Sam Mendez
Co-founder of Bitqyck (Bitqy / BitqyM tokens). He settled SEC fraud charges in 2019 and was sentenced in 2022 to 50 months in prison for tax evasion tied to misappropriated investor funds.
Also known as: Samuel Mendez, Sam Mendez
Bio
Samuel "Sam" Mendez co-founded Bitqyck with Bruce Bise; together they owned 100% of the company's stock. The SEC said the pair sold the Bitqy and BitqyM tokens via false claims (fractional stock and a nonexistent mining facility) to 13,000+ investors. [1][2]
Legal outcome
Mendez settled the SEC's fraud charges in 2019 (paying $850,022) and later pleaded guilty to tax evasion over funds diverted from Bitqyck for personal use; he was sentenced in March 2022 to 50 months in prison and ~$1.6M owed. [1][2]
Bracketed numbers refer to the numbered sources listed below.
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.
