SEC was defeated by crypto company in court and must pay USD $1.8 million – DiarioBitcoin
By Hannah Perez
A US court has dismissed the SEC’s lawsuit against cryptocurrency company DEBT Box and ordered it to pay legal fees. Although the SEC can still sue again.
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- US Court Dismisses SEC Lawsuit Against Cryptocurrency Company DEBT Box
- Regulators Ordered to Pay Nearly $2 Million in Legal Fees to Defendant
- The SEC previously admitted that it had made misleading statements about the court case
US financial regulators have been defeated by a cryptocurrency company in court.
A US federal judge dismissed without prejudice the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) case against the cryptocurrency mining company DEBT Boxand has ordered him to pay USD $1.8 million in fees.
In a court order Tuesday, the court ruled that the SEC must pay the majority of the fees “reasonable” attorneys and other legal fees requested by the defendants in the case, which amount to nearly $2 million.
“In this Order, the court ensures that the final amount of fees requested by Defendants and the Trustee is reasonable“says the document signed by Utah District Court Judge Robert Shelby.
The judge granted the SEC’s request to dismiss the case without prejudice. The agency’s request came after the judge threatened to sanction the regulator for “false and misleading statements” made while filing his complaint. The court’s dismissal without prejudice means the case could be reopened in the future.
SEC takes defeat in case against cryptocurrency company
The regulators’ case against DEBT Box It has been talked about within the cryptocurrency industry for being one of the SEC’s offensives against a company in the sector, but especially after it uncovered some irregularities within the agency.
In July 2023, the SEC filed a complaint against DEBT Boxaccusing her of “defraud investors of at least $49 million”. As in other cases of its kind, the agency alleged that the company had violated securities law. The SEC also had a court freeze assets and issue other actions against the company.
However, the case took a turn towards the end of last year, when the SEC officials acknowledged that he had made inaccurate statements and “They did not comply” with expectations of being accurate and truthful in court.
The federal judge previously criticized the SEC in a March filing, particularly over the agency’s conduct in obtaining the temporary restraining order, which, in addition to freezing assets, assigned a trustee to assume control of the company.
In April, two SEC lawyers, who were leading the case against DEBT Box, they supposedly resigned after the Utah judge said the case was “marred by false statements and misrepresentations“.
“The court has imposed sanctions on the SEC, requiring them to cover the attorney fees and costs DEBT Box incurred during this legal battle. This is an important step towards justice and transparency”wrote the account x of DEBT Box in a publication after this Tuesday’s order.
“This means the case is closed and any future SEC action would have to go through Judge Shelby.“he added.
The SEC has open cases against cryptocurrency exchanges Coinbase, Binance and Kraken over allegations of violating securities law and operating businesses without proper licensing in the US.
Article by Hannah Estefanía Pérez / DailyBitcoin
Picture of Unsplash
WARNING: This is an informative article. DiarioBitcoin is a media outlet, it does not promote, endorse or recommend any particular investment. It is worth noting that investments in cryptoassets are not regulated in some countries. They may not be suitable for retail investors as the entire amount invested could be lost. Check the laws of your country before investing.
