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US SEC charged Shopin founder for conducting an illegal $42 million ICO.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has flagged 28 companies it alleged have been soliciting investors without
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has flagged 28 companies it alleged have been soliciting investors without obtaining the proper registration.

The SEC has alleged that funds raised in ICO by Shopin were illegal. The company raised $42 million in an ICO from August 2017 to April 2018. In its filing SEC alleged that Shopin sold unregistered securities to investors, which is against the law. The company had claimed that it would build blockchain-based shoppers profiles from the money raised in ICO.

SEC alleges Shopin misled investors

SEC in its complaint, alleged that Shopin’s founder Eyal lied about having forged partnerships with established retail outlets when, in fact, no such partnerships existed. Marc P. Berger, Director of the SEC’s New York Regional Office, said that SEC seeks to hold Eyal and Shopin responsible for scamming innocent investors with inaccurate claims about relationships and contracts they had secured in support of a blockchain-based universal shopper profile

Eyal used over $500,000 of investors’ funds for personal use.

SEC further alleged that Eyal used over $500,000 of investor funds for personal expenses such as his rent, retail shopping, entertainment, tickets to philanthropic events, and dating service. But he did not disclose it to investors that he would use any of the funds for personal use. The exchange commission has charged Eyal with violating the anti-fraud and registration provisions of the federal securities laws. This is not the first time Eyal had been accused of scamming investors, previously he was charged for defrauding investors for $600,000 by misrepresenting the staff and clients of his previous startup, Springleap

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