US Govt seeks to intervene in SEC case against Ponzi scammer Renwick Haddow

Maria Nikolova

The US Government wants to stay the civil action against Haddow until the completion of the parallel criminal case.

The United States Government is seeking to intervene in the civil case against Ponzi scammer Renwick Haddow. Several documents, filed with the New York Southern District Court today, state the Government’s request to intervene in the civil case brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and to stay this civil action in its entirety until the completion of the trial or other disposition in the parallel criminal case.

The Criminal Case against Haddow arises from the same set of facts and circumstances that underlie the Civil Action. As a result, according to the Government, a full stay is appropriate because any exchange of discovery would be asymmetrical and would merely allow the defendant to circumvent the criminal discovery rules and improperly tailor his defense in the Criminal Case.

The Government and the public are said to have an important interest in insuring that civil discovery is not used to circumvent the restrictions that pertain to criminal discovery — restrictions that, inter alia, preserve the truth-seeking functions of the criminal process by restraining the ability of criminal defendants to tailor testimony, suborn perjury, manufacture evidence, or intimidate witnesses.

The defendant was arrested by US authorities until April 13, 2018, upon his successful extradition from Morocco. On July 13, 2018, the Honorable James L. Cott, United States Magistrate Judge, signed an order continuing the case in the interest of justice and extending the Government’s time to proceed via indictment or information until August 13, 2018.

Upon the filing of an information or indictment in August, the Government anticipates that the assigned judge will schedule a conference during which a trial date will be set.

As alleged in both the Criminal Case and the Civil Action, from November 2014 through June 2017, Haddow participated in a scheme in which he solicited investments in start-up companies he created and controlled, including Bitcoin Store (a purported online platform for Bitcoin trading) and Bar Works (an entity that claimed it was adapting former restaurants and bars into co-working spaces), making material misrepresentations about each business as he did so.

Haddow concealed his interest in Bitcoin Store and fabricated the purported “experienced team of leading investment professionals” working at the company. As to Bar Works, Haddow adopted the alias “Jonathan Black” to hide his role in the scheme, and claimed that “Jonathan Black” had an extensive background in finance. Haddow concealed his identity because, by July 2013, the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) had brought a civil action against Haddow and others for allegedly running various unauthorized collective investment schemes involving, among other things, misleading statements to investors.

The defendant solicited investments through his control of InCrowd Equity Inc., which represented itself as a type of crowdfunding portal through which investors could purchase shares of start-ups supposedly vetted by the portal. Haddow did so without disclosing to investors that he had ownership interests in both InCrowd on one hand and the companies to be invested in on the other. Haddow also misappropriated without permission funds purportedly involved in Bitcoin Store and Bar Works for his own use and the use of persons associated with him.

The counsel for Renwick Haddow has advised the Government that the defendant consents to the Government’s motion to intervene and for a complete stay of the civil action. The Securities and Exchange Commission does not object to this motion either.

Read this next

Uncategorized

Investors transfers $424 million out of bitcoin funds in six weeks

Despite bitcoin’s decent surge last week, which took the primary cryptocurrency up 70% from the year’s low, digital asset investment products saw outflows for the 6th consecutive week.

Digital Assets

OKX has $9 billion in ‘clean assets’, shows latest proof of reserves

OKX, formerly known as OKEx, has released its fifth proof-of-reserves report amid increasing demand of crypto investors asking for transparency from exchanges they trade with.

Digital Assets

Circle seeks France license to launch Euro stablecoin

Circle, the issuer of the second-largest stablecoin by market capitalization, is seeking to get a dual registration in France as it aims to on-shore its flagship product for the European market – EUROC – a reserve-backed stablecoin.

Digital Assets

CryptoWallet.com Among Minority of Successful Companies to Renew Coveted Estonian License

CryptoWallet.com has successfully renewed its virtual currency service license from Estonia’s FIU for the third year in a row, despite regulatory changes that have made it harder for virtual asset providers to meet the required standards.

Inside View, Institutional FX

Time for brokers to add options trading as volumes explode on high volatility

“Usually, adding options to the typical CFDs and equities offering leads to fragmentation of the platform technology as many brokers will need additional back-end and front-end components, and that could be an important barrier for them. Apart from that, legal hassle and costs associated with proper licensing of market data could be a barrier at first. We are seeing this trend among market data vendors and exchanges to make it easier and more affordable.”

Metaverse Gaming NFT

GCEX’s DeFi education and prime brokerage offering available in DubaiVerse

“We are excited to be part of the developments of The Sandbox and to join other top players in the region, including our regulator, Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA), as part of the DubaiVerse. This is a great opportunity to bridge the gap between Web3 early adopters and GCEX clients, building a community around Web3 and digital assets.”

Digital Assets

Circle wants Fed to back USDC stablecoin after “very serious stress test” with collapse of SVB

The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank allegedly proves Circle’s point that there is a need for its USDC stablecoin to be backed by the U.S. Federal Reserve with its U.S. dollars held at the Fed.

Digital Assets

Google searches for Crypto.com and Gate.io exploded by 300% amid FTX collapse

“The findings emphasize the importance of staying on top of market trends and being able to pivot strategies quickly and also offer valuable insights into the current state of the market and the behavior of traders, providing investors with valuable information to make informed decisions about their investments.”

Institutional FX

iS Prime reports £35m turnover, £16.2 million pre-tax profits, £37 cash balances

“We have plans in place to evolve the business over the next year, driving further growth for both iS Prime and for our clients.”

<