SEC considers $1.4m distribution to victims of fraudulent ICO scheme PlexCoin

Maria Nikolova

Following the entry of the final judgment against PlexCorps and the individuals associated with it, the entities that the Court directed to turnover assets formerly belonging to Dominic Lacroix have done so.

About three months after the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) obtained a final judgment against fraudulent initial coin offering (ICO) scheme PlexCorps, aka PlexCoin, and its proprietors Dominic Lacroix and Sabrina Paradis-Royer, the regulator has filed a Letter providing a status update.

The document, submitted at the New York Eastern District Court on January 2, 2020, informs the Court that, following the entry of the final judgment in this matter, the entities that the Court directed to turnover assets formerly belonging to Lacroix have done so, resulting in the SEC collecting approximately $1.4 million as US Assets. The SEC is considering recommending to the Court that the US Assets be sent to the Receiver to effect one, single distribution to harmed investors.

Before making such a recommendation, the SEC is ascertaining whether the Proposed Plan, and the accompanying claims process, is fair and reasonable and whether investors would be better served by one distribution as opposed to a second, separate distribution in the United States. Regarding this, with the cooperation of the Receiver, the SEC has been monitoring and, as an interested party recognized by the Superior Court, participating in the Canadian Proceedings.

On November 20, 2019, the US regulator sent notice of the possibility of a coordinated distribution to more than 91,000 possible PlexCoin investors. In the Notice, the SEC provided U.S. investors with the opportunity to comment on and object to the coordination of distribution and, through such objection, to the Proposed Plan. The SEC also established a public webpage for this matter.

In response to the Notice, the SEC has received inquiries about the claims process from investors worldwide, responded to those inquiries individually, and maintained a contact list. The SEC has sent the list of investors that have contacted the SEC, and their contact information, to the Receiver, to ensure that the responding investors are included in any claims process.

Let’s recall that the SEC’s action against PlexCorps, aka PlexCoin, and its proprietors Dominic Lacroix and Sabrina Paradis-Royer, was launched in December 2017. According to the complaint, the defendants fraudulently raised millions of dollars in virtual and fiat currency from the unregistered sales of so-called “PlexCoin”. The operations of PlexCorps were based on false and misleading statements to potential and actual investors, including misrepresentations about the size and scale of PlexCorps’ operations, the use of funds raised in the PlexCoin ICO, and the amount of funds raised in the PlexCoin ICO.

On October 2, 2019, the New York Eastern District Court entered a final judgment against PlexCorps, Lacroix, and Paradis-Royer. In the final judgment, the defendants did not admit or deny the allegations in the SEC’s complaint.

The defendants are enjoined from further violations of Sections 5(a), 5(c), and 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule l0b-5 thereunder, and Lacroix and Paradis-Royer are additionally enjoined from participating in any digital-securities offerings. All defendants are ordered to disgorge, on a joint and several basis, $4,563,468 in ill-gotten gains from the PlexCoin ICO plus $348,145 in prejudgment interest, and Lacroix and Paradis-Royer are ordered to each pay a $1,000,000 civil penalty. Lacroix also is permanently barred from serving as an officer or director of a publicly traded entity.

Read this next

Digital Assets

BlockDAG Presale Raises $9.9M as Batch 5 Nears Sell-Out Amid Bonk’s Fluctuating Trading Volume & Spell’s Bullish Price

Explore BONK’s trading volume, SPELL’s market shifts, and why BlockDAG’s 10,000 ROI makes it an ideal crypto for savvy investors in 2024.

Digital Assets

Cathie Wood’s sponsored Bitcoin ETF sees historic $200 million inflows

The ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB), co-sponsored by Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest, registered historic inflows exceeding $200 million on Wednesday, signaling a robust appetite among investors for Bitcoin-centric investments.

Digital Assets

Sam Bankman-Fried might see his 25-year sentence halved

Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison by a Manhattan court on Thursday. This comes after he was convicted of defrauding customers and investors, with Judge Lewis Kaplan highlighting the potential future risks posed by Bankman-Fried.

Technical Analysis

EURJPY Technical Analysis Report 28 March, 2024

EURJPY currency pair under the bearish pressure after the pair reversed down from the major resistance level 164.25, which also stopped the sharp weekly uptrend at the end of last year,

Digital Assets

BlockDAG’s Presale Hits $9.9M, MultiversX & MINA Price Predictions Show Green

Read about BlockDAG’s promising $10 prediction and insights on MultiversX Price Prediction as MINA’s potential unfolds.

Digital Assets

Rockstar Co-Founder and All-star Line Up Join Advisory Board to Take Metacade into Post Beta Orbit

Metacade, the revolutionary Web3 gaming platform, prepares to streak out of beta with a slew of ground-breaking initiatives that will redefine the way blockchain games are developed.

Retail FX

Prop firm The Funded Trader shuts down, claims relaunch in April

Prop trading firm The Funded Trader has ceased all operations, with claims for a relaunch in the near future.

Digital Assets

Ethereum-Based Tokenized Real Estate Platform USP Launches On Republic

How This Californian Startup Is Revolutionizing Real Estate Investment through Ethereum-Based Tokenization.

Digital Assets

Sui Spikes in Weekly DEX Volume, Joins Top 10 of All Blockchains

March DEX volume on Sui stands at over $2.88B – up more than 49% from February – with decentralized exchange Cetus and wholesale liquidity layer DeepBook leading.

<