A California fraudster used a carbon-offset program to cover up a multi-year scheme that resulted in at least $248 million in losses to investors and lenders. 
Joseph Sanberg was <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/aspiration-partners-co-founder-sentenced-prison-248m-scheme-defraud-investors-and-lenders">sentenced</a> on Monday to 14 years in prison after pleading guilty to fraud-related charges connected to the company’s sustainability business. 
Aspiration originally operated as a financial technology company but later expanded into environmental services, including tree-planting and carbon-offset programs that turned out to be fraudulent. Theoretically, businesses could purchase these services to help offset their carbon emissions, but court documents say the intention to actually purchase those services was never there. 
Sanberg aligned himself with the Democratic Party in California, personally donating $11 million to back a ballot initiative to raise the state&#8217;s minimum wage to $18 an hour, The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/california-anti-poverty-activist-and-dem-mega-donor-pleads-guilty-to-massive-carbon-credit-scam">reported</a>. Ultimately, it would be California&#8217;s clean energy policies that would allow Sanberg to turn his company into a multi-million dollar fraud scheme.
He labeled himself as an &#8220;anti-poverty activist.&#8221; Bill Essayli, first assistant U.S. attorney of the Central District of California, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/california-anti-poverty-activist-and-dem-mega-donor-pleads-guilty-to-massive-carbon-credit-scam">said</a>, &#8220;This so-called ‘anti-poverty’ activist has admitted to being nothing more than a self-serving fraudster, by seeking to enrich himself by defrauding lenders and investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars.&#8221;
Prosecutors allege Sanberg’s “friends and associates” submitted letters of intent from various companies and individuals. Sanberg would then book the letters of intent as revenue, inflating Aspiration’s revenue and profits, which he would in turn use to advertise to investors and obtain millions in new Aspiration investments.
In some cases, Sanberg “went so far as to provide the money to his &#8216;customers&#8217; which they would then send to Aspiration.”
Court filings in separate litigation have also alleged that several entities connected to Sanberg&#8217;s associate, Kfir Gavrieli, signed agreements to purchase large amounts of sustainability services. Those entities allegedly included Gavrieli&#8217;s footwear company, a family-owned business, a synagogue, and other individuals or organizations. 
Employees raised concerns when the revenue suggested in the letters of intent was not collected. KPMG, one of the country&#8217;s largest auditing firms, resigned as Aspiration&#8217;s auditor in 2022, citing revenue transactions with characteristics of fraud. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) later <a href="https://www.sec.gov/files/litigation/complaints/2025/comp26382.pdf">alleged</a> that revenue tied to the letters of intent accounted for roughly $44 million of Aspiration&#8217;s $100.6 million in reported 2021 revenue. The SEC says that, as a result, Sanberg was able to raise more than $300 million from investors based on the false appearance of Aspiration as a booming sustainability business. 
Investigators were struck not only by the size of the alleged purchases, but by who was making them. Having Gavrieli as a customer raised eyebrows because it included organizations and individuals that appeared to have little need for large-scale carbon-offset purchases. 
A footwear company, typically, would not be required by California law to buy millions of trees or large volumes of carbon offsets, which caused the government to examine whether these were genuine commercial purchases. Typical participants of California’s carbon-offset program include oil refineries, industrial facilities, and natural gas suppliers. 
While Sanberg has already pleaded guilty in the Aspiration fraud case, allegations involving Gavrieli remain the subject of ongoing civil litigation in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Los Angeles. Court filings submitted by Dikla Gavrieli, Kfir&#8217;s sister and legal adversary, allege that Gavrieli and several entities connected to him participated in a scheme that helped create the appearance of strong demand for Aspiration&#8217;s tree-planting and sustainability services. Gavrieli has not been criminally charged in connection with the Aspiration fraud, and the allegations against him have not yet been proven in court.

LA Conservation Corps plant a tree at a Tree planting to reforest Stetson Ranch Park in Sylmar after the 2008 devastating wildfire.

Sustainability Start-Up Founder Who Is Major Dem Donor Sentenced For Massive Fraud Scheme

