London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

SEC Sues 5 Promoters Over $2B Bitconnect Ponzi

SEC Sues 5 Promoters Over $2B Bitconnect Ponzi

Bitconnect collapsed in 2018 after state regulators in Texas and North Carolina filed cease-and-desist letters against its lending and exchange platform.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed charges against five individuals for their alleged involvement in the Bitconnect crypto platform that collapsed in 2018.

According to the SEC’s complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, from about January 2017 to January 2018, Bitconnect used a network of promoters to offer and sell over $2 billion in securities without registering the offering with the SEC, and without being registered as broker-dealers as required by the federal securities law.

“We allege that these defendants unlawfully sold unregistered digital asset securities by actively promoting the Bitconnect lending program to retail investors,” said Lara Shalov Mehraban, associate regional director of SEC’s New York office. “We will seek to hold accountable those who illegally profit by capitalizing on the public’s interest in digital assets.”

Bitconnect collapsed in 2018 after state regulators in Texas and North Carolina filed cease-and-desist letters against its lending and exchange platform.

The SEC’s complaint charges promoters including U.S.-based Trevon Brown (aka Trevon James), Craig Grant, Ryan Maasen and Michael Noble (aka Michael Crypto) with violating the registration provisions of federal securities laws. The complaint also charges U.S.-based Joshua Jeppesen with aiding and abetting Bitconnect’s offer and sale of securities.

The promoters touted the benefits of investing in Bitconnect’s lending program to prospective investors, including the use of testimonial style videos and publishing them on YouTube, the SEC said in its release. According to the complaint, the promoters received commissions based on their success in soliciting funds.

The complaint seeks injunctive relief, disgorgement plus interest and civil penalties.

After the complaint was made public, Brown tweeted “I just became a villain again.”

While no criminal complaints were filed, the FBI has been investigating Bitconnect for the last three years. Brown said in March 2018 that he had spoken with FBI agents, and the federal investigator posted a notice in 2019 asking for investors to reach out.

A representative of the criminal division at the Department of Justice’s Southern District of New York office said no criminal charges were anticipated today.

Promotors of the project have been arrested in other countries as well: Indian police arrested promotor Divyesh Darji in 2018, while Australian authorities filed charges against John Bigatton last year.

Source: SEC Sues 5 Promoters Over $2B Bitconnect Ponzi – Fintechs.fi

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×