A Chicago-based crypto investments firm and three of its employees were recently sued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for allegedly selling unregistered cryptocurrencies worth $1.5 million.
According to the complaint, Brian Amoah, owner of the Chicago Crypto Capital (CCC), and two salesmen of the firm, Darcas Oliver Young and Elbert Elliott, had reportedly sold an unregistered crypto token BXY to 100 inexperienced crypto investors between August 2018 to September 2019. The complaint also stated the investors were deceived in regards to how the firm was handling the token.
BXY is a token associated with Beaxy, a now-defunct crypto exchange. Beaxy sold investors a token that claim that it could rake in large gains akin to the time of the initial coin offering (ICO), in an effort to raise capital and build a substantial user base.
Additionally, it had a sale agreement with CCC. The complaint claimed that CCC kept 3 cents of every 5-cent sale.
Per the complaint, CCC sold BXY to investors that have no prior crypto experience without disclosing the company’s kickbacks. Later, CCC failed to send the BXY tokens to some of the buyers.
The group was charged by the SEC for violating the U.S. securities law by operating as unregistered brokers and fraudsters. It aims to stop them from promoting crypto securities.
The prosecution is the latest move by the regulator who has vowed to take an aggressive stance against alleged misconduct in the crypto space. Additionally, the SEC lead Gary Gensler reiterated his view that “the vast majority” of the cryptocurrencies are securities and fall under his jurisdiction.