California

Carbon Emissions

Fraud

Securities and Exchange Commission

WASHINGTON—Paul Atkins spent much of his first year at the helm of the Securities and Exchange Commission trying to give Americans more opportunities to invest.
“We have half as many public companies as we did 40 years ago,” Atkins told The Daily Wire in his office this week. “The reason why we have a diminishing number of public companies is that as you have mergers and bankruptcies, you don&#8217;t have newbies coming in and your population will dwindle.” 
&#8220;We need to shake things up,&#8221; Atkins added. &#8220;So I&#8217;m pushing my team harder and we can go faster.&#8221;
Atkins, who served on the SEC for six years under President George W. Bush, says he has a mandate from President Donald Trump to “make IPOs great again.” The chairman believes the SEC can incentivize companies through a deregulatory push eliminating burdensome and outdated rules. At the direction of President Trump the agency is exploring reducing company reporting requirements from quarterly earnings reports to semi-annual filings. 
Regulatory reporting forces companies into a costly cycle of legal and compliance work — one many cite as a key reason to stay private. Warren Buffett and JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon warned in 2018 that the system even pressures companies to manage for the quarter at the expense of long-term performance.
Atkins told The Daily Wire that regulators are preparing to seek public comment on the potential reporting requirements shift. Even if the proposal moves forward, he said, companies would not be required to change, preserving flexibility based on investor demand.
“We haven’t always had quarterly reporting,” Atkins said. “When the SEC was created in 1934, companies reported annually. In 1955, that shifted to semiannual reporting, and it wasn’t until 1970 that quarterly reporting became the standard.”
The SEC is also exploring a more tailored regulatory framework based on company size, including separate categories for small- and mid-sized firms. “There are a lot of expensive provisions that are probably not really applicable to smaller companies.” He added, “This is all part of … modernizing, clarifying our jurisdiction, and transforming to make our rulebook fit for purpose.” 
At the center of Atkins’ agenda is a return to the SEC’s core mission as defined by Congress: protecting investors, maintaining fair and efficient markets, and facilitating capital formation. Under Atkins, the agency withdrew its defense for costly rules that required companies to disclose climate-related risks and ended regulation by enforcement.
But in some areas, the agency is adding rules to “clarify and modernize” its expectations, effectively ending regulation by enforcement — where ambiguity was resolved in the courts rather than through clearer definitions in the SEC’s rulebook.
&#8220;We can&#8217;t just wave a wand and do it,&#8221; Atkins said. &#8220;So it sounds like we&#8217;re going back to regulation, but we&#8217;re not.&#8221;
He says the agency had drifted in recent years toward heavier enforcement and regulation, often at the expense of market access and innovation. By refocusing on capital formation, Atkins believes the SEC can strengthen markets while expanding opportunities for everyday investors.
But regulation isn&#8217;t the only place where Atkins is rethinking the SEC. He&#8217;s also working closely with Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Mike Selig, breaking a contentious history between the two agencies.
Atkins and Selig are working closely to more clearly define where the SEC’s authority ends and the CFTC’s begins — particularly in emerging areas like digital assets. In the past, Atkins said, the lack of clarity created confusion and pushed companies offshore to develop their financial products where investors are not as protected. He pointed to the collapse of FTX, a major crypto exchange, that lacked oversight leading to billions of dollars lost.
Atkins believes the agency can strike a balance between investor protection and fostering innovation in the markets.
&#8220;I believe that our capital markets must continue to reflect our national character,&#8221; Atkins said. &#8220;They must continue to lead the world in their depth, in their dynamism, and in their capacity to translate ingenuity into prosperity.&#8221;

Stocks Fall, Oil Jumps On Doubts Over Peace Deal

President Trump Wants The SEC To ‘Make IPOs Great Again.’ Here’s How They’re Doing It.

Donald Trump

Stock Market

President-elect <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a> announced on Wednesday that he has nominated cryptocurrency advocate Paul Atkins to be the next Chairman of the Securities &amp; Exchange Commission.
The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/12/04/paul-atkins-donald-trump-sec/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that his nomination signals a &#8220;significant political shift for Washington’s leading cop on Wall Street,&#8221; indicating that the Trump administration will likely usher in a new era of deregulation and a relaxing of some of its enforcement operations.
&#8220;Paul is a proven leader for common sense regulations,&#8221; Trump said in a statement. &#8220;He believes in the promise of robust, innovative capital markets that are responsive to the needs of Investors, &amp; that provide capital to make our Economy the best in the World. He also recognizes that digital assets &amp; other innovations are crucial to Making America Greater than Ever Before.&#8221;
Atkins was appointed in 2002 to be a Commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission by President George W. Bush, a role he served in through late 2008.
He earned his J.D. from Vanderbilt University School of Law and started his career as an attorney in New York City, where he focused on &#8220;corporate transactions for U.S. and foreign clients, including public and private securities offerings and mergers and acquisitions,&#8221; according to the SEC.
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Atkins has worked with law enforcement agencies to &#8220;investigate and rectify situations where investors had been harmed.&#8221;
He is the founder and CEO of the risk management company Patomak Global Partners, a firm that specializes in advising financial firms and cryptocurrency companies.
U.S. senators praised Trump for picking Atkins to lead the SEC.
Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) said that the nomination was &#8220;a huge win for financial innovation.&#8221;
&#8220;President Trump promised to have the most pro-digital asset admin in U.S. history, and I am looking forward to working with both of them to promote innovation and make our economy strong again,&#8221; she said.
Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) congratulated Atkins on the nomination in a post on X, saying that it was &#8220;another step closer to strong pro-markets, pro-innovation, and pro-growth leadership at the SEC.&#8221;

