The regulator accused siblings John Barksdale and Jonatina Barksdale of creating and running a multi-level marketing business called Ormeus Global from June 2017 to April 2018. During this time, the Barksdale couple actively advertised and sold subscription packages for the fake crypto project Ormenus Coin.
According to the investigation, the brother promoted fraudulent schemes by holding promotional roadshows around the world, while the sister was responsible for advertising support, including social media posts, YouTube videos and press releases.
To add credibility to their proposals, Barksdale argued that Ormeus Coin’s liquidity is maintained through mining, the total revenue from which exceeds $250 million, bringing the project participants up to $8 million in revenue per month.
According to lawsuit The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Barksdales swindled thousands of retail investors out of more than $124 million.
US authorities excited
criminal case against John Barksdale and filed civil charges against Jonathina, accusing both of fraud. John faces a prison term of up to 65 years. In addition, the brother and sister were fined for violating US securities laws totaling $82 million.
The other day, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler called on the US government to allocate $2.4 billion to the agency to more effectively prosecute unregistered crypto companies.
Source: Bits
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