SEC Shuts Down "Fraudulent" ICO

The SEC secured a court order freezing the assets of Titanium Blockchain Infrastructure Services Inc. ("TBIS") and halting the operations of an allegedly fraudulent initial coin offering.

In a Complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, the SEC claimed that TBIS founder and president Michael Stollery (a/k/a Michael Stollaire) raised over $21 million in cryptocurrency and cash investments through the offering of "BAR," a digital asset. The Complaint alleged that Stollaire marketed BAR as an investment (comparing it to an early-days Google stock) and emphasized that holders would share in TBIS earnings and future appreciation on BAR value. The SEC alleged that Mr. Stollaire made various misrepresentations about business relationships with several prominent companies, as well as the Federal Reserve Bank, in order to entice investors and hype BAR.