out of approximately $49 million through a crypto scheme.

The Anderson brothers, Jason and Jacob, and 15 others allegedly orchestrated an extensive financial operation in March 2021 that raised significant funds from US investors in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). 

The group allegedly marketed and sold “node licenses,” unregistered securities supposedly designed to produce crypto asset tokens via crypto mining activities. 

They reassured investors that various revenue-generating businesses across several sectors would drive these tokens’ values. 

According to the narrative spun by the accused, these companies would mine and increase the value of the various tokens that DEBT Box handled.

However, the SEC now claims that the funds collected from the sales of these node software licenses were not used as promised. Instead, they purportedly served to finance a lavish lifestyle for the defendants, including purchases of luxury cars, houses, and extravagant vacations.

The director of the SEC’s Salt Lake Regional Office, Tracy S. Combs, stated, 

“We allege that DEBT Box and its principals deceived investors on virtually every critical aspect of their unregistered securities offering. This included falsified claims of their involvement in crypto asset mining. We took this emergency action to safeguard the victims of the defendants’ illegal activities and prevent further damage.”

In addition to the restraining order, the SEC has secured a temporary asset freeze and other emergency relief to inhibit further illicit activities.

The defendants have been accused of selling unregistered securities, including cryptocurrency assets like BLGD and DEBT. 

The agency has been cracking down on crypto and has classified some digital assets as securities. They recently labeled HEX as a security after accusations that its founder sold unregistered securities.