Share this article
SEC Settles Trader Lawsuit Tied to Blockchain Firm Stock Sales
Two Nevada men have settled with the SEC over alleged illicit trading of a claimed blockchain company's stock.
By Muyao Shen
Updated Sep 13, 2021, 8:09 a.m. Published Jul 10, 2018, 3:35 p.m.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has settled with two Nevada men over charges that they illegally profited from sales of stock in a claimed blockchain company, according to an SEC release.
The SEC originally alleged on July 2 that attorney T.J. Jesky and his law firm's business affairs manager Mark DeStefano had made about $1.4 million by selling stock shares in UBI Blockchain Internet, a Hong Kong-based firm, between Dec. 26, 2017 and Jan. 5, 2018.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
As CoinDesk reported at the time, the two Nevada men allegedly sold 72,000 restricted shares at prices ranging from $21.12 to about $50, even though the shares were supposed to be sold at the fixed price of $3.70, as stated in the registration statement.
Sales of UBI Blockchain's stock then ceased as the SEC suspended trading activities on Jan. 5, due to questions regarding the company's public filings and unusual market activities around its stock, including a price spike.
"Without admitting or denying" the accusations in the SEC's complaint, Jesky and DeStefano have now agreed in a New York District court to settle the case by returning $1.4 million of the allegedly illegal earnings and a $188,682 civil penalty. They have also agreed to "be subject to permanent injunctions" on future stock trading.
According to the SEC notice, the investigation is still ongoing.
SEC emblem image via Shutterstock
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
Coinbase Sees Crypto Recovery Ahead as Liquidity Improves and Fed Rate Cut Odds Climb
The crypto exchange also took note of a so-called AI bubble that continues to go strong and a weaker U.S. dollar.
What to know:
- Coinbase Institutional is seeing a potential December recovery in crypto, citing improving liquidity and a shift in macroeconomic conditions that could favor risk assets like bitcoin.
- The firm's optimism is driven by rising odds of Federal Reserve rate cuts, with markets pricing in a 93% chance easing next week, and improving liquidity conditions.
- Several recent institutional developments, including Vanguard's crypto ETF policy reversal and Bank of America's greenlighting of crypto allocations, have contributed to bitcoin's rebound from recent lows.
Top Stories
