John Barksdale
Co-creator of Ormeus Coin who led worldwide roadshows promoting it with false claims of a $250M mining operation. The SEC won a default judgment over the $124M fraud, and the DOJ brought parallel criminal securities-fraud charges.
Also known as: John Barksdale
Note: The SEC obtained a civil default judgment; John Barksdale also faced criminal charges, which (per the public record) had not resulted in a conviction.
Bio
John Barksdale, with his sister JonAtina ("Tina") Barksdale, created and promoted Ormeus Coin, holding global roadshows and producing videos that falsely claimed the token was backed by a $250 million crypto-mining operation. The SEC said they raised over $124 million while abandoning real mining in 2019. [1][2]
Status
The SEC charged Barksdale in 2022 and obtained a March 2023 default judgment (joint ~$56.3M disgorgement/interest; ~$23.1M penalty). The DOJ (SDNY) brought parallel criminal securities-fraud charges. [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.
