SEC accuses suspects of illicit sale of company shares blockchain

The authorities of the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States (SEC) recently accused two men who allegedly were benefiting from the alleged sale of illicit shares belonging to a firm associated with blockchain technology.

Allegedly, the lawyer T.J. Jesky and his colleague and manager Mark F. DeStefano obtained profits of up to US $ 1.4 million through the sale of shares of the company 'UBI Blockchain Internet Ltd.', an activity that took place over a period of 10 days, on December 26. 2017, to January 5, 2018, period during which the SEC halted such sales.

The SEC report determined that both Jesky and DeStefano, residents of the state of Nevada, received 72,000 restricted shares of the blockchain company, as of October of last 2017, and its sale was approved at a fixed price of US $ 3.70. The problem begins when the suspects proceed to sell the shares with a speculative value of US $ 21.12 or even US $ 48.40, which led to an unexpected rise in the value of the company in the stock market.

The accusation of the SEC was registered in the Court of New York, in which it was established that the individuals incurred in the violation of the statutes of the stock exchange, for this purpose they must proceed to the return of US $ 1.4 million illicitly obtained, in addition to the payment of criminal penalties for the amount of US $ 188,682 and subject to permanent judicial requirements.

It should be noted that the investigation is still underway and is being coordinated by the Unit Against Securities Fraud and Cybernetic Unity led by Michael D. Paley, Kevin P. McGrath, Tracy E. Sivitz, John P. Lucas and Ricky Tong. The matter is being supervised by Lara S. Mehraban and Robert A. Cohen. More news soon.