GettyImages-94884371

Trump Nominates Crypto Advocate To Be SEC Chairman

Cryptocurrency

Executive

Politics

Trump Administration

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/securities-and-exchange-commission" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Securities and Exchange Commission</a> paused implementation of a climate rule requiring certain companies to disclose greenhouse gas emissions after a coalition of Republican-led states challenged the rule. 
On Thursday, the SEC <a href="https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/IACIO/2024/04/04/file_attachments/2837713/SEC%20letter%20staying%20climate%20rule.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">alerted</a> the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals that it would hold off finalizing the climate rule while it faced a lawsuit from 25 states led by Iowa. The states argue that the SEC has overstepped its authority by attempting to put in place the climate rule without congressional approval. 
“Today’s victory shuts down the most outrageous climate mandate for businesses since Biden took office,” <a href="https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/IACIO/bulletins/3947929" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird. “The SEC’s job is to protect people from fraud. It has no business slapping companies with extremist climate mandates. We are making it clear that Biden has to follow the law like everyone else.”
“By halting this mandate, we are protecting business from costly red tape, securing our supply chain, and defending family farms,” she added. “Next, we are going to make this win permanent!”
In a Thursday filing, the SEC <a href="https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/IACIO/2024/04/04/file_attachments/2837713/SEC%20letter%20staying%20climate%20rule.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> the Eight Circuit, which is reviewing challenges to the rule, that “that the Final Rules are stayed pending completion of judicial review of the consolidated Eighth Circuit petitions.” 
“In issuing a stay, the Commission is not departing from its view that the Final Rules are consistent with applicable law and within the Commission’s long-standing authority to require the disclosure of information important to investors in making investment and voting decision,” the SEC said in a court filing. “Thus, the Commission will continue vigorously defending the Final Rules’ validity in court and looks forward to expeditious resolution of the litigation.”
In addition to forcing companies to report greenhouse gas emissions, the <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/03/28/2024-05137/the-enhancement-and-standardization-of-climate-related-disclosures-for-investors" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rule</a> would also ask businesses to report on so-called “climate risks.” 
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This decision follows a <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-appeals-court-temporarily-halts-sec-climate-disclosure-rules-456f2f4c" target="_blank" rel="noopener">move</a> last month by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to temporarily block the rule. 
While a host of states filed challenges to the rule, which was proposed in, Iowa was chosen to be the lead challenger. Other states included in the challenge were Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
“Biden’s radical climate mandate is the most outrageous act of overreach we’ve seen from the Securities and Exchange Commission since Biden took office,” Bird <a href="https://www.iowaattorneygeneral.gov/newsroom/attorney-general-bird-to-lead-nationwide-lawsuit-against-biden-greenhouse-gas-disclosure-mandate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> after Iowa was named the lead for the case. “His climate mandate will only saddle businesses with costly red tape, threaten our supply chain, and devastate Iowa family farms. Biden also illegally worked around Congress to force his climate mandate through, knowing that it lacked support from lawmakers.”

The SEC Votes On Corporate Climate Disclosure Rules

SEC Pauses ‘Extremist Climate Mandate’ After Challenge From Republican Attorneys General

Biden Administration

Climate Change

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/economy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New York Stock Exchange</a> has withdrawn a rule that Republicans said would have illegally implemented a radical environmentalist agenda and harmed national security.
On Wednesday, the NYSE <a href="https://www.sec.gov/files/rules/sro/nyse/2024/34-99355.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> that it would be withdrawing a proposed rule to the Securities and Exchange Commission that would have created a listing <a href="https://www.nyse.com/introducing-natural-asset-companies">entity</a> called a Natural Asset Company (NAC). A NAC would be empowered to control private and public lands by capturing “the intrinsic and productive value of nature” and block things like logging, herding, and drilling from happening on the land.
The proposed rule was opposed by a coalition of over two dozen Republican attorneys general and state financial officers who warned that the rule would be used to push a liberal political agenda. Republicans also said that foreign entities would be able to purchase and control what happens on public lands by designating it a NAC.
Utah Republican Treasurer Marlo Oaks said that he was pleased with the NYSE decision to withdraw the rule.
“The proposed creation of Natural Asset Companies is one of the greatest threats to rural communities in the history of our nation. Under the proposal, private interests, including foreign-controlled sovereign wealth funds, could use their capital to purchase or manage farmland, national and state parks, and other mineral-rich areas and stop essential economic activities like farming, grazing, and energy extraction,” he said in a statement obtained by The Daily Wire. “It is my hope this news signals an end to this horrible idea and that it does not resurface in other venues.”
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The SEC was considering the proposal to approve NACs and was scheduled to take public comment until January 18.
Derek Kreifels, the CEO of the State Financial Officers Foundation, said the consequences for America could have been “dire” if the rule had been accepted.
“I’m grateful for all who helped raise the alarm on this attempted land grab by climate alarmists, and thankful for today’s corrective from the NYSE, but we must continue to be vigilant in defending our communities and states from future efforts that would seek to upend what has made this country great in pursuit of radical political agendas,” he said. 
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/republican-ags-issue-warning-over-proposed-environmental-rule-they-say-would-compromise-national-security" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Republican AGs Issue Warning Over Proposed Environmental Rule They Say Would Compromise National Security</a>

Stock Exchange Sign

New York Stock Exchange Withdraws Rule Republicans Warned Would Compromise National Security

Economy

Environmentalism

New York City

U.S.

