SEC has taken action against 11 people in crypto fraud activities. These people allegedly formed and promoted a fake crypto pyramid in India called Forsage. It was a Ponzi scheme that took around $300 million from a large number of retail investors. Some of the investors among the millions also belong from the USA. This charge action also covers the founders of Forsage. These 4 people were living in the Republic of Georgia in Russia along with Indonesia. Moreover, it also includes three promoters who were operating in the USA and were promoting the Forsage on different digital platforms. This promotional activity targeted 5 states in the United States.
The names involved are Vladimir Okhotnikov, Jabe Doe, Mikhail Sergeev, and Sergey Maslakov who are responsible for forming Forsage in January 2000. The website was offering smart contracts on Ethereum, Binance, and Tron. They were operating this Ponzi scheme for the last two years. The investors were eligible to get profit by attracting new members. They were paying their old investors for the investments made by the new investors. In 2020 and 2021, the SEC of the Philippines and Montana also took action against them. But they continued their scheme and also denied the allegations in their YouTube videos.
In USA district court, the charges have been extended to Mark F. Hamlin, of Henrico, Va., Carlos L. Martinez, of Chicago, Ill., and Cheri Beth Bowen, of Pelahatchie, Miss., Ronald R. Deering, of Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho, Samuel D. Ellis, of Louisville, Ky., along with Alisha R. Shepperd, of Dunedin, Fla., and Sarah L. Theissen, of Hartford.
Two of them named Ellis and Theissen have given consent to settle down the charges. Ellis is also giving civil penalties along with disgorgement while Theissen is still under consideration. However, the court approval for the settlements is still awaited. The investigation was executed by Liz Canizares along with Pamela Sawhney on behalf of the SEC. It was led by Amy Friedman and Ms Welshhans who represent Crypto Assets and Cyber Units.
