Both the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey take legal action against Boaz Maor and his business partner Edith Pardo based on raising $30 million through a fraud based ICO.
Further, the two convicts had created CG Blockchain and Blockchain Terminal (BCT) for establishing a Bloomberg Terminal clone for cryptocurrency traders. One of the convicts Boaz Manor was a criminal in Canada and veiled his identity by using a nickname and provided his companies, and their token, an illegitimate identity.
As a result, both firms have been caught by legal watchdogs. As per the Attorney’s Office statement:
“One count of conspiring to commit wire fraud, three counts of wire fraud, and one count of securities fraud in connection with a blockchain technology company.”
They collectively raised $30 million from investors’ money and partnered with a few companies, among them FactSet is one. According to the complaint at SEC, the investors were told by Blockchain Terminal that it had about 20 hedge funds testing technology for the registration of transactions on a ledger or blockchain. However, the reality was different; during Boaz’s tenure company delivered a prototype to a dozen funds, and did not use and pay funds that were received.
Joseph G. Sansone, head of the SEC’s Market Abuse Unit, said in a statement:
“Learning about the identity and background of the individual or individuals behind a venture is one of the first things we tell investors to do before trusting anyone with their money”.
He further added that Manor’s idea of hiding his identity with a fake nickname and his criminal record deprived investors of accessing true and meaningful information and allowed the two convicts to cover $30 million
Besides Boaz Manor, among other convicts of SEC are Edith Pardo, CG Blockchain Inc, and BCT Inc. As per U.S. Attorney’s Office statement, Edith Pardo, a business partner of Boaz Manor, was arrested on Friday by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and possibly, if convicted both may face a long-term jail sentence.
Image Source – Flickr
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