Both the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have accused executives of the cryptocurrency companies Arbitrade and Cryptobontix of fraud. The SEC accused the two companies, along with CEOs Troy Hogg, James Goldberg, Stephen Braverman, and self-described international gold trader Max Barber, of running a pump-and-dump scheme for the cryptocurrency token Dignity. Charges Against Cryptobontix and Arbitrade The agencies contend that between May 2018 and January 2019, Cryptobontix made misleading claims that Arbitrade had acquired and received $10 billion in gold and intended to back its DIG tokens with a $1 gold peg. The corporations allegedly persuaded investors that an audit by unbiased accounting organizations had confirmed the gold. According to the regulators, the purchase statements were a deception to sell DIG tokens at an inflated price, culminating in the sale of $36.8 million in DIG. The OSC further claimed that Hogg and the businesses spent investor money on real estate purchases and payments to companies he controlled, among other things, unconnected to the DIG coins. It further emphasizes that Hogg neglected to file a DIG token sale with the OSC. OSC and SEC Working Together On concurrent investigations, the OSC and SEC worked together, according to their statements. The agencies are asking the courts in their respective jurisdictions to halt the companies’ operati...
