SEC seeks default judgement against Josh Garza over bitcoin Ponzi scheme

On February 12, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a motion seeking a default judgement against Josh Garza, GAW Miners and ZenMiner, according to a SiliconANGLE report. The SEC claims that Garza, through the two companies, committed fraud by offering shares in a bitcoin mining operation that didn’t have enough computing power to conduct the promised level of activity. Furthermore, the SEC is asking the court to “order them [the accused entities]  to pay disgorgement and prejudgment interest of $10,384,099, and an appropriate third civil penalty.”

The charges come after the SEC launched an investigation into GAW Miners in January 2015. Last December, Garza and the two companies were charged by the SEC with running a Ponzi scheme.

“GAW Miners and ZenMiner engaged in a fraudulent course of conduct by which they oversold investments in their purported virtual currency mining operations” even though the companies lacked this computing power, the introduction to the motion explained. The document went on to explain that GAW Miners “made numerous misrepresentations to investors and potential investors about the nature and profitability of the investments it was selling.”

A default judgement can be requested by a plaintiff when a defendant fails to respond to a complaint within the specified time set by law. SiliconANGLE explains that, in this case, the companies nor Garza responded to the SEC’s complaint.

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