Titanium Blockchain CEO Pleads Guilty to $21 Million ICO Scam

The US Department of Justice announced on Monday that Michael Alan Stollery, the CEO and Founder of the $21 million initial coin offering (ICO) scam of Titanium Blockchain Infrastructure Services pled guilty to his crime.

He pled guilty to one count of securities fraud and is now facing jail time of up to 20 years. His sentencing has been scheduled for November 18 at a federal district court.

The Titanium ICO defrauded investors in both the United States and overseas until the SEC stopped the offering with a court order in May 2018.

The 54-year-old admitted that he touted the cryptocurrency project to be an investment opportunity to lure investors through false and misleading statements. The authority highlighted that Titanium ICO neither have any authorization from the  Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC 
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is one of the most widely known independent authorities in the United States. The SEC has a wide range of responsibilities, helping police markets and curbing against abuse. This includes enforcing federal securities laws, proposing securities rules, and regulating the US’ stock and options exchanges.As one of the paramount regulatory authorities in the US, the SEC is responsible for the oversight of public companies in the aforementioned segments.What Does the SEC Do?In order to achieve its obligations, the SEC enforces statutory requirements that public companies and other regulated companies submit quarterly and annual reports.Such reports are instrumental in unearthing or bringing to light any market abuse or improper action, ensuring a high degree of compliance out of market participants.These reports are also essential in maintaining the transparency of equity markets, namely private companies.Quarterly and semiannual reports from public companies are important for investors to make sound decisions when investing in the capital markets. Investment in the capital markets is not guaranteed by the federal government with such safeguards put in place to add a layer of compliance for example.The SEC is composed of five divisions: Corporate Finance, Trading and Markets, Investment Management, Enforcement, and Economic and Risk Analysis.With 11…