Pending courtroom approval, James Ward has settled Apex Monetary securities fraud prices introduced towards him by the SEC.
Apex Monetary was an MLM crypto Ponzi launched in 2021. The scheme was constructed round APT, a token Ward created.
In its September 2024 Grievance, the SEC alleged Ward defrauded “at the very least 70 buyers” out of “at the very least $852,000”.
A joint movement in search of approval of a consent judgment was filed by the SEC on March nineteenth.
As per Ward’s consent judgment, he neither admits or denies the SEC’s Apex Monetary fraud allegations.
Nonetheless, the judgment will see an injunction entered towards Ward (proper).
As per the consented to injunction, Ward might be prohibited from
- committing additional violations of the Securities and Alternate Act;
- “taking part within the issuance, buy, provide, or sale of any safety”; and
- performing as an officer or director of an organization with a safety or securities registered with the SEC
On the cash aspect of issues;
The proposed judgment additionally gives that Ward pays a civil penalty in an quantity to be decided by the Court docket, upon movement by the SEC.
On March twenty fifth, the Alabama District Court docket denied Ward’s first proposed consent judgment.
The courtroom reasoned that Ward’s consent judgment contained “obey-the-law injunctions” (as detailed above), which have been “unenforceable” and “can violate a defendant’s constitutional rights”.
In mild of Ward representing himself, the courtroom additionally expressed concern as as to whether Ward was absolutely briefed on “doable dangers” related to the settlement.
On April seventh, the SEC filed a renewed movement in search of approval of a second consent judgment. In its renewed movement, the SEC argued
not one of the proposed injunctions inside the proposed judgment are improper “obey the regulation” injunctions and every satisfies the necessities of Fed. R. Civ. Proc. 65(d).
A listening to on the SEC renewed movement is scheduled for Could sixteenth, 2025.