SEC Takes Emergency Action Against High Street Capital ICO
The US regulator charges Pennsylvania-based ICO issuers with violating the antifraud provisions of federal securities laws
What Happened?
June 19, 2020: The Securities and Exchange Commission obtained a temporary restraining order and asset freeze against the companies Hvizdzak Capital Management, LLC, High Street Capital, LLC, and High Street Capital Partners, LLC. Brothers Sean Hvizdzak and Shane Hvizdzak offered securities in a private fund and allegedly misrepresented fund performance, fabricated financial statements, and forged audit documents.
Source: https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2020-137
Who Is Impacted?
Current investors and advisors of the project; companies that have conducted a non-compliant token offering.
Why This Matters?
While the Hvizdzak brothers clearly had fraudulent intentions, the current precedent shows that any company making misleading statements in its investor communications–even if by mistake–would be treated by the U.S. regulators in the same way.
While fraudulent schemes are not uncommon in the traditional securities world, the percentage of issuers conducting offering fraud and the misappropriation of investor proceeds is significantly higher in the ICO world–and thus attracts a lot of attention from regulators.
To avoid similar action, companies operating in the digital securities space should make sure that their investor communications are compliant.
What’s Next?
In addition to an asset freeze and a temporary restraining order, the court ordered an accounting audit, expedited discovery, and an order prohibiting the destruction of the entities’ documents. A hearing is scheduled for June 30, 2020, in order to consider continuing the asset freeze and the issuance of a preliminary injunction for a longer period.
learn more
Is your AML compliance too expensive, time-consuming, or ineffective?
iComply enables financial services providers to reduce costs, risk, and complexity and improve staff capacity, effectiveness, and customer experience.
Request a demo today.
Protecting Digital Assets with KYC
Are your KYC protocols set up to protect your customers and your digital assets? With the digital world constantly evolving and new assets entering the market, ensuring that your due diligence and identity verification platforms are up to current regulations is...
Common Challenges Facing KYC Protocols
Do you have the right processes and protocols in place to protect against fraud, money laundering, and the many other risks that come with operating in today’s market? Know Your Customer and Customer Due Diligence, otherwise known as KYC and CDD, play a major role in...
How KYC Protocols Build Customer Trust
If you’ve followed along on any of our previous KYC blogs or are a subscriber of our Regwatch newsletter, you know just how important it is to stay on top of evolving KYC, AML, CFT, and CDD legislation. With criminal activity and fraud becoming increasingly complex,...
