SEC Charges Rivetz in Connection With $18M ICO

Rivetz Corp., along with Rivetz International and both organizations’ leaders, have been charged by the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) with allegedly making an illicit coin offering, a press release says.

Between July and September 2017, Rivetz reportedly offered and sold tokens called ‘RvT tokens’ to the public, as well as investors, to help capitalize on business.

According to the complaint, Rivetz president Steven K. Sprague allegedly marketed the RvT as a valuable investment opportunity, saying it would be available for trading on digital asset platforms and describing where it could be resold.

Sprague’s prowess as a businessman was also touted, and the company said its efforts would only see the RvT tokens increase in value.

In reality, the tokens allegedly could not be used to purchase anything. And in addition, the defendants’ offers for RvT were able to raise around $18 million from investors, but the sales were not registered with the SEC and didn’t qualify for exemption for registration.

The defendants were charged with allegedly violating the securities registration provisions of Section 5 of the Securities Act of 1933, and the release says the SEC will look into injunctive relief, the return of the reportedly illegal gains, along with prejudgment interest and a civil penalty.

Recently, the SEC also threatened Coinbase with a lawsuit over the company’s Coinbase Lend loan product. Coinbase has said it doesn’t know why.

Read more: SEC Threatens Coinbase With Lawsuit Over Lending Scheme

Coinbase says it has been served a Wells notice, or an intent to sue, from the SEC. It had been in touch with the organization for months over its planned lending product. The company said it had decided to seek SEC input rather than just roll out the product, which will be used to loan the USDC they’re holding on the platform, also earning interest.

Coinbase said it answered the SEC’s questions in writing and in person.