SEC files unregistered securities charges against Thor Token creators for 2018 ICO
Also: SEC Charges Issuer, CEO, and Former CTO for $2.6 Million Unregistered Crypto Asset Securities Offering (Securities and Exchange Commission)
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Source: Cointelegraph
DEREK ANDERSEN
7 HOURS AGO
SEC files unregistered securities charges against Thor Token creators for 2018 ICO
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a complaint against Thor Technologies along with its co-founder and CEO David Chin, claiming that Thor’s 2018 initial coin offering (ICO) constituted an unregistered securities sale under the Securities Act of 1933.
Thor Technologies raised $2.6 million from 1,600 investors between March and May 2018 through the sale of its Thor (THOR) coin. About 200 of the 1,600 investors lived in the United States, and not all of them were accredited. The SEC claimed in the suit that the ICO constituted a securities sale.
Filed Dec. 21 in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, the complaint states that Thor claimed it would “develop a software platform for ‘gig economy’ companies and workers,” butthat platform was never completed. The SEC continued:
“Thor marketed the Thor Tokens to investors who reasonably viewed the Thor Tokens as an investment vehicle that might appreciate in value based on Thor’s and Chin’s managerial and entrepreneurial efforts in developing the gig economy software platform.”
The tokens had no practical use at the time of the offering, according to the SEC. The business closed in 2019 after it “was not able to gain traction and achieve commercial success.” According to Chin’s LinkedIn profile, Thor Technologies now produces the Odin software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform and mobile app, which also provide “gig economy” services. The business should not be confused with the Thor blockchain.
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Read more: https://cointelegraph.com/news/sec-files-unregistered-securities-charges-against-thor-token-creators-for-2018-ico
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Source: Securities and Exchange Commission
SEC Charges Issuer, CEO, and Former CTO for $2.6 Million Unregistered Crypto Asset Securities Offering
Litigation Release No. 25599 / December 21, 2022
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Thor Technologies, Inc. and David Chin, No. 3:22-cv-09043 (N.D. Cal. filed Dec. 21, 2022) and Securities and Exchange Commission v. Matthew Moravec, No. 3:22-cv-09044 (N.D. Cal. filed Dec. 21, 2022)
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Thor Technologies, Inc., David Chin, Thor's co-founder and CEO, and Matthew Moravec, Thor's co-founder and former CTO, with conducting an unregistered offering of securities through an initial coin offering.
According to the SEC's complaint against Thor and Chin, between March and May 2018, the defendants offered and sold crypto assets designated as "Thor Tokens" to the general public for the purpose of funding Thor's business, which was to develop a software platform for "gig" economy workers and companies. As alleged, Thor and Chin marketed the Thor Tokens as an investment opportunity by promoting the potential increase in value of the tokens and claiming that the tokens would be made available on crypto asset trading platforms. According to the complaint, at the time of the offering, no development work had yet occurred on the Thor platform, and there was no other place to use Thor Tokens. The complaint further alleges that the offers and sales of Thor Tokens, which raised approximately $2.6 million in cash and crypto assets from investors, were not registered with the SEC and did not qualify for any exemption from registration.
The SEC's complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, charges Thor and Chin with violating the securities registration provisions of Sections 5(a) and (c) of the Securities Act of 1933 ("Securities Act"). The SEC seeks injunctive relief, the return of allegedly ill-gotten gains plus prejudgment interest, and civil penalties.
The SEC filed a second complaint alleging that Moravec also engaged in the unregistered offer and sale of Thor Tokens in violation of Sections 5(a) and (c) of the Securities Act. Moravec has agreed to settle with the SEC and to the entry of a judgment against him imposing permanent and conduct-based injunctions, including a prohibition for a period of three years from participating in any offering of a crypto asset security; ordering him to disgorge $407,103 plus prejudgment interest of $72,209.45; and imposing a civil penalty of $95,000. The settlement is subject to court approval.
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Read more: https://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/2022/lr25599.htm
