The US SEC announced court decisions against two representatives of the Bitconnect crypto lending platform, which it considers to be a $ 2 billion unregistered securities offering scheme.
In May 2021, the regulator indicted four alleged Bitconnect promoters, Trevon Brown, Craig Grant, Ryan Maasen, and Michael Noble, as well as Joshua Jeppesen.
The decisions of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York concern two of the defendants in the case, Noble and Jeppesen, as well as the latter's bride, Laura Macall. She is not charged with wrongdoing but must return the funds received from the groom.
The Commission believes that Noble was one of the promoters of the crypto project and offered and sold unregistered securities without registering as a broker-dealer.
Trending: BNB Chain Gets Back to Normal After a Hack Estimated $100 M
Jeppesen, according to the SEC, was the liaison between the promoters and Bitconnect, and also represented the project at conferences and promotional events.
The court ordered Jeppesen to pay $ 3.04 million in damages and interest, a civil fine of $ 150,000, and return 190 BTC. Makall will refund $ 576,358.
The total amount of payments for decisions is about $ 13 million.
Trending: Finder: Bitcoin could hit $80,000 by 2025
The court will determine the amount of compensation for damage by Noble and the amount of the fine for him later.
Earlier, the SEC announced that it had reached an amicable agreement with the persons involved in the court decisions.