Daily fraud update: 4th March

ICO lawsuit against US rapper dismissed in court

A lawsuit against a rapper from the US has been dismissed in court by a judge.

The lawsuit against T.I., whose real name is Clifford Harris Jr., had been accused of carrying out securities fraud by selling tokens for FLiK.

This came as part of an initial coin offering (ICO) back in the summer of 2017.

The accusations focused on suggestions that Harris had engaged in what is known as a “pump and dump” scheme, which sees the value of an asset be manipulated by sellers of it in order to increase demand – before the artificial value is removed when many people buy it.

As a result of the accusations, 25 investors in FLiK sued Harris and his business partner Ryan Felton late in 2018.

They claimed to have lost over $2m.

It is understood that the price of the asset went up by 400% in a period of just a few months in 2017.

Harris faced a range of charges, including everything from negligent misrepresentation to state securities fraud.

However, District Judge Charles Pannell announced on Tuesday of this week that he could not uncover the required evidence.

“The plaintiffs have merely alleged that Harris encouraged his Twitter followers to visit the website for the FLiK ICO”, he said.

“They have not provided any statements from Harris about the value of the FLiK tokens. The facts as pleaded do not rise to the level of particularity required”, he added in his remarks.

He also said that those who brought the case against the rapper had not demonstrated that the rapper had broken the relevant law, which is the Georgia Uniform Securities Act.

“The company is not physically located within the boundaries of the state of Georgia. None of the plaintiffs reside in Georgia or allege that they have traveled to Georgia, therefore the acceptances were executed outside of Georgia”, he said.

“The plaintiffs have not alleged that any funds were sent to or from any financial institutions or accounts located in Georgia”, he added.

The overall case is not yet over, however.

Kevin Hart, who is also in the entertainment industry, will also face the court.

Hart was accused in mid-2019 by the plaintiffs of spreading the word about the FLiK ICO on social media.

Actor told to pay six figure sum over promo claims

An American actor has been told that he must pay over $300,000 in connection to a promotion disclosure case.

Steven Seagal, who has starred in several action films including “Above the Law”, was told by US regulator the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that he must pay $330,000.

He was accused of having not disclosed his part in the promotion of a 2018 initial coin offering.

This ICO is understood to have been the Bitcoiin2Gen one.

Chris Lee

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