Judge Scores Legal Victory Over Crypto Startup
In the latest cryptocurrency news, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission just scored a legal victory over a crypto startup. The success reportedly happened after a federal judge put forward a preliminary injunction against the company. Ultimately, the result reversed the decision already made last year.
Placing An Injunction
According to the official report, Gonzalo Curiel, the U.S. District Judge in charge, placed the injunction over Blockvest and its Reginald Buddy Ringgold III, the company’s very own founder and is also known as Rasool Abdul Rahim El. Curiel cited the risk of future securities law violations, all of which are based on the newly-developed evidence. Interestingly, there was also evidence gathered from the firm’s past violations, which only made the case stronger.
In his ruling, the aforementioned judge clarified that after some initial briefings and evidence reviewing, the company is guilty in violating securities laws. By placing the said preliminary injunction to the digital currency startup and Ringgold, they would be disabled from further incurring violations. The founder of the company did not issue a comment to the ruling.
Curiel also wrote that the Court finds reconsideration as something that is warranted and, more importantly, should be based upon “a prime facie showing of Defendants’. He further explained that with the combination of previous evidence and the newly-found, there is a high chance that the company would go for future violations.
Withdraw From Representing
He, later on, added that the new evidence gathered includes the fact that the startup’s founder’s defense counsel decided to withdraw from representing his client and the company. This is because the defendants instructed the company to file some documents that the counsel is unable to certify under federal rules.
The law firm in questions is none other than Corrigan & Morris LLP, which tried to give further details about its motion to withdraw. As per the official document, Ringgold was unsuccessful in paying the company for its work and has even “levied serious accusations” against the very attorneys working on his case.
The firm also added that since November of last year, there is a clear breakdown between Ringgold and its lawyers. Due to this, the motion was granted approval.
It is worth noting that Curiel denied the SEC an injunction in the past. This was after the case surfaced in the above-mentioned month. During that time, the regulator alleged that at least 32 individuals effectively purchased Blockvest’s BLV tokens via an unregistered securities sale, which was a claim the company vehemently denied.