Utah

Over two dozen Republican attorneys general are challenging a proposed rule from the New York Stock Exchange that they say would illegally implement a radical <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/environmentalism" target="_blank" rel="noopener">environmentalist agenda</a> and harm national security.
The rule from the NYSE would create a listing <a href="https://www.nyse.com/introducing-natural-asset-companies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">entity</a> called a Natural Asset Company (NAC), which would be empowered to control private and public lands by capturing “the intrinsic and productive value of nature” and block things like logging, herding, and drilling from happening on the land. The Securities and Exchange Commission is considering the proposal to approve NACs and is taking public comment until January 18.
“If it approves the NYSE’s proposal, the Commission will have effectively enabled the NYSE, the most well-known and influential stock exchange on earth,  to authorize the existence of entities that could ultimately be used to subordinate the interests of millions of Americans to the aims of environmental activists as well as to United Nations policies and mandates,” a Tuesday <a href="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/01/2024-01-09_Comment_Letter_to_SEC_re_File_No._SR-NYSE-2023-09.pdf">letter</a> from 25 Republican attorneys general led by Utah AG Sean Reyes and Kansas AG Kris Kobach said.
The letter said that the proposal would violate federal securities laws, the Administrative Procedure Act, and the Constitution. The Republicans added that the rule is intended to fund a rule proposal from the Bureau of Land Management that is seeking to grant “conservation leases” on public lands.
The letter said that it is not in “the public interest to facilitate a massive corporate takeover of public lands by private actors who owe no duty to the public and who are guided by their own financial and political interests. Yet that is precisely what the proposed rule does.”
There would also be national security concerns if the SEC allows the NYSE to adopt its proposed rule.
“Even more alarming, the proposed rule will enable foreign actors to obtain perpetual control over public lands, either directly through organizing and registering as NACs or through obtaining controlling interests in NACs. This raises serious national security concerns, particularly given the importance of energy production and natural resource availability to America’s geopolitical position,” the letter said.
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Reyes said that the push for NACs is a “brutish vehicle to accomplish an activist political agenda.”
“They deprive public use of land in multiple ways that will further jeopardize U.S. energy independence and grid stability while illegally opening management, use and ownership of these lands to private parties, including hostile countries or entities,” he said in a statement.
The letter was signed by the AGs of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.

Stock Exchange

Republican AGs Issue Warning Over Proposed Environmental Rule They Say Would Compromise National Security

General

Kansas

National Security

What would the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) do if it learned that a company conspired with its Board of Directors to destroy the market value of the company by $50 billion, by alienating its customers and depressing its stock price? There would be an investigation. Perhaps fines would be levied, perhaps the company would even be delisted from the Stock Exchange. If the SEC learned that a company was making decisions that did not allow them to live up to its fiduciary responsibility to its shareholders, action of some sort would be taken.
The SEC’s Division of <a href="https://www.secatty.com/legal-blog/sec-investigations/#:~:text=The%20SEC's%20Division%20of%20Enforcement,common%20reasons%20for%20SEC%20investigations.">Enforcement</a> oversees the investigation of alleged breaches of securities law — including negligence and market manipulation. Would making a decision that the Board of Directors knows will lead to the destruction of corporate earnings and shareholder value meet the requirements of an investigation? Does purposefully destroying market valuation count as market manipulation?
Dick’s Sporting Goods was one of the first companies to go woke. Shortly after the Parkland School shooting in Florida in February 2018, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/10/business/dicks-sporting-goods-remove-guns-from-440-stores/index.html">Dick’s</a> announced that it would stop selling semi-automatic weapons. They also stopped selling guns to people under 21, who otherwise could legally purchase a firearm. When asked how much he estimated he’d lose following the decision to stop selling to people under 21, Dick’s <a href="https://www.pghcitypaper.com/news/dicks-sporting-goods-ceo-feels-fine-about-losing-250-million-following-gun-sale-restrictions-16002028">CEO</a> Edward Stack said, “a quarter billion dollars,” or $250 million. This does not include additional lost revenue that came from not participating in the surge in gun sales during the BLM riots in 2020. Was Stack acting on behalf of his beliefs or looking to maximize shareholder value?
Fast forward to 2023. Woke companies flaunt their values and their Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) scores, knowing these positions will destroy the value of the company.  
According to <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12120649/Anheuser-Busch-lost-staggering-15-7-BILLION-value-Bud-Light-controversy-began.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Daily Mail</a>, Bud Light’s parent company Anheuser-Busch has seen its market value “plunge $15.7 billion since the disastrous campaign with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.” 
Target has lost $9 billion in market value since “angry social media users called for a boycott of the Minneapolis-based retailer over its rollout of the “PRIDE” collection featuring LGBTQ-friendly clothing for children,” according to <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/05/25/target-loses-8b-in-week-since-boycott-calls-over-pride-collection/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The New York Post</a>
Not to be outdone, <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/economy/disney-has-lost-50-billion-in-value-since-war-with-florida-began" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Washington Examiner</a> reports Disney’s “stock has lost nearly $50 billion in value since the start of March, when it took a political gamble to oppose Florida’s” education law, the so-called “don’t say gay,” bill. 
Shares of North Face’s parent company, VF Corp, dropped sharply on May 24, after “reporting Q4 2023 earnings and revenue that beat analyst estimates, just a day after <a href="https://finbold.com/north-face-shares-bleed-on-drag-queen-come-outad/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">VF Corp</a> was embroiled in controversy for releasing a ‘come out’ pride ad, featuring activist Pattie Gonia. In the past month, shares of VF Corp plummeted nearly 20%.”
Few people outside of the boardroom and the advertising agencies who pitched these ideas were surprised by the backlash from these corporate decisions. History has taught us this will happen. The <a href="https://thehill.com/changing-america/enrichment/arts-culture/515665-new-poll-says-nba-ratings-have-plunged-because-of/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NBA</a> and <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/nfl/article-11634405/NFL-announces-3-DECREASE-ratings-2022-regular-season.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NFL</a> saw declines in viewership, and subsequently advertising dollars, when they went “super-woke” during the BLM riots, allowing players to wear social justice messages on uniforms and painting social justice messages on the court and field.
John and Jane Public do not want politics in their sports. They do not want transgender activists selling them beer or outdoor clothing, and they certainly do not want to see “tuck-friendly” bathing suits at their local Target. And if by chance they can save the <a href="https://365atlantatraveler.com/how-much-does-it-cost-to-go-to-disney-world/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$4,000+</a> to visit Disney World, they do not want to be “educated” about Florida’s laws about teaching sexuality and sexual orientation to its students. Joe and Jane Public go on vacation, watch sports, and drink beer to get away from the world, not to have the woke world shoved in their face.
So, when does a woke corporation open itself to class-action lawsuits from its shareholders for destroying value? Hang on sports fans, I think we will soon find out.
Jim Nelles is a Navy veteran and supply chain consultant based in Chicago. His articles have appeared in The Washington Examiner, Newsweek, Foxnews.com, and The Daily Wire. He has served as a chief procurement officer, chief supply chain officer, and chief operations officer for multiple companies.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

