SEC Clamps Down on Defrauding ICOs

The Securities and Exchange Commission has gotten to an agreement with Blockchain of Things Inc. for carrying out an unscrupulous Initial Coin Offering.

According to a news report which was disclosed on the 18th of December by the SEC, the case filed against BCOT has been resolved in the form of an order which mandates that the firm refrains from violating any further rule under the federal securities laws. The firm has agreed to pay a $250,000 fine without accepting or refuting any of the rulings.

The SEC claimed that BCOT raised about $13 million from its unregistered ICO for the supposed purpose of creating a blockchain-based system that enabled third-party developers to create apps for message communication, cryptocurrency creation, and cryptocurrency transfer.

BCOT has been ordered to refund the $13 million to investors who partook in the ICO and request for a refund. However, the number of investors that might ask for a refund is unknown. BCOT is not trading on any prominent crypto exchange at the moment.

The SEC also disclosed that the form has been mandated to register its tokens as securities per the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 and is expected to deliver frequent filings with the agency.

BCOT was said to have defaulted in registering its ICO according to securities law and failed to meet the enlisting requirements.

Another Case of Defrauding ICO
On the 11th of December, the SEC indicted the founder of Shopin, Eran Eyal for organizing a defrauding ICO. The agency claimed that Eyal and his firm swindled several investors with an ICO that produced about $42 million from August 2017 through April of the next year for the firm.

A day after the indictment, Eyal pled guilty to the charges against him. The court instructed Eyal to pay a total of $125,000 in damages, $475,000 in judgment to investors, and another $450,000 in crypto to the Attorney General’s Office.