SEC Secures Court Order Against Fraudulent ICO After Fictional Promotions

Yet another fraudulent initial coin offering has been identified, this time involving Titanium Blockchain Infrastructure Services Inc., Cointelegraph has reported. In a press release by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dated May 29, the blockchain startup managed to raise $21 million from domestic and international investors.

The recently unsealed complaint from the SEC supposedly claimed that Michael Alan Stollery, Titanium’s president, lied about having business dealings with the Federal Reserve as well as numerous notable companies like Paypal, Verizon, Boeing, and Walt Disney. Titanium also made false testimonials on their website to bolster the company’s reputation to investors. Stollery or “Michael Stollaire” allegedly endorsed the initial coin offerings through videos and social media platforms, claiming that investing in Titanium is parallel to investing in “Intel or Google.”

Robert A. Cohen, chief of the SEC Enforcement Division’s Cyber Unit, said that the marketing surrounding the ICO focused on rapid social media promotion which blinded investors with false promises of a lucrative business venture. Cohen again implored investors to be cautious and to do background checks before committing their investments to the burgeoning ICOs in the crypto market.

The complaint against Stollaire was initially filed by regulators to the Los Angeles federal district court on May 22. Charges filed against Titanium and its president include the violation of anti-fraud and registration provisions of federal securities laws. Meanwhile, the SEC is trying to make preliminary and permanent injunctions, which include the restitution of investments with additional fines and interest. They also mean to have Stollaire banned from conducting dealings regarding initial coin offerings in the future.

Illicit operations like this have been reported worldwide as the popularity of cryptocurrency heightens despite the market not doing so well. Malicious parties usually follow the same path as Stollaire did, enticing investors with too-good-to-be-true business prospects, which they usually are.