- SEC secures $1.1M after crypto fraud defendant skips court docket.
- Stemy Coin falsely claimed backing from labs and stem cells.
- Choose points everlasting ban and heavy penalties for violations.
The U.S. Securities and Trade Fee secured a $1.1 million judgment after the defendant failed to seem in court docket. On June 3, a federal choose in Georgia issued a default ruling in opposition to Keith Crews, who had ignored an SEC criticism filed in August 2023.
The court docket discovered that Crews violated federal securities legal guidelines by way of fraudulent actions tied to a digital token often called “Stemy Coin.” The 69-year-old, primarily based in Kennesaw, operated by way of two entities, Stem Biotech LLC and 4 Sq. Biz LLC. The SEC alleged that between October 2019 and Might 2021, Crews misled almost 200 people and secured over $800,000.
Disgorgement, Civil Penalties, and a Everlasting Ban
U.S. District Choose Tiffany Johnson ordered over $1.1 million in whole penalties. The ruling included $530,000 in illicit earnings, almost $51,000 in curiosity, and a $530,000 civil superb. The judgment additionally imposes a everlasting injunction, barring Crews from violating securities legal guidelines going ahead.
The SEC stated Crews lured buyers by making false claims about superior medical merchandise and gold-backed crypto. He claimed his agency had working labs and biotech partnerships, however no such infrastructure or affiliations existed. Many individuals have been approached by way of church teams and neighborhood ties.
The company made it clear within the criticism that Crews selected focused these unable to defend their belongings. The individuals have been made to suppose the analysis involved revolutionary work with stem cells. Really, the corporate didn’t produce something, hire no area and partnered with no one.
Misrepresentations and Unregistered Securities Choices
Crews allegedly promoted unregistered securities whereas presenting Stemy Coin as backed by tangible belongings and medical science. His firms falsely marketed affiliations with healthcare professionals and analysis establishments. The SEC stated these statements had no foundation the truth is.
The regulator introduced costs underneath fraud and registration provisions of the Securities and Trade Acts. Crews didn’t reply to any authorized summons or defend in opposition to the allegations. This led the court docket to grant a default ruling within the SEC’s favor.
This choice is made because the SEC seems to have put crypto enforcement on a pause. It stays unusual for the company to get authorized approval in instances about digital belongings.
This case emphasizes the continual points surrounding unregistered choices and false statements in elevating cash for cryptocurrencies.
