- Judge Ann Marie McIff Allen denied Green United LLC’s motion to dismiss the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s $18M fraud case.
- According to the SEC, Green United was selling Green Boxes, machines supposed to mine tokens on the Green Blockchain, for $3K each.
- The Green Blockchain never existed, and the company bought commercially available Bitcoin ($BTC) mining machines, S9 Antminers, to ‘create the appearance of a successful mining operation.’
Green United failed to persuade the US federal judge Allen to dismiss the SEC fraud suit because investors didn’t enter into securities transactions with the Green Boxes.
Read on to discover more about the Green United suit.
$18M Crypto Fraud Case
In fact, the Green Blockchain never existed. The SEC accused Green United of scamming investors out of $18M by selling them fake Green Boxes for $3K each.
Investors were told that mined $GREEN could generate a 40% to 50% monthly return. However, Green United founder Wright Thurston distributed worthless tokens minted on Ethereum rather than real $GREEN cryptocurrency mined on the Green Blockchain.
The Utah-based company failed to persuade the US federal judge Allen to dismiss the case on the grounds that no securities transactions were involved.
In the lawsuit, the SEC successfully argued that the investments met the criteria of ‘investment contract’ and ‘common enterprise’ under the Howey test.
What We Learned
The SEC’s decision to pursue legal action against Green United is a testament to its commitment to protect investors.
The judge’s refusal to toss the case allows the SEC to proceed to trial and potentially pursue permanent injunctions. The outcome of this trial may clarify how lawmakers should handle crypto fraud cases in the future.
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Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article do not constitute financial advice. We encourage readers to conduct their own research and determine their own risk tolerance before making any financial decisions. Cryptocurrency is a highly volatile, high-risk asset class.