Shopin founder slapped with $450,000 fine over alleged ICO fraud

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The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has secured an order against the founder and CEO of Shopin in connection with its allegedly fraudulent initial coin offering (ICO).

Awarded the judgement by a court in New York, the regulator will now compel disgorgement of $422,100, plus $34,940 in interest accrued before the judgement over the token issue in question.

Back in December, the SEC alleged Israeli national Eran Eyal had committed fraud to the tune of $42 million during the ICO launch, after the misappropriation of some $500,000 of investor funds. The case from the SEC came immediately after similar action initiated by the New York Attorney General.

In a press release published by the SEC, the regulator said Eyal “consented to the entry of the order” without an admission of liability.

“Without admitting or denying the allegations of the SEC’s complaint, Eyal consented to the entry of the order, which enjoins him from future violations of the registration provisions of Sections 5(a) and 5(c) of the Securities Act of 1933 and the antifraud provisions of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934…bars him from acting as an officer or director of a public company, enjoins him from engaging in any offering of digital asset securities, and orders him to disgorge $422,100 in ill-gotten gains plus $34,940 in prejudgment interest…The SEC voluntarily dismissed its claim against Shopin.”

The fine has been paid in Ether (ETH), with Eyal handing over 3,105 ETH in payment on the order of the court. As part of the settlement, Eyal is banned from running public companies, and from taking part in any further digital asset security offerings.