The US Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) has filed a suit against Geosyn Mining and its co-founders for alleged fraud. The regulator claims that Geosyn and its co-founders, Caleb J. Ward and Jeremy G. McNutt, deceived investors and spent $5.6 million in investor funds for personal use.
The lawsuit filed in a Texas federal court says that Geosyn Mining lied and falsely declared its operational capacity to defraud unsuspecting investors.
SEC Crackdown on Geosyn Mining: Allegations of Fraud and Misrepresentation Unveiled
The April 24 filed in US District Court in Fort Worth, Texas, highlighted a series of fraudulent activities allegedly committed by Geosyn and two of its executives.
The securities watchdog claims that Geosyn defrauded about 64 investors by selling service agreements disguised as securities. The filing notes that Geosyn, its CEO Ward, and former COO McNutt raised $5.6 million from 64 investors between November 2021 and December 2022.
The parties promised to buy and run equipment for mining cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and release mined coins to investors for a fee. Also, the company falsely claimed to have good deals with electricity providers and could purchase power at an affordable rate. However, in reality, the energy cost was up to 40 to 50% higher than what Geosyn declared to customers.
In addition, Geosyn lied about the number of mining equipment purchased. In the service agreements, it allegedly claimed to have purchased 1,400 mining rigs. However, the equipment bought was short of 400 units. Also, most of the purchased machines were never deployed online.
Furthermore, the SEC alleged that the company didn’t provide the service it promised, such as allowing investors to choose their mining strategy and the coins to mine. Instead, it only allowed investors to mine Bitcoin while rejecting requests to mine other cryptocurrencies.
The regulator said Geosyn made investors believe its venture was profitable when it was not. The company earned only $320,000 but paid out about $354,500 to investors. McNutt bought bitcoin and gave it to Ward to distribute to make up for the difference.
Geosyn’s Founders Misuse of Funds and Violations, SEC Alleges
The SEC’s complaint alleges that Geosyn’s CEO, Ward, and ex-COO McNutt misappropriated investor funds for personal use. The filing stated that the co-founders diverted about $1.2 million of investor funds to finance lavish lifestyles.
The duo misappropriated approximately $1.2 million in customers’ funds for expensive meals, vacations, firearms, nightclubs, etc. The SEC court filing states that McNutt spent $20,000 in company funds on a Las Vegas nightclub wedding party for Ward. He spent $49,000 on a family trip to Disney World and $22,000 on a breathalyzer and other expenses.
By the close of 2022, investor funds in Geosyn’s custody had drastically reduced, with less than $1,900 left in the company’s account.
Based on the alleged offenses, the SEC charges the defendants with violations of the antifraud and securities-registration provisions of the federal securities laws.
The regulator seeks permanent injunctions against the defendants and officer-and-director bars. The SEC also seeks disgorgement of misappropriated funds and civil penalties against McNutt and Ward.
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