37 entries tagged “ico”.
A 2018 ICO that billed its B2G token as 'the next generation of Bitcoin.' New Jersey issued a cease-and-desist calling it a fraudulent unregistered securities offering, and the SEC charged actor Steven Seagal for touting it without disclosing he was promised $250K cash plus $750K in tokens.
Two 2017 ICOs run by Brooklyn's Maksim Zaslavskiy, marketed as tokens backed by real estate and diamonds that did not exist. The case produced the first U.S. criminal conviction for an ICO fraud; Zaslavskiy was sentenced to 18 months in 2019.
A cryptocurrency marketed by Rowland Marcus Andrade's NAC Foundation as 'anti-money-laundering' Bitcoin. A U.S. jury convicted Andrade of wire fraud and money laundering in 2025; the DOJ said he defrauded investors of about $10M with false claims, including a fabricated Panama Canal deal.
A 2017 ICO by Dominic Lacroix that promised returns of more than 1,300% in under a month. It was the first case brought by the SEC's new Cyber Unit; the SEC obtained an emergency freeze and a multimillion-dollar judgment.
A 2017–2018 ICO for 'LOCIcoin' tied to the InnVenn IP-search platform. The SEC charged Loci and CEO John Wise with fraud for raising $7.6M on false claims about revenue, headcount, and user base; Wise also misused investor funds. Settled with a $7.6M penalty and an officer/director bar.
A 2017–2018 ICO (BCT tokens, ~$30M) for a 'Blockchain Terminal' — a Bloomberg-style crypto trading terminal. The SEC and DOJ said convicted ex-hedge-funder Boaz Manor secretly ran it under a fake identity ('Shaun MacDonald'), using associate Edith Pardo as a front, and lied about the product's adoption.
A 2018 ICO for 'Crowd Machine Compute Tokens' (CMCT) that the SEC charged as fraudulent: founder Craig Sproule raised ~$33M to build a decentralized app platform but secretly diverted $5.8M to South African gold-mining entities. Consent judgments ordered ~$20M+ and barred Sproule as an officer/director.
A purported gold/art-backed digital asset that the SEC called a fraud: it falsely claimed backing by $1B in art or $2B in gold and 'risk-free' returns up to 224,923%, raising $4.3M+ from 150+ investors. Defendants were jailed for contempt; founder Robert Dunlap was later convicted of mail fraud.
An ICO for the DROP token built around a fake 'Dex' trading bot. The SEC said it raised ~$1.9M while claiming $54M from 34,000 investors, and that the founders falsified evidence during the probe. Founders Jeremy McAlpine and Zachary Matar pleaded guilty to securities fraud (36 and 30 months).
A blockchain 'universal shopper profile' startup whose 2017–2018 ICO raised ~$42.5M. The SEC and New York AG said it was fraudulent — fake retailer partnerships, no working product. Founder Eran Eyal pleaded guilty to felony securities fraud (NY) and settled with the SEC.
A 2017–2018 ICO for the VERI token that the SEC said raised ~$14.8M via false statements and that founder Reginald Middleton manipulated on secondary markets. Middleton and Veritaseum settled with the SEC in 2019 for ~$9.5M and a permanent digital-securities bar.
A Miami-based crypto token (CLU) that ran a 2021 ICO and pivoted to NFTs and a metaverse game. Founder Austin Michael Taylor ('DNPthree') secretly siphoned ~$1.14M of investor funds into online casinos; he pleaded guilty to wire fraud and was sentenced in 2025 to 27 months.
Founder and CEO of Loci, which ran the LOCIcoin ICO. The SEC charged him with fraud for false claims about Loci's revenue, staff, and user base (raising $7.6M) and for misusing $38K of investor funds; he settled with an officer/director bar.
A New Jersey associate of Boaz Manor whom the SEC said acted as a 'front' presented as the owner of the Blockchain Terminal businesses to conceal Manor's control. Charged civilly by the SEC and criminally in 2020.
A previously convicted Canadian ex-hedge-fund manager who, per the SEC and DOJ, secretly ran the $30M Blockchain Terminal ICO under the alias 'Shaun MacDonald' to hide his criminal past. Charged civilly and criminally in 2020.
Australian founder of Crowd Machine and Metavine who the SEC said ran a fraudulent CMCT ICO (~$33M) and secretly diverted $5.8M to South African gold mining. He consented to antifraud judgments, a $195K penalty, and an officer/director bar.
