$6M My Big Coin Pay scam denied motion for leave to appeal 2018 ruling

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A U.S. federal judge has denied a motion filed by the founders of My Big Coin Pay seeking leave to appeal a September 2018 court ruling.

My Big Coin was founded in 2013 by John Roche, who also served as the CEO. It claimed to be using its native MBC token in a variety of fields such as gaming and e-commerce. It would later bring in Randall Crater who became the public face of the company and who now faces charges of fraud by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

In the months that followed its launch, the company ‘grew’ rapidly, with the price of its MBC token appreciating quickly. In January 2014, the value of the token stood at $23. Following announcements of gold backing for its MBC tokens; purported VISA/ Mastercard partnerships; an alleged reverse merger that would list the company’s shares on NASDAQ and more, MBC shot up to $121 by November.

MBC’s swift rise to the top inevitably attracted the attention of regulators. While the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dropped their investigations after a few months, the CFTC pursued MBC and filed charges against the company at the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts.

The CFTC described the company as a Ponzi scheme which had used false statements such as its VISA partnership and gold backing of its tokens to drive up the value of its coin.

MBC fought back, challenging the CFTC’s jurisdiction as its token wasn’t a commodity. However, as CoinGeek reported, the Massachusetts court sided with the regulator, upholding the CFTC’s interpretation of digital currencies as commodities. The defendants sought leave to appeal this decision, but according to a Finance Magnate report, the judge has once again ruled against them.

See also: CoinGeek Live panel on Regulation of Digital Assets & Digital Asset Businesses