A federal judge in New Jersey has suspended a $30 million suspected cryptocurrency fraud case against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The trial is between the regulatory agency and a woman from Essex County who was prosecuted in January for her alleged role in the fraudulent ICO that had swindled off investors of $30 million.
The federal court agreed to the U.S. government ‘s appeal for participation in the cryptocurrency scam lawsuit; placing it on hold before a separate case is decided against the initial coin offering (ICO) proponents of the Blockchain Terminal (BCT).
Conspiracy to commit wire fraud charges
Two Canadian internationals, 68-year-old Edith Pardo and 46-year-old Boaz Manor, are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud each, three charges of wire fraud and another count of operating a fraudulent ICO.
In addition, the SEC also accused Pardo and Manor of fraud for swindling in a fake ICO over $30 million from hundreds of investors; it promised to distribute Bloomberg Terminal crypto variants. The two firms, CG Blockchain Inc. and BCT Inc., which owned the two defendants, organized the fraudulent ICO.
Cryptocurrency scam lawsuit stalled
The most controversial figure of the accused members is contested Canadian citizen, Boaz Manor. The manor is notably a convicted hedge fund scam artist who has a history of jail sentence after a hedge fund that he helped establish failed. In addition, Manor accepted a lifetime investment ban; sentenced to four years for the $106 million scams.
Stanley Chesler, federal judge of New Jersey, approved a bid by state prosecutors to stay the cryptocurrency scam lawsuit against the fraudulent hedge fund manager and the woman involved in the Bloomfield scam on June 24. Notably, the Bloomfield woman reportedly impersonated as a moneyed entrepreneur, awaiting their fraudulent charges to be settled. The judge also notified them, in conclusion, that they could modify or lift the stay as situations change.