The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has obtained a final judgment against the Barksdale siblings, John and JonAtina (Tina) Barksdale, seeking a total of over $102 million from the duo as recovery and fines for massive crypto-related fraud. According to the original complaint, the Barksdales defrauded thousands of retail investors out of more than $124 million.
The court judgment, obtained as a default, ruled against the Barksdales for violating anti-fraud provisions of the US securities laws and for offering and selling unregistered securities.
Ormenus Coin – A Massive Crypto Scam
The Barksdale siblings ran a massive fraudulent scheme involving a bogus token dubbed ‘Ormenus Coin’ offered from June 2017 until March 2022 via crypto trading platforms. The SEC busted the scheme last year and brought civil charges against the siblings.
According to the court documents, the Barksdales raised tens of millions of dollars through two unregistered fraudulent securities offerings. On top of that, the regulator charged the duo for running a multi-level marketing business called Ormeus Global between June 2017 and April 2018, offering and selling subscription packages of Ormenus Coin.
The regulatory complaint detailed that John Barksdale promoted the fraudulent schemes by holding roadshows around the world while his sister was in charge of digital promotions, including social media posts, YouTube videos, and press releases.
The duo falsely claimed massive crypto mining operations support Ormeus Coin. The SEC alleged that several investor communications falsely claimed that Ormeus Coin had a $250 million crypto asset mining operation and was producing $5.4 million to $8 million per month in mining revenues. However, in reality, the Barksdales abandoned their cryptocurrency mining operation in 2019 after generating less than $3 million in total mining revenue.
Paying Heavily Now
The court ordered the siblings to pay together $46,297,463 as disgorgement from their fraudulent operations, along with prejudgment interest of $10,044,822. Both Barksdale siblings were individually ordered to pay a civil penalty of $23,148,731 each.
In another crypto-related case in the US, the US court sent Chet Stojanovich to prison for three years for defrauding more than a dozen cryptocurrency mining equipment buyers of over $2 million.
This article was written by Arnab Shome at www.financemagnates.com.
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