The SEC has confirmed a federal investigation into the NovaTech FX Ponzi scheme.
Following non-compliance of investigative subpoenas served on Dap Dunbar and Corrie Sampson, the SEC obtained a courtroom order implementing compliance.
Dap Dunbar, aka Dapilinu Dunbar, refers to himself as “Mr Wonderful” and “Tiger”.
On his FaceBook profile, Dunbar claims to be a Florida resident. Dunbar promoted NovaTech FX as “Group Diamond”.
The SEC claims Dunbar has “roughly 10,000 buyers in his [NovaTech FX] downline”. Collectively, Dunbar’s victims invested “at the least $50 million” in cryptocurrency.
The SEC cites Corrie J. Sampson is cited as a co-founder of Group Diamond and appeared alongside Dunbar in advertising and marketing webinars.
As per her FaceBook profile, Sampson is a resident of California.
Quoting Sampson in NovaTech advertising and marketing materials from January 2023, the SEC claims Group Diamond had ~50,000 buyers who collectively invested “over $296 million”.
As prime promoters of NovaTech FX, Dunbar and Sampson are believed to have personally stolen a big sum of money. And that has caught the eye of the SEC.
The SEC is investigating whether or not sure individuals, together with Dunbar and Sampson, violated the federal securities legal guidelines in reference to the presents and gross sales of pursuits in NovaTech, a purported crypto asset funding program marketed to particular person buyers in the US and worldwide.
As set forth within the SEC’s submitting, NovaTech makes use of a multilevel advertising and marketing program to recruit buyers into its program, and Dunbar and Sampson achieved the second highest and highest rating, respectively, throughout the NovaTech multilevel advertising and marketing program.
The SEC issued subpoenas on Dunbar and Sampson in June 2023 and July 2023 respectively.
Along with offering testimony earlier than the SEC, the subpoenas search data on
- “communications and paperwork … concerning NovaTech or AWS Mining”
- “social media posts concerning NovaTech, and … communications with potential or present NovaTech buyers, or with NovaTech’s principals, workers, or brokers”
- “crypto asset pockets addresses, together with pockets addresses from which Dunbar [and Sampson] obtained crypto property from NovaTech, pockets addresses to which Dunbar [and Sampson] despatched crypto property to NovaTech, and wallets or accounts by way of which Dunbar [and Sampson] purchased, bought, transferred, and/or traded crypto property”
Dunbar confirmed to the SEC he had data related to the subpoenas at his look on August twenty first, 2023.
As of December thirteenth, 2023 nonetheless;
Regardless of quite a few makes an attempt to safe compliance with the subpoenas, Dunbar failed to supply sure paperwork in his custody, possession, or management attentive to the subpoena and Sampson failed to supply any paperwork and to look for testimony.
This prompted the SEC to request an order from the courtroom, which was granted on February thirteenth;
The courtroom granted the SEC’s software and ordered Dunbar and Sampson to supply paperwork attentive to the Fee’s subpoena and ordered Sampson to look for testimony.
Ought to Dunbar and Sampson fail to adjust to the subpoenas, they run the danger of being held in contempt of courtroom. This could result in the issuing of arrest warrants and short-term detainment pending compliance.
NovaTech FX was an MLM crypto Ponzi launched in 2019. The fraudulent funding scheme was run by serial Ponzi promoters Cynthia and Eddy Petion.
NovaTech FX collapsed in February 2023, after which the Petions went into hiding. Their present standing and whereabouts stay unknown.
In filings associated to the Dunbar and Sampson subpoenas, the SEC estimates NovaTech FX took in over $200 million from buyers.
Between June 2019 and Might 2023, NovaTech raised over $200 million in crypto property from 1000’s of buyers.
Given the scope of NovaTech FX and the vast majority of its buyers being US residents, it’s extremely seemingly any SEC enforcement motion might be accompanied by legal fees from the DOJ.
A legal investigation into NovaTech FX nonetheless stays unconfirmed right now. We are going to seemingly solely be capable to verify pending unsealing of a filed indictment, or arrest of the Petions.
Of word is again in October 2022, Cynthia Petion endorsed Heather Bilange’s declare that the FBI had “audited and accredited” NovaTech FX.
The SEC’s Texas workplace started investigating NovaTech FX in February 2023.
The SEC’s Investigation, to this point, has revealed, amongst different issues: NovaTech’s principals and founders embrace Cynthia Petion and Eddy Petion.
Earlier than NovaTech, the Petions recognized as high-ranking members of AWS Mining,7 which was topic to an Emergency Stop and Desist Order issued by the Texas State Securities Board (“TSSB”) on December 6, 2018.
In that Stop and Desist Order, the TSSB discovered that AWS Mining engaged in securities fraud in reference to cryptocurrency funding contracts that had been marketed and bought to buyers utilizing a multilevel advertising and marketing scheme.
BehindMLM first reported on the SEC’s NovaTech FX investigation again in August 2023. Our supply was EmpiresX’s Joshua Nicholas.
Along with the SEC’s confirmed investigation, a civil RICO fraud lawsuit in opposition to NovaTech FX and the Petions was filed in New York on February fifth.
Pending additional updates on the SEC’s NovaTech FX investigation, keep tuned.