The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) attained the final judgment for an initial coin offering (ICO) promotion scheme against John McAfee and partner Jimmy Gale Watson, Jr., filed on October 5, 2020. On October 5, 2020, the SEC alleged that McAfee and Watson endorsed ICO investments on Twitter without disclosing that they were paid for them.
In the original complaint, the SEC alleged that McAfee and Watson endorsed ICO investments on Twitter without disclosing that they were paid for them. Watson claimed to have assisted McAfee in negotiating promotional deals with ICO issuers and cashing out the crypto payments, among other pump-and-dump charges.
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York found Watson guilty of the same and imposed a cumulative fine of $375,934.86. In addition, Watson has been banned from participating in ICO-related issuance, purchase, offer, or sale. The litigation states:
“However, that such injunction shall not prevent Watson from purchasing or selling securities for his own personal accounts.”
In the closure to the impending case, the SEC’s claims against McAfee were terminated after the Commission filed a notice of death for the infamous entrepreneur.
The U.S. Treasury pursued input from the public to include in reporting to the president on the possible implications of digital assets on finance and payment infrastructures. Sharing his views on the matter, Nellie Liang, Under Secretary of the Treasury for Domestic Finance stated:
“For consumers, digital assets may present potential benefits, such as faster payments, as well as potential risks, including risks related to frauds and scams.”
Therefore, Liang expectats to gain input from Americans and market participants to understand better the impacts of mainstreaming crypto assets.
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