DCG and Former Executive Settle SEC Charges for $38.5 Million Over Misleading Investors

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has received $38.5 million from Digital Currency Group, the cryptocurrency company founded by Barry Silbert and the former executive of a unit that has since been discontinued.

DCG and Soichiro “Michael” Moro, the former chief executive officer of cryptocurrency lender Genesis Global Capital, will pay the civil penalties to settle charges of deceiving investors regarding Genesis’s financial position, according to a statement released by the government on Friday.

Genesis, once a key player within DCG, was among many companies that halted operations due to the industry-wide fallout following FTX’s collapse. In January 2023, the firm filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection under the United States Bankruptcy Code.

According to Sanjay Wadhwa, interim head of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Enforcement, “It is vital that companies and their officers speak truthfully to the investing public, especially in times of financial instability or turmoil,” the statement of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement read.

“The Commission came to the conclusion that DCG and Moro exceeded expectations in that regard.”

Wadhwa went on to say that DCG and Moro intentionally “painted a misleadingly rosy picture” rather than being open and honest about the difficulties that the company is experiencing financially.

The incidents occurred in June 2022. At that time, the cryptocurrency hedge fund Three Arrows, a big borrower from Genesis, defaulted on a margin call, “which compromised Genesis’s business,” according to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

According to the agency, several social media messages that DCG officials retweeted were believed to have “downplayed” the loss’s effect. Moro and DCG were also involved in these tweets.

According to an email statement sent by a DCG spokeswoman, the business is “pleased to have concluded” the investigation.

According to a statement released by the corporation, “DCG has always endeavored to conduct its business with the highest integrity, and we believe that our actions related to Genesis were consistent with that approach.”

As a result of this settlement, we can now concentrate on our expansion goals and continue to embrace the industry’s positive momentum.

According to the commission’s statement, DCG and Moro are paying the penalties without admitting or contesting the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) conclusions that they violated the Securities Act of 1933.

Letitia James, the Attorney General of New York, reached a separate settlement with Genesis in May 2024 for $2 billion to reimburse deceived investors.