Jeremy McAlpine
Co-founder of Dropil, which ran a fraudulent DROP-token ICO around a fake 'Dex' trading bot. He pleaded guilty to securities fraud in 2021 and was sentenced to 36 months; he also gave false testimony and manufactured fake evidence during the SEC probe.
Also known as: Jeremy David McAlpine
Bio
Jeremy David McAlpine co-founded Dropil and promoted the DROP token and its purported "Dex" trading bot. Per the DOJ, he and co-founder Zachary Matar grossly overstated funds raised and Dex's profitability, and during the SEC's investigation manufactured fake reports/spreadsheets and gave false sworn testimony. [1][2]
Legal outcome
McAlpine pleaded guilty to one count of securities fraud in August 2021 and was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison; he also settled the SEC's civil case with a permanent bar from digital-securities offerings. [1][2]
Bracketed numbers refer to the numbered sources listed below.
Linked scams & cases
Sources (2)
- Two Orange County Men Sentenced (Dropil) — U.S. DOJ (CDCA)
- SEC Obtains Settlement in Fraudulent and Unregistered ICO Case (Dropil) — U.S. SEC
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.
