LeadInvest has been issued with an order to cease-and-desist from acting as a security dealer in Texas. The Texas State Securities Board shut down LeadInvest, a technology firm that focuses on the creation of trading software to fuel use of Bitcoin currency, following the claims that the company is offering unregistered securities and yet it’s not registered by the regulator either as a dealer or agent in Texas.
The company is also accused of inventing a Law firm by using the images of the real law firm based in California. In addition, the LeadInvest website has a code of ethics Association with one of the images showing a member of the Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg together with other government officials not only as supporters of the cryptocurrency but as members of the management and legal team of the entity.
The Texan regulators have continuously stood firm against the development of the cryptocurrency-related activities in the region. The recent action against the LeadInvest comes after the Securities Commissioner issued a cease-and-desist order against another firm that focuses on Bitcoin, DavorCoin. Texas is determined to weed out all the unsavory crypto agents. Other firms that have received the State’s emergency cease-and-desist orders include the BitConnect, USI-Tech Limited, and another Asian-based firm that sells r2b token that was shut down from the State.
The Texan regulators found out that LeadInvest was publishing online ads to potential customers to promote various crypto-related activities in the region including the investment program, crypto mining program and a fiat currency lending program as securities. The company targets smaller investors who are enthusiastically eager to learn about the Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency markets.
According to the order, LeadInvest is illegally recruiting individuals who are not recognized by the Securities Commissioner as agents, which is a violation of the Securities Act. Furthermore, the entity has no physical address and lacks financial information. The regulator also noted that the company has not disclosed its risks related to its cryptocurrency business.
