David Schmidt
A former Washington state senator who helped market the Meta 1 Coin, telling investors it was secured by $2B in gold under audit. The SEC charged him in 2020 and a court jailed him for civil contempt for defying its orders.
Also known as: David A. Schmidt
Note: Schmidt was charged civilly by the SEC and jailed for civil contempt; described per the SEC complaint and court filings.
Bio
David A. Schmidt, a former Washington state senator, helped market and sell the Meta 1 Coin, telling investors at workshops it was backed by $2 billion in gold being audited by a major accounting firm. [1][2]
Status
The SEC charged Schmidt in March 2020; a Texas federal court found him in civil contempt and ordered him incarcerated until he complied with its orders. [1][2]
Bracketed numbers refer to the numbered sources listed below.
Linked scams & cases
Sources (2)
See also
Luke BelmarIndividualsCryptocurrency influencer Luke Belmar (@lukebelmar on X) became the subject of controversy following allegations related to the promotion of a memecoin. Critics on social media alleged that Belmar used a series of posts referencing a forthcoming cryptocurrency project and a large-scale airdrop to generate interest in a token without explicitly identifying a specific contract address. Belmar published multiple posts discussing an upcoming memecoin, describing plans for what he characterized as a major airdrop and making comparisons to other cryptocurrency projects. Because no contract address was publicly provided, several tokens emerged claiming association with his statements. Critics alleged that this ambiguity enabled speculation around multiple tokens while avoiding a direct endorsement of any particular asset.
HEX / PulseChain (Richard Heart)ProjectsCrypto projects (HEX, PulseChain, PulseX) created by Richard Heart (Richard Schueler). In July 2023 the U.S. SEC sued him for offering unregistered securities that raised $1B+ and for allegedly misappropriating ~$12M for luxury goods (including a 555-carat diamond). A court dismissed the case in 2024 for lack of U.S. jurisdiction; there was no finding of wrongdoing and Heart denies the allegations.
This page was last updated on Jun 15, 2026. View revision history.
