SEC requests entry of default against ICOBox and founder Nikolay Evdokimov
The defendants are accused of conducting an illegal $14 million securities offering of ICOBox’s digital tokens and of acting as unregistered brokers for other digital asset offerings.
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a request for an entry of default against ICOBox and Nikolay Evdokimov – defendants in a securities fraud lawsuit at the California Central District Court.
As per the SEC’s application, filed earlier this week with the Court, the regulator requests that the Clerk enter a default against ICOBox and Nikolay Evdokimov for failure to answer, plead, or otherwise respond to the complaint filed in this action.
On September 21, 2019, the SEC caused ICOBox and Nikolay Evdokimov to be served with a copy of the summons for each respective defendant and the complaint. The SEC personally delivered these documents at an address in Beverly Hills, California, which serves as Evdokimov’s residence and as an office for ICOBox, to Evdokimov’s co-resident and wife, and apparently in charge of the office.
ICOBox’s and Evdokimov’s answer or other response to the Complaint was due on October 15, 2019. No answer or other response has been filed or served by the defendants, the regulator explains.
ICOBox, a company claiming to be “Blockchain Growth Promoter and Business Facilitator for companies seeking to sell their products via ICO crowdsales”, and its founder Nikolay Evdokimov are accused of conducting an illegal $14 million securities offering of ICOBox’s digital tokens and of acting as unregistered brokers for other digital asset offerings.
According to the SEC’s complaint, ICOBox raised funds in 2017 to develop a platform for initial coin offerings by selling, in an unregistered offering, roughly $14.6 million of “ICOS” tokens to over 2,000 investors.
According to the regulator, by not registering the ICOS offering, the company deprived investors of meaningful information that would be found in a registration statement that investors could use to assess the company’s prospects. By actively soliciting and attracting investors to ICOBox’s clients’ securities offerings in exchange for transaction-based compensation without registering as or associating with a registered broker-dealer, the defendants are alleged to have engaged in unregistered broker activities that violated the federal securities laws.
The SEC’s complaint charges ICOBox and Evdokimov with violating the registration requirements of the federal securities laws. The regulator seeks injunctive relief, disgorgement with prejudgment interest, and civil money penalties.
