The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC ) announced on Tuesday that it had charged John and JonAtina (Tina) Barksdale with defrauding thousands of retail investors out of more than $124 million through two unregistered fraudulent offerings of securities.
According to the press release, the fraud scheme involved a bogus token dubbed ‘Ormenus Coin’ offered from June 2017 through to the present via crypto trading platforms.
Additionally, the Barksdales sold subscription packages that included Ormeus Coin and an investment in a crypto trading program through a multi-level marketing company called Ormeus Global from June 2017 to April 2018. In addition, John Barksdale allegedly engaged in worldwide roadshows to promote his offerings while his sister, Tina, coordinated social media posts, YouTube videos, press releases and other promotional campaigns.
According to the complaint, the defendants falsely claimed that Ormeus Coin was supported by one of the largest crypto mining operations in the world during the events, in produced materials and on their website, even though their mining operations ceased in 2019 after generating less than $3 million in mining revenue.
“We allege that the Barksdales acted as modern-day snake-oil salesmen, using social media, promotional websites and in-person roadshows to mislead retail investors for their own personal benefit. We will continue to vigorously pursue persons who sell securities in schemes to defraud the investing public no matter what label the promoters apply to their products,” Melissa Hodgman, the Associate Director in the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, commented.
John Barksdale Arrested
The US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Office filed separate charges against John Barksdale, who was arrested abroad on conspiracy, securities fraud and wire fraud charges.
“As alleged, Barksdale operated like a traveling salesman and peddled lies, overstatements and misrepresentations regarding a cryptocurrency called Ormeus Coin, which resulted in duping thousands of investors throughout the world and took in over $70 million. The men and women of HSI will not allow fraudsters to sell dreams of inflated and unrealistic revenues to innocent investors with the goal of lining their own pockets. By leveraging federal and international partnerships, Barksdale is now facing prosecution in the Southern District of New York for his alleged criminal acts,” Ricky J. Patel, the Acting HSI New York Special Agent in Charge, pointed out.
