New Jersey regulators sent a cease and desist order to organizers of the Initial Coin Offering (ICO) endorsed by Steven Seagal, documents show March 7.
The summary order, filed by State of New Jersey Bureau of Securities (BoS), accuses the entities behind Bitcoiin2Gen (B2G) of “fraudulently offering unregistered securities in violation of the Securities Law.”
The move comes after US national regulators the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) both vowed to continue close monitoring of ICOs available to US consumers last month.
The SEC had also previously issued warnings about celebrity endorsements of such schemes, with the latest BoS order highlighting the secretive nature of Seagal’s involvement in Bitcoiin2Gen.
“The Bitcoiin Websites do not disclose what expertise, if any, Steven Seagal has to ensure that the Bitcoiin investments are appropriate and in compliance with federal and state securities laws,” the order reads.
“Additionally, there are no disclosures as to the nature, scope, and amount of compensation paid by Bitcoiin in exchange for Steven Seagal’s promotion of the Bitcoiin investments.”
A day before the order was filed March 6, Seagal had tweeted that the digital token would soon trade “on some of the biggest exchanges globally.” The actor has yet to comment on the subsequent developments.
Friends, I wanted to announce that @Bitcoiin2Gen will soon be listed on some of the biggest exchanges globally. Stay tuned for more information coming very shortly. https://t.co/tya7c3rrwr #bitcoiin #Ad
— Steven Seagal (@sseagalofficial) March 6, 2018
State regulators in the US have taken a hard line with shadowy ICO offerings and associated companies in 2018.
Cointelegraph previously reported on how Texas and New Jersey had sent similar orders to AriseBank and Bitstrade in January and February respectively.
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