BitHarvest has acquired a securities fraud desist and chorus order from California’s Division of Monetary Safety and Innovation (DFPI).
DFPI’s August twentieth, 2024 order cites the next respondents:
- BitHarvest Ltd
- the web site area “bitharvest.io”
- Logan Lee
- Lenni Herlin and
- Jan Gregory Cerato
As per the DFPI’s BitHarvest fraud order;
Starting not less than as early as Might 2024, BitHarvest provided and offered securities within the type of funding contracts in California by way of common solicitations on its web site.
BitHarvest referred to those funding contracts as “BitBoosters.”
BitHarvest facilitated investor deposits and withdrawals utilizing crypto belongings.
The BitBoosters provided by BitHarvest have been securities that have been neither certified nor exempt from the qualification requirement below the CSL.
The Division has not issued a allow or different type of qualification authorizing BitHarvest to promote these securities in California.
Pursuant to Firms Code part 25532, BitHarvest Ltd, Logan Lee, Lenni Herlin, and Jan Gregory Cerato are hereby ordered to desist and chorus from the additional provide or sale of securities in California, together with however not restricted to funding contracts often called BitBoosters, until and till the qualification necessities of the CSL have been met.
DFPI additionally revealed an accompanying BitHarvest fraud consciousness video on its official YouTube channel.
BitHarvest is an MLM crypto Ponzi that launched earlier this 12 months.
Heading up BitHarvest is CEO “Logan Lee”:
Lee is performed by Steve Ng, an expert Poker participant from Singapore.
Lenni Herlin seems to be a current addition. The BitHarvest CFO is seemingly performed by a random actor with a non-native English talking accent.
DFPI cites Jan Gregory Cerato, a non-executive BitHarvest insider (not less than formally), as “a serial promoter of scams”.
In any respect related instances, Jan Gregory Cerato (Cerato) is and was a BitHarvest promoter.
Cerato is a serial promoter of scams and was the topic of a number of enforcement actions issued by the Commissioner and different regulators: Cerato was the topic of three separate desist and chorus
orders issued by the Commissioner in August 2023 for violations of the qualification and antifraud
provisions of the CSL.These actions arose from Cerato’s involvement in three totally different crypto asset scams referred to as CloudFi, CoinMarketBull, and Vortic United.
Cerato was additionally sanctioned by the Alberta Securities Fee in September 2022 for illegally distributing securities.
In any respect related instances, Cerato operated a YouTube channel referred to as “Jan Gregory”.
Cerato managed and induced or knowingly offered substantial help to BitHarvest inside the which means of Firms Code part 25403, subdivisions (a) and (b).
CloudFi, CoinMarketBull and Vortic United have in fact all collapsed. Maxpread Applied sciences is one other collapsed MLM crypto Ponzi Cerato fronted.
In fining Cerato $40,000 plus $125,000 in prices for securities fraud in 2022, the ASC famous;
The panel thought-about that Cerato poses a big threat to traders and the capital market, and said in its determination that he “accepted little or no accountability or remorse and as an alternative blamed others and exhibited contempt in the direction of those that have been harmed by his actions.”
Searching for to discredit BehindMLM’s Might 2024 BitHarvest evaluation, which appropriately recognized securities fraud, Cerato teamed up with serial Ponzi promoter Marcus Caleb.
In a Might 18th video titled “BitHarvest | BehindMLM EXPOSED! And DEBUNKED!“, Cerato and Caleb accused BehindMLM of “unhealthy analysis”.
Whether or not Gregory and Caleb double down and publish a followup video accusing DFPI of “unhealthy analysis” stays to be seen.
To advertise BitHarvest and proceed to defraud customers, Cerato relocated from Dubai to Malaysia earlier this 12 months.
Between July and August 2024, SimilarWeb tracked a 70.4% plunge in BitHarvest web site site visitors.
Primarily based on August 2024 site visitors knowledge, BitHarvest victims-in-the-making are primarily being recruited throughout Vietnam and Bangladesh.