On May 20, 2025, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged New York – based Unicoin, Inc. and three of its top executives with fraud. The SEC alleges that they made false and misleading statements in offerings of certificates and common stock, raising over $100 million from thousands of investors.
Details of the Allegations
False Asset – Backed Claims: Unicoin and its executives claimed that the Unicoin tokens underlying the rights certificates were “asset – backed” by billions of dollars of real estate and equity interests in pre – IPO companies. However, the real – world assets were worth only a fraction of the claimed amount. For example, between September 2023 and January 2024, the company announced acquisitions of properties in Argentina, Thailand, Antigua, and the Bahamas, with a purported total appraised value of over $1.4 billion. In reality, most of these transactions didn’t close, and the actual combined value of the four properties was no more than $300 million.
Overstated Sales: The company claimed to have sold more than $3 billion in rights certificates, but in fact, it raised no more than $110 million from over 5,000 investors.
False Registration Claims: Unicoin advertised its rights certificates widely, including in major airports, on New York City taxis, and on television and social media. The company presented itself as a safe, stable, and profitable “next – generation” crypto investment opportunity and even told investors that its offerings were “SEC – registered,” when they were not. In addition, CEO Alex Konanykhin is alleged to have sold over 37.9 million of his rights certificates to target investors the company had previously prohibited from participating to avoid jeopardizing its exemption to registration requirements.
Charges and Legal Consequences
The SEC’s complaint, filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, charges Unicoin, Konanykhin, Silvina Moschini (former president, former board chairwoman, and current board member), and Alex Dominguez (former chief investment officer) with violations of the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws. Konanykhin and Unicoin are also charged with violating the registration provisions of the Securities Act of 1933, and Konanykhin is charged as a control person for certain of Unicoin’s antifraud violations. The complaint seeks permanent injunctive relief, disgorgement of ill – gotten gains with prejudgment interest, and civil penalties against Unicoin, Konanykhin, Moschini, and Dominguez, as well as officer – and – director bars against Konanykhin, Moschini, and Dominguez.
Unicoin’s general counsel, Richard Devlin, is also charged with violating the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws for negligently making similar misstatements in private placement memoranda. Without admitting or denying the SEC’s allegations, Devlin has consented to the entry of a final judgment providing permanent injunctive relief and ordering him to pay a $37,500 civil penalty.
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