ICO Issuer PlexCorps Reaches Settlement With US Securities Regulator

Following the ruling, PlexCorps must disgorge $4.56 million in addition to some $350,000 in interest.

AccessTimeIconAug 13, 2019 at 2:30 a.m. UTC
Updated Sep 13, 2021 at 11:18 a.m. UTC
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A settlement between the SEC and a startup that raised funds in an initial coin offering has defendants paying out the big bucks.

According to court filings, defendants Dominic Lacroix, Sabrina Paradis-Royer and PlexCorps agreed to pay fines and never again participate in securities sales. A judge has yet to sign off on the settlement.

Lacroix and Paradis-Royer each agreed to pay $1 million apiece as a civil penalty. PlexCorps must disgorge $4.56 million in addition to $350,000 in interest.

“PlexCorps is pleased to achieve this settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission, in which it is cooperating with the SEC to ensure that U.S. purchasers of Plexcoin will be eligible to receive a refund directly from the SEC,” said Morrison Cohen partner Jason P. Gottlieb, representing PlexCorps.

Per the settlement, Lacroix and Paradis-Royer each agreed to never participate in a securities sales again. The duo also agreed to never commit fraud.

After raising $15 million in an ICO, PlexCorps was first sued by the SEC in December 2017. The suit claimed Lacroix was using the raised funds for personal transactions. According to FinanceFeeds, the SEC asked for an extension of temporary restraining orders, asset freeze orders, and orders against the destruction of documents.

Lacroix is no foreigner to judicial oversight. That same month as the 2017 SEC case, Lacroix was also ordered to two months of jail time and PlexCorps to pay $100,000 in fines by a Canadian judge for contempt of court.

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