Alice Townes

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U.S. Developments

Litigation

New York Resident Indicted for Duping Investors with Fake ICO Scam

On November 6, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York announced a wire fraud charge against Asa Saint Clair, the operator of World Sports Alliance, which held itself out on its website as using sports to promote “economic development and social mobility” and claims an association with the United Nations. The U.S. Attorney, Geoffrey Berman, contends that World Sports Alliance is a “sham affiliate of the United Nations.”

According to the indictment, Saint Clair lured investors into loaning funds, through convertible notes, to World Sports Alliance so that the organization could conduct an ICO for a proprietary digital currency called IGOBIT. Saint Clair allegedly promised investors that they would receive guaranteed returns. According to the government, Saint Clair’s representations were false: Investor funds were not used to conduct an ICO and, instead, Saint Clair diverted the funds and used them to support a lavish lifestyle.

The press release from the United States Attorney’s Office can be found here and the indictment here.
Continue Reading Blockchain Week in Review: Week of November 8, 2019

U.S. Developments

Veritaseum Founder Provides Response to Asset Freeze Order

Responding to an emergency application filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission, Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York issued an order on August 12, 2019, freezing Veritaseum accounts and digital assets and ordering founder Reggie Middleton to provide a response to the SEC’s allegations. On the day of the filing, defense counsel asked for permission to file a response prior to a ruling being issued. The Court ruled the same day. On August 19, Mr. Middleton filed a response with the court defending against the SEC’s claims of securities fraud stating among other things that the SEC did not have any evidence that he was attempting to hide company funds by transferring digital assets from one account to another, which Mr. Middleton claimed was done to fund Veritaseum operations.
Continue Reading Blockchain Week in Review: Week of August 19-23, 2019

Taxpayers should take prompt action to assess their situation, yet move carefully before making representations or filings to the IRS.

Over the past month, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has sent letters to over ten thousand taxpayers that it believes may have failed to report virtual currency transactions (primarily Bitcoin-related) or may have omitted income derived from virtual currency transactions. These letters continue to receive significant press coverage from major financial outlets and may be just the beginning of the government’s notification, collection and enforcement efforts. For example, the IRS has also recently sent notices to certain virtual currency investors informing them that the investors’ reporting does not match other records in the IRS’s possession.

Taxpayers who receive an IRS letter, receive an investor notice, or have questions about reporting their past virtual currency transactions (e.g., sales of tokens or exchanges of one token for another) should consider the following advice:…
Continue Reading You Received One of the IRS Crypto Letters—What’s Next?

U.S. Developments

Regulatory Updates

CFTC Plans Public Meeting Addressing Fintech, Including Blockchain Technology

On March 27, 2019, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Technology Advisory Committee will host a public meeting  at the CFTC headquarters in Washington, DC. The Technology Advisory Committee plans to use the meeting to listen to presentations and consider actionable recommendations from various subcommittees. The subcommittees that will be represented are Automated and Modern Trading Markets, Distributed Ledger Technology and Market Infrastructure, Virtual Currencies, and Cyber Security. For those who cannot attend in person, the CFTC will provide a conference call line and a live webcast. The CFTC will accept written comments through April 3, 2019.
Continue Reading Blockchain Week in Review: Week of February 25 – March 1, 2019