SEC charges operator of ICO and cloud crypto mining schemes

On December 2, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced charges against Ivars Auzins over a series of digital asset-related investment schemes that the SEC is calling fraudulent.

The SEC highlighted a 2018 initial coin offering for a token called Denaro, for which Auzins' allegedly gathered $11 million worth of investments before the project disappeared.

Another scheme, Innovamine, allegedly promised investors the opportunity to mine crypto using cloud computing. Auzins was accused of collecting over $7 million for Innovamine before disappearing with investors' money. 

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The SEC tallied another six similar schemes, featuring a network of aliases and short-lived UK corporate registrations that Auzins used to lend legitimacy to the projects. 

The commission is asking the court of the Eastern District of New York to keep Auzins, a Latvian national, from participating in any future securities offerings. They are also seeking a return of the funds that Auzins has already gained from investors. 

Auzins is only the latest in a long string of ICO operators from the 2017-2018 boom who the SEC has targeted. 

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About Author

Kollen Post is a senior reporter at The Block, covering all things policy and geopolitics from Washington, DC. That includes legislation and regulation, securities law and money laundering, cyber warfare, corruption, CBDCs, and blockchain’s role in the developing world. He speaks Russian and Arabic. You can send him leads at [email protected].