New York City Architecture And Monuments

Corporate Earnings And The High Cost Of Going Woke

Corporations

Readers Pass

Wall Street

Woke Culture

Former Disney star <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/lindsay-lohan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lindsay Lohan</a> and YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul are two celebrities among several others that face federal charges for illegally touting crypto asset securities from a digital currency entrepreneur.
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced <a href="https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2023-59">charges</a> Wednesday against crypto asset entrepreneur Justin Sun and three of his companies — Tron Foundation Limited, BitTorrent Foundation Ltd., and Rainberry Inc. (formerly BitTorrent) — for the unregistered offer and sale of crypto asset securities Tronix (TRX) and BitTorrent (BTT).
The commission accused Sun and his companies of &#8220;orchestrating a scheme to pay celebrities to tout TRX and BTT without disclosing their compensation,&#8221; which included Lohan, Paul, and DeAndre Cortez Way, otherwise known as American rapper Soulja Boy.
Authorities also named musicians Austin Mahone, Miles Parks McCollum (Lil Yachty), Shaffer Smith (Ne-Yo), Aliaune Thiam (Akon), and adult actress Michele Mason (Kendra Lust) in the complaint.
According to the complaint, unregistered offers and sales violate Section 5 of the Securities Act, which requires all issuers to register non-exempt securities with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
SEC Chair Gary Gensler said in a news release that such charges demonstrate the high risk investors face when crypto asset securities are offered and sold without proper disclosure.
&#8220;Sun and his companies not only targeted U.S. investors in their unregistered offers and sales, generating millions in illegal proceeds at the expense of investors, but they also coordinated wash trading on an unregistered trading platform to create the misleading appearance of active trading in TRX,&#8221; Gensler said. &#8220;Sun further induced investors to purchase TRX and BTT by orchestrating a promotional campaign in which he and his celebrity promoters hid the fact that the celebrities were paid for their tweets.&#8221;
According to the complainant, the celebrities fraudulently manipulated the crypto market for Sun&#8217;s companies by extensive wash trading, which allegedly involved purchasing and selling securities &#8220;to make it appear actively traded without an actual change in beneficial ownership.&#8221;
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&#8220;While we&#8217;re neutral about the technologies at issue, we&#8217;re anything but neutral when it comes to investor protection,&#8221; Gurbir S. Grewal, Director of the SEC&#8217;s Division of Enforcement, said.
Grewal called Sun&#8217;s move an &#8220;age-old playbook&#8221; intended to mislead and harm investors, which offers securities without registration and disclosure compliance before manipulating the market for such securities.
&#8220;Sun paid celebrities with millions of social media followers to tout the unregistered offerings, while specifically directing that they not disclose their compensation,&#8221; he said. &#8220;This is the very conduct that the federal securities laws were designed to protect against regardless of the labels Sun and others used.&#8221;
Aside from Soulja Boy and singer Austin Mahone, the celebrities accused of touting Sun&#8217;s crypto scheme have agreed to pay more than $400,000 in interest and penalties to settle the charges. However, the accused has neither admitted nor denied the allegations.
Andrew Brettler, a lawyer for Lohan, told <a href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/sec-sues-justin-sun-others-over-illegal-crypto-sales-2023-03-22/">Reuters</a> the actress was unaware of the disclosure requirements until last March.
&#8220;From the outset, she cooperated with the SEC&#8217;s investigation and ultimately agreed to disgorge the small amount of money she received and paid a fine to resolve this matter,&#8221; her attorney Andrew Brettler said in an emailed statement to the outlet.
Lawyers for Sun and the others named in the complaint either could not be identified, declined to comment, or did not respond immediately to requests for comment.

