The New York Attorney General Letitia James has
initiated a lawsuit against Gemini Trust Company, Genesis Global Capital, LLC,
and Digital Currency Group, Inc. (DCG), alleging a fraudulent scheme that cost
over 230,000 investors more than $1 billion.
The Attorney General said: “These
cryptocurrency companies lied to investors and tried to hide more than a
billion dollars in losses, and it was middle-class investors who suffered as a
result. Hardworking New Yorkers and investors around the country lost more than
a billion dollars because they were fed blatant lies that their money would be
safe and grow if they invested it in Gemini Earn.”
Alleged Deceptive
Practices
According to James, Gemini misled investors about
the safety of its partnership with Genesis, while Genesis and DCG attempted to
conceal huge losses, ultimately leading to substantial financial harm to
thousands of investors.
Gemini Earn was a program aimed at generating
profits for investors by lending assets to third parties and returning a
portion of those profits. Investors were assured that their money was safe, but
an investigation by the Attorney General uncovered a different reality.
“Gemini hid the risks of investing with Genesis, and Genesis lied to the public about its losses,” she said. “This fraud is
yet another example of bad actors causing harm throughout the under-regulated
cryptocurrency industry. My office will continue our efforts to stop deceptive
cryptocurrency companies and push for stronger regulations to protect all
investors.”
— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) October 19, 2023
The former CEO of Genesis, Soichiro Moro; the CEO of DCG, CEO Barry Silbert; Genesis and DCG are all accused of concealing over $1.1 billion in losses,
which were ultimately endured by investors. In June 2022, one of Genesis’ major
borrowers, Three Arrows Capital (3AC), defaulted on substantial loans, leading
to massive losses.
Additionally, Genesis lost over $100 million from another
borrower, Babel Finance. The lawsuit indicated that Genesis failed to properly
audit 3AC and misled Gemini by claiming regular financial statement reviews
that hadn’t occurred in over