As per DOJ, Stollery failed to properly register TBIS’s offering.
It is anticipated that he will be sentenced on November 18, 2022.
Titanium Blockchain Infrastructure Services (TBIS) CEO Michael Stollery has pled guilty to his participation in a scam that brought in $21 million via a false initial coin offering (ICO), according to the US Department of Justice.
Investors were lured into purchasing the BAR token by Stollery’s description of the scam as a “cryptocurrency investment opportunity,” the DOJ alleges. Furthermore, as per DOJ, Stollery failed to properly register TBIS’s offering.
The DOJ stated:
“Stollery did not register the ICO regarding TBIS’s cryptocurrency investment offering with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), nor did he have a valid exemption from the SEC’s registration requirements.”
May Face Up to 20 years in Jail If Found Guilty
After filing a formal complaint in 2018, the SEC found out that Stollery’s fraud had managed to amass up to $21 million from hundreds of investors in at least 18 states and worldwide using Ether, Bitcoin, and cash.
Securities fraud was charged against Stollery, and he entered a plea. Furthermore, the agency claims that Stollery acknowledged using investor cash to pay credit card bills and expenditures for his Hawaii condo in addition to conducting an unregistered ICO.
Stollery, according to the government, acknowledged inflating the token’s potential profitability, fabricating information in TBIS white papers, posing as real clients, and making false claims about the company’s ties to the Federal Reserve on its website, among other things.
He may face up to 20 years in jail if found guilty.
It is anticipated that he will be sentenced on November 18, 2022. Cryptocurrency regulation is increasingly being pursued by federal agencies. Ishan Wahi, a former Coinbase project manager, and two other individuals were indicted last week by the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission on accusations of insider trading.