Celebrity Sightings In New York City – November 10, 2022

Lindsay Lohan, Jake Paul Charged For ‘Touting’ Illegal Crypto Scheme

Lindsay Lohan, Jake Paul Charged For 'Touting' Illegal Crypto Scheme

Lindsay Lohan

First Republic Bank’s top executives reportedly offloaded stock in the bank worth millions of dollars in the months before the bank nearly crashed.
The stock price of First Republic Bank (FRB), based in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/san-francisco" target="_blank" rel="noopener">San Fransisco</a>, began to slide last week before plummeting 73% from March 8 to March 13 while federal regulators took over two failing banks; one in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/california" target="_blank" rel="noopener">California</a> and another in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/new-york-city" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New York</a>. On Thursday, a coalition of banks agreed to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/big-banks-will-rescue-collapsing-first-republic-bank-with-30-billion-deal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">infuse</a> $30 billion in deposits into FRB as it was teetering under pressure from its own clients withdrawing their money.
Shares of FRB continued to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/shares-in-first-republic-bank-plummet-even-after-rescue-deal-from-big-banks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fall</a> on Friday morning despite the rescue deal put together the day before. The share price fell below $26, a decline of over 80%. In the months preceding the drop, the bank’s executives sold shares in the bank worth nearly $12 million, according to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/first-republic-bank-executives-sold-12-million-in-stock-in-months-before-crash-ca6ce79e" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Wall Street Journal</a>.
Executives offloaded stock in the bank for months leading up to the March near-collapse. Since the beginning of the year, Executive Chairman James Herbert II sold $4.5 million worth of stock. Three other top officials — FRB’s chief credit officer, president of private wealth management, and chief executive — sold another $7 million worth of stock. The stock sold for an average of $130 a share, according to WSJ.
Banks are exempted from insider trading regulations that apply to most companies. FRB is not required to report insider trades and sales to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) where investors typically comb through records for signs of a company’s health. Instead, FRB reports insider sales to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). As of Wednesday, FRB was the only company listed on the S&amp;P 500 index that did not report insider sales to the SEC, according to a WSJ analysis.
A similar sell-off took place prior to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), which was taken over by federal regulators earlier this month after it crumbled under pressure from clients withdrawing funds. The Department of Justice and SEC have reportedly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/doj-sec-launch-probes-into-silicon-valley-bank-collapse-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">launched</a> an investigation into the collapse of SVB.
SVB Financial Chief Executive Greg Becker and CFO Daniel Beck both <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/doj-sec-launch-probes-into-silicon-valley-bank-collapse-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">exercised</a> stock options and sold large quantities of shares the week before SVB collapsed. Becker sold 12,451 shares on Feb 27 for about $2.3 million. Beck sold about one-third of his shares for about $575,000 on the same day. The sales had been part of plans filed 30 days earlier.
SVB <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gavin-newsom-celebrated-svb-bailout-without-mentioning-his-wineries-are-clients" target="_blank" rel="noopener">was</a> the 16th largest bank in the U.S. before it collapsed last week with roughly $175 billion worth of customer deposits. Over 90% of those deposits were over the FDIC’s $250,000 threshold for guaranteed insurance.
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The FDIC is an independent agency that is funded through premiums that banks and other financial institutions pay on the FDIC’s insurance. At the end of last year, the FDIC’s Deposit Insurance Fund held $128.2 billion.

First Republic Bank

First Republic Bank Execs Offloaded $12M-Worth Of Shares Before Near-Collapse

Business

San Francisco

Silicon Valley Bank

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/department-of-justice" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Department of Justice</a> (DOJ) and the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/securities-and-exchange-commission" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Securities and Exchange Commission</a> (SEC) are reportedly investigating the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) after it suffered a fatal run on deposits last week.
The DOJ and SEC are leading separate probes into the bank’s failure, which prompted regulators to take it over on Friday, according to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/justice-department-sec-investigating-silicon-valley-banks-collapse-c192c2b2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Wall Street Journal</a>. These types of inquiries are often initiated after financial institutions experience unexpected and heavy losses, and the investigations do not necessarily mean that criminal charges will be filed.
Such investigations typically look at the role executives played in the weeks and months leading up to the collapse. Investigators may consider whether SVB properly characterized its financial health and risks to investors before its collapse.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) took over SVB last week after the bank experienced a run from customers that attempted to withdraw roughly $42 billion, about a quarter of the bank’s total deposits, in one day. The run was <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/2023/03/the-real-reason-silicon-valley-bank-collapsed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">triggered</a> by SVB’s own attempts to raise equity capital to shore up its finances before an expected credit downgrade, which, when revealed to customers, sent requests for withdrawals pouring in.
The value of shares of SVB Financial Group, which owned SVB before the FDIC took the bank over on Friday, dropped 60% last week. The shares have been frozen from trading since.
SVB Financial Chief Executive Greg Becker and CFO Daniel Beck both exercised stock options and sold large quantities of shares the week before SVB collapsed, according to WSJ. Becker sold 12,451 shares on Feb 27 for about $2.3 million. Beck sold about one-third of his shares for about $575,000 on the same day. The sales had been part of plans filed 30 days earlier.
SVB’s customer base is relatively unstable, according to David Bahnsen, founder of the asset management company The Bahnsen Group.
“How did the bank suffer a large amount of depositor withdrawals in just a 24-hour period merely because of a Moody’s downgrade threat and word of valuation trouble on their bond portfolio? Because the bank almost entirely banks start-up tech companies funded by venture capital, the venture capital sponsors started screaming to withdraw funds. It was a classic run on the bank. And this deposit base was, shall we say, not the epitome of stability and sensibility. IPO proceeds from non-profitable tech companies. SPAC money. Crypto companies. This was a walking who’s who of shiny objects,” Bahnsen wrote in a Monday <a href="https://thebahnsengroup.com/dividend-cafe/special-silicon-valley-bank-dividend-cafe-march-13/">blog post</a>.

