The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit Friday against Richard Schueler, known as Richard Heart, and his companies Hex, Pulsechain, and Pulsex, alleging they raised more than $1 billion through unregistered securities offerings.
SEC Lawsuit Accuses Richard Heart of Running Unregistered Securities Offerings
The SEC complaint alleges that beginning in December 2019, Heart offered and sold Hex tokens and promised investors incentives and bonuses while marketing Hex as a high-yield blockchain certificate of deposit. Between December 2019 and November 2020, Heart accepted more than $678 million worth of ether from investors in exchange for Hex tokens, the complaint states. The SEC lawsuit states:
Through their actions, defendants Heart and Pulsechain violated, and unless enjoined will continue to violate, the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws.
Additionally, the complaint alleges that between July 2021 and April 2022, Heart conducted unregistered offerings of investments called Pulsechain and Pulsex, allegedly urging investors to deposit crypto assets into public wallet addresses in exchange for tokens that would be delivered in the future. SEC highlights that more than $354 million was invested in Pulsechain and more than $676 million in Pulsex in this fashion, according to the complaint.
The SEC states that the offerings from Hex, Pulsechain, and Pulsex were securities offerings that were not properly registered. Furthermore, the complaint alleges that Heart and Pulsechain defrauded investors by misappropriating at least $12.1 million to pay for Heart’s personal luxury purchases including a 555-carat diamond, luxury watches, and cars rather than for developing the Pulsechain network as promised. The SEC is seeking to bring this case to trial.
What do you think about the SEC lawsuit against Richard Heart, Hex, Pulsechain and Pulsex? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.
