In the end, Bitqyck and its founders reached a settlement with the SEC— without admitting to or denying the allegations. Bitqyck consented to a court order agreeing to pay disgorgement, prejudgment interest, as well as a civil penalty of over $8.3 million.
Full Answer
What happened to bitqyck?
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced settled charges with Bitqyck Inc. and its founders, who allegedly defrauded investors in securities offerings of two digital assets, Bitqy and BitqyM, and operated an unregistered exchange to permit trading in one of them, a digital token called Bitqy.
Who is the owner of bitqyck?
The owners of a cryptocurrency company have pleaded guilty to tax evasion, announced Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham. Bitqyck founders Bruce Bise and Samuel Mendez were charged with tax evasion in August. Mr.
What is bitqyck and tradebq?
Bitqyck, aided and abetted by its founders, also is alleged to have illegally operated TradeBQ, an unregistered national security exchange offering trading in a single security, Bitqy.
What is the SEC complaint against bitqy?
The SEC's complaint alleges that Bise and Mendez misrepresented QyckDeals, a daily deals platform using Bitqy, as a global online marketplace, and falsely claimed that each Bitqy token provided fractional shares of Bitqyck stock through a "smart contract."
What is the complaint against Bitqyck?
The SEC’s complaint alleges that Bise and Mendez misrepresented QyckDeals, a daily deals platform using Bitqy, as a global online marketplace, and falsely claimed that each Bitqy token provided fractional shares of Bitqyck stock through a “smart contract.” The complaint alleges that the defendants falsely told investors that BitqyM tokens provided an interest in a Bitqyck cryptocurrency mining facility powered by below-market rate electricity. In reality, Bitqyck did not have access to discounted electricity and didn’t own any mining facility. Bitqyck, aided and abetted by its founders, also is alleged to have illegally operated TradeBQ, an unregistered national security exchange offering trading in a single security, Bitqy.
Who owns Bitqyck?
According to the SEC’s complaint, Bitqyck and founders Bruce Bise and Sam Mendez created and sold Bitqy and BitqyM in unregistered securities offerings to more than 13,000 investors, raising more than $13 million.
What district is the SEC complaint filed in?
The SEC’s complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, seeks permanent injunctions, return of allegedly ill-gotten gains with interest, and civil money penalties.
Who conducted the SEC investigation?
The SEC’s investigation was conducted by David Hirsch, Melvin Warren, and Carol Hahn with litigation support from Keefe Bernstein, and supervised by Scott F. Mascianica and Eric R. Werner of the SEC’s Fort Worth Regional Office.
Does Bitqyck own mining?
In reality, Bitqyck did not have access to discounted electricity and didn’t own any mining facility. Bitqyck, aided and abetted by its founders, also is alleged to have illegally operated TradeBQ, an unregistered national security exchange offering trading in a single security, Bitqy.
What happened to Bitqyck?
On August 29, 2019, the SEC announced it had reached a settlement with Bitqyck, Inc. (“Bitqyck”) and Bitqyck’s founders over allegations relating to the company’s $13 million initial coin offering. The SEC alleged that Bitqyck had sold two digital tokens – Bitqy and BitqyM – using false representations about Bitqyck to lure in over 13,000 token buyers. According to the SEC complaint, Bitqyck’s false representations included statements suggesting that the company owned a cryptocurrency mining facility and had access to discounted electricity when, in fact, it did not own any such facility and had no access to cheap electricity.
What is the FTC's pyramid scheme?
The defendants, Thomas Dluca, Eric Pinkston, Louis Gatto, and Scott Chandler, allegedly promoted their chain referral scheme – a type of pyramid scheme that relies on continual recruitment of new participants to generate revenue -- using the names Bitcoin Funding Team, My7Network, and Jetcoin. They used websites, YouTube videos, social media, and conference calls insisting that participants could turn $100 into $80,000 in monthly income. The FTC asserted that most participants failed to recoup their initial investments and in March 2018 obtained an order freezing the defendants’ assets and enjoining them from making deceptive marketing representations about their businesses. The recent settlement permanently bans the defendants from operating or participating in any multi-level marketing program and requires them to pay nearly $500,000 in fines and restitution. The settlement is notable because it shows that the FTC, in addition to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, are monitoring the cryptocurrency industry for signs of unlawful behavior.