DOJ, SEC Launch Probes Into Silicon Valley Bank Collapse: Report

Banks

Department of Justice

Washington D.C.

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/house-republicans" target="_blank" rel="noopener">House Republicans</a> asked for any communications about the arrest of former FTX CEO <a href="https://dailywire.com/topic/sam-bankman-fried" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sam Bankman-Fried</a> sent by officials in the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/securities-and-exchange-commission" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Securities and Exchange Commission</a>.
Bankman-Fried has been charged with several counts of fraud after he allegedly commingled assets between FTX and sister trading company Alameda Research without customers’ knowledge. The entrepreneur was arrested on December 12, hours before he was scheduled to testify before the House Financial Services Committee over misconduct at his firm. Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) and Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI), the top Republicans on the committee, wrote in a <a href="https://financialservices.house.gov/uploadedfiles/2023-02-10_mchenry_huizenga_letter_to_sec_on_sbf_charges_final.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> to SEC Chair Gary Gensler that the “timing of the charges and his arrest raise serious questions about the SEC’s process and cooperation with the Department of Justice.”
Authorities in the Bahamas, where FTX had been headquartered, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-democrat-megadonor-sam-bankman-fried-arrested-in-bahamas-faces-criminal-charges-in-u-s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">arrested</a> Bankman-Fried after they were notified that the United States had filed criminal charges against the executive. Current FTX CEO John Ray III, an attorney overseeing the company’s bankruptcy, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/attorney-overseeing-ftx-bankruptcy-testifies-before-congress-grossly-inexperienced-people-ran-company-went-on-5-billion-spending-binge" target="_blank" rel="noopener">testified</a> before Congress in his stead. McHenry and Huizenga asked for “all records and communications” to and from SEC Division of Enforcement Director Gurbir Grewal and other staffers “referring or relating to the charges filed against Sam Bankman-Fried” by February 23.
Bankman-Fried pleaded <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sam-bankman-fried-pleads-not-guilty-allowed-to-conceal-who-is-securing-his-250-million-bond" target="_blank" rel="noopener">not guilty</a> last month to eight charges, which include conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, and conspiracy to commit campaign finance violations. He faces as much as 115 years in prison.
The disgraced mogul’s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/officials-charge-sam-bankman-fried-of-using-customer-funds-for-lavish-real-estate-and-large-political-donations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">extensive</a> political connections came to light in the weeks after his company’s bankruptcy, including the $39 million he donated to Democrats ahead of the midterm elections and four <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sam-bankman-fried-visited-biden-white-house-four-times-ahead-of-his-arrest" target="_blank" rel="noopener">meetings</a> he was granted at the White House with senior advisers Steve Richetti and Bruce Reed. Bankman-Fried was also the second-largest donor to the campaign which would eventually grant former Vice President Joe Biden control of the White House.
A previous <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sam-bankman-fried-and-allies-gave-money-to-one-in-three-congress-members-heres-what-they-did-with-it" target="_blank" rel="noopener">analysis</a> of Federal Election Commission data published by Coindesk found last month that 196 of the 535 members of the House and Senate received donations from Bankman-Fried and his associates. FTX announced on Sunday that the company would begin sending “confidential messages to political figures, political action funds, and other recipients of contributions” made by the company’s former executives.
The letter from House Republicans comes shortly after Gensler and other senior regulators unveiled a number of enforcement <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/paternalistic-and-lazy-regulators-unleash-flurry-of-actions-against-crypto-companies-but-not-all-of-them-are-on-board" target="_blank" rel="noopener">actions</a> against cryptocurrency firms. The agency announced that cryptocurrency exchange Kraken would pay a $30 million settlement for failing to register its staking-as-a-service initiative, under which retail investors are reimbursed for holding certain digital assets, while a report revealed that stablecoin issuer Paxos is currently under investigation from the New York Department of Financial Services.
The charges against Bankman-Fried and untold losses from FTX customers have prompted lawmakers to consider new regulations for the nascent industry. Members of the Senate Agriculture Committee recently <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/top-commodities-regulator-tells-senators-he-met-with-sam-bankman-fried-10-times" target="_blank" rel="noopener">held</a> a hearing with Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Rostin Behnam on increasing federal oversight of the sector.
“For years many have recognized that a patchwork of federal and state-based regulation is an unsuitable substitute for a comprehensive approach,” the official remarked. “We are here today because many Americans invested in a novel product and will likely lose money because digital asset markets lack the basic protections that we have all come to expect and have made American financial markets the envy of the world.”

