SEC Obtains Assets Freeze in Cryptocurrency Mining and Trading Schemes
Litigation Release No. 24829 / June 5, 2020
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Daniel F. Putnam, Jean Paul Ramirez Rico, Angel A. Rodriguez, MMT Distribution, LLC, R & D Global, LLC, No. 20-cv-00301 (D. Utah filed May 7, 2020)
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it has obtained an asset freeze and other emergency relief against Daniel F. Putnam, of Utah, Jean Paul Ramirez Rico, of Colombia, and Angel A. Rodriguez, of Utah, who allegedly defrauded investors of more than $12 million in two cryptocurrency-related schemes.
The SEC's complaint, filed under seal on May 7, 2020, charges Putnam, Ramirez, Rodriguez, MMT Distribution, and R & D Global with violating the antifraud provisions of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. The complaint further charges Putnam, Ramirez, and MMT Distribution with violating the registration provisions of Sections 5(a) and 5(c) of the Securities Act, and names Putnam's father, Richard T. Putnam, as a relief defendant. In addition to the asset freeze and other emergency relief obtained, the SEC seeks permanent injunctions, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains with prejudgment interest, and civil penalties.
https://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/2020/lr24829.htmThe name of the business itself sounds like a Ponzi scheme. And it is a allege that the money raised didn't go towards any mining asset but directly to the wallets of the accused. And that the Bitfinex account that Ramirez controlled has only 50
BTC and not 260 they initially reported.
For sure those criminals are going to the jail for this, $12 million is a huge money that crypto investors lost here. I hope that by freezing their assets, the victims can get some refunds.