SEC Charges Fantasy Market Founder With Orchestrating a Fraudulent ICO

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Jonathan C. Lucas, the founder of adult entertainment marketplace Fantasy Market, with orchestrating a fraudulent initial coin offering (ICO).

According to the SEC complaint published on Sept. 23, Lucas received around $63,000 in cryptocurrency from more than 100 investors “through the fraudulent offer and sale of unregistered digital securities of Fantasy Market.” The document states:

“As alleged in the complaint, Lucas made numerous materially false statements in a whitepaper and online to induce investors to participate in the ICO. Among other alleged misstatements, Lucas claimed that a "working-beta" version of the company's adult-entertainment platform existed when one did not, presented a fictitious management team, and misrepresented his own experience. After garnering media attention over investor complaints, the complaint states, Lucas returned the funds raised to investors.”

A civil penalty of $15,000

The SEC’s lawsuit was filed in the Manhattan federal district court. It is stated that Lucas has violated several securities laws related to countering fraud. It is also noted that Lucas has consented, without admitting or denying the allegations in the complaint, and was ordered to pay a civil penalty of $15,000.

As Cointelegraph reported recently, Canadian social media company Kik decided to downsize and shut down its messenger due to the firm’s need to manage resources in a legal battle with the SEC.