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Articles Posted in Cryptocurrency

Following appearances in 2021 and February, 2023, SEC whistleblower attorneys Scott Silver and David Chase were again invited back to the ‘Cut To The Chase’ legal podcast. The podcast is hosted by Miami attorney and entrepreneur Gregg Goldfarb, who discusses legal and public interest news with authorities in their field.
After previously discussing the SEC whistleblower program and the collapse of FTX, on this most recent appearance Scott and David talked about the SEC’s lawsuit against Coinbase and Binance.
Scott Silver warned of the continued risk involved in cryptocurrency, saying “People need to remember the crypto market is still rife with fraud all over the place, and that a vast majority of the industry is unfortunately misrepresenting what's going on and causing massive harm to investors.”Following appearances in 2021 and February, 2023, SEC whistleblower attorneys Scott Silver and David Chase were again invited back to the ‘Cut To The Chase’ legal podcast. The podcast is hosted by Miami attorney and entrepreneur Gregg Goldfarb, who discusses legal and public interest news with authorities in their field.

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Former FTX owner and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has been indicted with eight counts of fraud by the Justice Department following the rapid collapse of the cryptocurrency platform. In the petition, he is referred to by his frequently known moniker, “SBF.” The documents were unsealed on Tuesday, December 13, 2022, in US District Court in the Southern District of New York.  SBF was slated to testify in front of the House Financial Services Committee following the company’s bankruptcy and collapse. He was very busy, he told committee chair Senator Maxine Waters, so he would only be available to testify via Zoom. He spoke to the Wall Street Journal just a few days prior and was arrested the day he was to appear before Congress.    While committing fraud, he and his cohorts used billions of investor dollars for their own personal expenses, to make trades, and to make large political donations, occasionally in the names of other individuals to hide the source of the donations. These donations were made prior to the 2022 mid-term elections, and intentionally evaded reporting requirements and limits on contributions.Former FTX owner and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has been indicted with eight counts of fraud by the Justice Department following the rapid collapse of the cryptocurrency platform. In the petition, he is referred to by his frequently known moniker, “SBF.” The documents were unsealed on Tuesday, December 13, 2022, in US District Court in the Southern District of New York. Continue reading ›

The former CEO of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange has been arrested in connection with the company’s bankruptcy and collapse. Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) was arrested in The Bahamas on Monday, December 12, 2022, at the request of US authorities and denied bail. His entire operation is detailed in the petition by the US Securites & Exchange Commission filed the day after his arrest in the US District Court in the Southern District of New York. The SEC is demanding a jury trial.  In the petition, the SEC describes how SBF began in May of 2019 when he founded FTX, a cryptocurrency trading platform as the founder and CEO. SBF raised more than $1.8 billion from investors in and out of the US. The investors bought an equity stake under the belief that FTX had both risk management and other appropriate controls in place. In fact, FTX and its subsidiary, Alameda Research, LLC, had none.The former CEO of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange has been arrested in connection with the company’s bankruptcy and collapse. Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) was arrested in The Bahamas on Monday, December 12, 2022, at the request of US authorities and denied bail. His entire operation is detailed in the petition by the US Securites & Exchange Commission filed the day after his arrest in the US District Court in the Southern District of New York. The SEC is demanding a jury trial. Continue reading ›

If someone was attempting to steal your smartphone number, would your carrier help? One T-Mobile customer discovered that the carrier didn’t seem to care.  Now T-Mobile is being sued in an Alabama federal court by a customer who lost his number when the company simply handed over his phone number to a hacker claiming to be him. Once the hacker had the number, they easily accessed the plaintiff’s email and bank accounts and transferring funds out.  This is a crime that’s increasing in frequency and can cost millions to unsuspecting phone owners.  SIM-Swapping Or SIM-Hacking  Every cell and smartphone has something called a SIM card, or Subscriber Identity Module. This is the unique identifier is a small physical card that can be removed from one phone and inserted into another to move your account—and your identity—to the new phone.If someone was attempting to steal your smartphone number, would your carrier help? One T-Mobile customer discovered that the carrier didn’t seem to care.

Now T-Mobile is being sued in an Alabama federal court by a customer who lost his number when the company simply handed over his phone number to a hacker claiming to be him. Once the hacker had the number, they easily accessed the plaintiff’s email and bank accounts and transferring funds out. Continue reading ›

Johan Pereira (Johan Manuel Pereira CRD#: 6252881) is a former registered broker and investment advisor whose last known employment was with Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC (CRD#:19616) of Beverly, MA. His previous employers are Santander Securities LLC (CRD#:41791) of North Andover, MA, Citizens Securities, Inc. (CRD#:39550) of Wilmington, MA, and Pruco Securities, LLC. (CRD#:5685) of Wakefield, MA. He has been in the industry since 2013.  Pereira became involved with an outside business activity (OBA) which included compensation. As required, he sought approval from Wells Fargo and was granted permission. In his request, Pereira stated that he would not offer advice on securities, financial planning, or financing through this OBA.  Later, Pereira did become involved in activity that was outside of the description he gave to Wells Fargo. He was approached to assist one of the OBA customers in purchasing Bitcoin, buying it for the customer personally. By doing so, Pereira went outside of the description he gave to Wells Fargo regarding his involvement. He did not disclose this activity to Wells Fargo as required.Johan Pereira (Johan Manuel Pereira CRD#: 6252881) is a former registered broker and investment advisor whose last known employment was with Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC (CRD#:19616) of Beverly, MA. His previous employers are Santander Securities LLC (CRD#:41791) of North Andover, MA, Citizens Securities, Inc. (CRD#:39550) of Wilmington, MA, and Pruco Securities, LLC. (CRD#:5685) of Wakefield, MA. He has been in the industry since 2013. Continue reading ›

The Massachusetts Securities Division recently levied $1 million in fines against U.S. Data Mining Group (DMG) for allegedly conducting unregistered securities offerings. The Division, in its complaint, alleged that the bitcoin mining company failed to register its stock while fundraising. DMG also failed to notify investors that two of the company’s promoters had previously violated US federal securities laws during their Series A fundraising, which raised nearly $25 million in March of 2021.  DMG also failed to register this offering with the state’s Securities Division, even though they raised $3.5 million from Massachusetts residents.  DMG knew since at least 12/4/2020 that registrations exemptions for conducting offerings was not an option, according to the regulator. In fact, the company clearly stated this in their promissory notes issued at that time, because of the past histories of some of the promoters, according to the consent order.The Massachusetts Securities Division recently levied $1 million in fines against U.S. Data Mining Group (DMG) for allegedly conducting unregistered securities offerings. The Division, in its complaint, alleged that the bitcoin mining company failed to register its stock while fundraising. DMG also failed to notify investors that two of the company’s promoters had previously violated US federal securities laws during their Series A fundraising, which raised nearly $25 million in March of 2021. Continue reading ›

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