Co-founder of Dropil and its fraudulent DROP-token ICO. He pleaded guilty to securities fraud in 2021 and was sentenced to 30 months in prison.
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.
Founder and CEO of Shopin. He pleaded guilty to felony securities fraud (NY Martin Act) over Shopin's ~$42.5M ICO — built on fake retailer partnerships and a nonexistent product — and also admitted fraud tied to two earlier companies; he settled parallel SEC charges.
Founder of Veritaseum and its VERI token. The SEC alleged he ran a fraudulent ICO and manipulated VERI's price; he settled in 2019 for ~$9.5M and a permanent bar from digital-securities offerings, without admitting or denying the allegations.
Co-founder of Centra Tech, whom the SEC called a 'mastermind' of its fraudulent 2017 ICO. He pleaded guilty but, citing 'extraordinary' cooperation, was sentenced in 2022 to time served (no prison) and ~$2.9M restitution.
Co-founder of Centra Tech, the 2017 ICO that raised ~$25–32M on fake executives and fabricated partnerships with Visa/Mastercard. He pleaded guilty to fraud conspiracies and was sentenced to one year and one day in prison.
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.
Co-founder of Bitqyck, which sold the Bitqy and BitqyM tokens. The SEC said the firm raised ~$24M from 13,000+ investors via false claims; Bise settled SEC fraud charges (2019) and was sentenced in 2022 to 50 months for tax evasion.
Quebec promoter behind the PlexCoin/PlexCorps ICO, which the SEC said raised up to $15M by promising a 1,354% return in under a month. The SEC obtained a ~$7M judgment (2019); a Quebec court sentenced him in 2024 to 42 months in prison.
The Brooklyn entrepreneur behind the RECoin and Diamond Reserve Club ICOs. His was the first criminal case to test whether ICO tokens are securities; he pleaded guilty to securities-fraud conspiracy and was sentenced in 2019 to 18 months in prison.
A 2018 ICO that claimed it would put fruit and vegetables on the blockchain. After raising only a small amount, the team vanished and replaced its website with a single crude word — a widely cited example of a low-effort ICO exit scam.
A purported blockchain marketplace whose 2017–2018 ICO of 'OPP Tokens' raised ~$600K from ~200 investors. The SEC charged founder Sergii Grybniak with fraud for falsely calling the ICO 'SEC registered/compliant' and exaggerating the platform's users; a 2025 final judgment imposed a $100K penalty.
Founder of Opporty, whose OPP-token ICO the SEC charged as fraudulent — falsely claiming it was 'SEC compliant/registered' and exaggerating the platform's users. A 2025 final judgment ordered a $100K penalty and barred him from securities offerings.
A Dallas-based operation that sold the Bitqy and BitqyM tokens. The SEC said founders Bruce Bise and Samuel Mendez defrauded over 13,000 investors in unregistered offerings; the DOJ said the venture raised ~$24M. Both pleaded guilty to tax evasion and received 50-month prison terms.
A 2018 ICO by Titanium Blockchain (TBIS), led by Michael Stollery, that raised ~$21M for its 'BAR' token using fabricated testimonials and bogus partnerships (e.g. the Federal Reserve, PayPal, Boeing). The SEC froze it; Stollery was sentenced to 51 months.
A 2017 Texas ICO that marketed itself as the world's 'first decentralized bank' on the AriseCoin token, with false claims of FDIC insurance and a Visa partnership and a bogus '$600M raised'. The SEC halted it; the real fraud was ~$4M. CEO Jared Rice got 5 years.
Two ICO tokens promoted in Vietnam by Modern Tech as MLM investments advertising up to 48% monthly returns. Widely reported as a ~$660M exit scam affecting ~32,000 people, though later Vietnamese investigation said those figures were inflated.
A 2017 ICO that sold the CTR token and, per the SEC, raised over $32M by touting nonexistent partnerships with Visa, Mastercard, and Bancorp. Co-founder Sohrab Sharma was sentenced to 8 years.
Founder and CEO of Titanium Blockchain Infrastructure Services (TBIS), whose BAR token ICO raised ~$21M. He pleaded guilty to securities fraud and was sentenced in 2023 to 51 months in prison.
Founder and CEO of AriseBank, marketed as the world's 'first decentralized bank.' He pleaded guilty to securities fraud over the AriseCoin ICO and was sentenced in 2021 to five years in prison plus ~$4.26M in restitution.
Co-founder of Centra Tech, the 2017 ICO that the SEC says raised over $32M on fabricated partnerships. Pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 8 years in prison.