Who invented Bitcoin?
We move then to news of legal action against the dubious, self-proclaimed inventor of Bitcoin, Craig Wright, who the court managed to call a fraud and liar, only in many more words. In less salacious news, Libra, Facebook’s proposed cryptocurrency, continues to face a doubting U.S. Congress, despite the best efforts of Swiss Regulators, while Telegram pushes along its plans for its own “cryptocurrency.” Not to be outdone by Congress, Swiss regulators remind blockchain businesses that anti-money laundering laws apply to everyone. And the U.S. FTC joins the alphabet soup of crypto-regulators settling with a bevy of alleged crypto-pyramid-schemers in Florida.
What is the complaint against Bitqyck?
District Court for the Northern District of Texas, charges Bitqyck, Bise and Mendez with violations of Sections 5 (a), 5 (c), and 17 (a) of the Securities Act and 10 (b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and charges Bitqyck with violating Section 5 of the Exchange Act and Bise and Mendez with aiding and abetting that violation . The complaint seeks permanent injunctions, return of allegedly ill-gotten gains with interest, and civil money penalties. Without admitting or denying the allegations, Bitqyck, Bise and Mendez consented to final judgments agreeing to all the injunctive relief. Bitqyck also consented to an order requiring that it pay disgorgement, prejudgment interest and a civil penalty of $8,375,617. Bise and Mendez consented to the entry of an order that they each pay disgorgement, prejudgment interest and a civil penalty of $890,254 and $850,022, respectively.
Who owns Bitqyck?
According to the SEC's complaint, Bitqyck and founders Bruce Bise and Sam Mendezu001f created and sold Bitqy and BitqyM in unregistered securities offerings to more than 13,000 investors, raising more than $13 million.
Who conducted the SEC investigation?
The SEC's investigation was conducted by David Hirsch, Melvin Warren, and Carol Hahn with litigation support from Keefe Bernstein, and supervised by Scott F. Mascianica and Eric R. Werner of the SEC's Fort Worth Regional Office.
Does Bitqyck own mining?
In reality, Bitqyck did not have access to discounted electricity and didn't own any mining facility. Bitqyck, aided and abetted by its founders, also is alleged to have illegally operated TradeBQ, an unregistered national security exchange offering trading in a single security, Bitqy. The SEC's complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for ...
How much did Bitqyck raise?
According to plea papers, Mr. Bise and Mr. Mendez admitted that Bitqyck raised approximately $24 million from more than 13,000 investors. Instead of fulfilling their promises to these investors, the defendants used Bitqyck funds on personal expenses, including casino trips, cars, luxury home furnishings, art, and rent.
What was Bitqyck's penalty?
The defendants' guilty pleas come on the heels of a civil settlement with the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), in which Bitqyck agreed to pay an $8.3 million penalty to resolve claims that it defrauded investors and operated an unregistered digital asset exchange. As part of that settlement, Mr. Bise and Mr. Mendez agreed to pay disgorgement and penalties of $890,254 and $850,022, respectively.
How much did Bitqyck pay?
Bitqyck paid an $8.3 million penalty to resolve claims that it defrauded investors in a civil settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in August of 2019.
Who owns 100% of Bitqyck?
At the time of the pleas, Bise and Mendez own 100% of Bitqyck’s common stock.
What did the founders of a crypto startup pleaded guilty to?
The founders of a crypto startup pleaded guilty to tax evasion in connection with a 2016 initial coin offering (ICO).
Who owns BTC and ETH?
Eli is a news reporter for CoinDesk. He owns BTC, ETH and SOL.
When did Bise plead guilty?
Bise pleaded guilty on Sept. 9 and Mendez on Oct. 13, according to the department.
Where is Bitqyck located?
The Bitqyck is based out of the USA in the state of Texas and is owned by co-founder Sam Mendez and the other co-founder for the company was not listed.
What Products Does Bitqyck Offer?
In this section of the review, we are going to look for the products that Bitqyck offers.