Sam Bankman-Fried

Lawmakers Probe SEC Over Strange ‘Timing’ Of Democrat Megadonor, Alleged Fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried’s Arrest

House GOP Probes Top Regulators Over Strange ‘Timing’ Of Sam Bankman-Fried’s Arrest

Congress

House Republicans

Some federal regulators, including <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/securities-and-exchange-commission" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Securities and Exchange Commission</a> Chairman Gary Gensler, have cracked down on a number of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/cryptocurrency" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cryptocurrency</a> firms as lawmakers and agencies seek to introduce regulations in the nascent sector.
The SEC announced on Thursday that cryptocurrency exchange Kraken would pay a $30 million settlement for failing to register its staking-as-a-service initiative, under which retail investors are compensated for holding certain digital assets. “Whether it’s through staking-as-a-service, lending, or other means, crypto intermediaries, when offering investment contracts in exchange for investors’ tokens, need to provide the proper disclosures and safeguards required by our securities laws,” Gensler said in a <a href="https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2023-25" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>.
Coindesk also revealed in a <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2023/02/09/stablecoin-issuer-paxos-is-being-investigated-by-new-york-regulator/?outputType=amp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> on Thursday that stablecoin issuer Paxos is currently under investigation from the New York Department of Financial Services. The news came shortly after the firm made headlines over rumors that the United States Office of the Comptroller of the Currency would ask executives to withdraw their application for a full banking charter.
The moves, according to Fox Business journalist Eleanor Terrett, are the <a href="https://twitter.com/EleanorTerrett/status/1623796900586573826" target="_blank" rel="noopener">beginning</a> of “a myriad of enforcement actions” against cryptocurrency firms in the coming weeks. Prices for Bitcoin have fallen 5.7% over the past week, while prices for Ethereum have fallen 6.5%. Both assets had largely rebounded from declines induced by the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, which occurred after customers and investors learned Sam Bankman-Fried, the company’s chief executive, had commingled funds with sister trading firm Alameda Research.
Shares for exchange platform Coinbase have likewise fallen more than 22% over the past week. The company is owned by Digital Currency Group, which also holds investments in Genesis Global Holdco; the company and two of its subsidiaries <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/another-cryptocurrency-firm-goes-bankrupt-as-ftx-fallout-continues" target="_blank" rel="noopener">filed</a> for bankruptcy last month, although Genesis Global Trading and other subsidiaries will continue operations. The insolvency announcement came days after the SEC <a href="https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2023-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">charged</a> Genesis Global Capital, one of the two subsidiaries that folded, and Gemini Trust Company for raising billions of dollars in cryptocurrency assets through an unregistered offer.
“We allege that Genesis and Gemini offered unregistered securities to the public, bypassing disclosure requirements designed to protect investors,” Gensler said in another <a href="https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2023-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>. “Today’s charges build on previous actions to make clear to the marketplace and the investing public that crypto lending platforms and other intermediaries need to comply with our time-tested securities laws. Doing so best protects investors.”
Gensler’s actions are by no means universally approved within his agency. SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, another member of the five-person board which leads the agency, wrote a dissenting <a href="https://www.sec.gov/news/statement/peirce-statement-kraken-020923" target="_blank" rel="noopener">opinion</a> on the Kraken settlement on Thursday. “A paternalistic and lazy regulator settles on a solution like the one in this settlement: do not initiate a public process to develop a workable registration process that provides valuable information to investors, just shut it down,” she wrote.
Recent tumult in the cryptocurrency sector and the widely publicized criminal proceedings against Bankman-Fried have quickly eroded consumers’ trust in the novel assets: a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/investors-much-more-skeptical-of-crypto-after-brutal-bear-market-ftx-collapse" target="_blank" rel="noopener">survey</a> conducted by CNBC and Momentive found that 60% of Americans see the risk of cryptocurrency investments as “high,” while only 10% say the assets carry little or no risk.
The actions from the SEC also come as lawmakers consider regulations of their own in the aftermath of the FTX collapse. Members of the Senate Agriculture Committee recently <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/top-commodities-regulator-tells-senators-he-met-with-sam-bankman-fried-10-times" target="_blank" rel="noopener">held</a> a hearing with Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Rostin Behnam on increasing federal oversight of the nascent industry, while members of the House Financial Services Committee <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/attorney-overseeing-ftx-bankruptcy-testifies-before-congress-grossly-inexperienced-people-ran-company-went-on-5-billion-spending-binge" target="_blank" rel="noopener">questioned</a> FTX CEO John Ray III on the abuses that had occurred at the company.

SEC Chair Gensler Testifies In Senate Hearing

‘Paternalistic And Lazy’: Regulators Unleash Flurry Of Actions Against Crypto Companies, But Not All Of Them Are On Board

Regulators Unleash Flurry Of Actions Against Crypto Companies

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