`
`RICHARD R. BEST
`REGIONAL DIRECTOR
`Lara Shalov Mehraban
`Sandeep Satwalekar
`Mark R. Sylvester
`Amy Mayer
`Attorneys for Plaintiff
`SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
`New York Regional Office
`Brookfield Place
`200 Vesey Street, Suite 400
`New York, New York 10281-1022
`(212) 336-0159 (Sylvester)
`sylvesterm@sec.gov
`
`UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
`SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
`
`SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
`COMMISSION,
`
` Plaintiff,
`
` -against-
`
`COINSEED, INC. and
`DELGERDALAI DAVAASAMBUU,
`
` Defendants.
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`COMPLAINT
`
`21 Civ. _____ ( )
`
`
`
`
`
`
`JURY TRIAL DEMANDED
`
`
`
`
`Plaintiff Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”), for its Complaint
`
`against Defendants Coinseed, Inc. (“Coinseed”) and its founder and chief executive officer
`
`Delgerdalai Davaasambuu (“Davaasambuu”) (collectively, “Defendants”), alleges as follows:
`
`SUMMARY
`
`1.
`
`From at least December 2017 to May 2018, Defendants offered and sold digital
`
`assets called “CSD tokens” as securities to investors, in return for consideration worth at least
`
`$141,000. Defendants told investors that their investments would be used to develop Coinseed’s
`
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`Case 1:21-cv-01381 Document 1 Filed 02/17/21 Page 2 of 13
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`business, including a mobile phone application that purportedly enabled users to purchase and sell
`
`digital assets, and to pay other business expenses.
`
`2.
`
`Defendants also offered and sold CSD tokens by promising that, in exchange for
`
`their investment, purchasers would receive a percentage of revenues that Coinseed generated in fees
`
`associated with the purchase and sale of digital assets on its platform.
`
`3.
`
` Defendants offered and sold CSD tokens without registering the offering with the
`
`Commission as required by the federal securities laws, and no exemption from this registration
`
`requirement was available for the offering.
`
`4.
`
`In connection with their offer and sale of CSD tokens, Coinseed never provided
`
`investors with the type of material information that issuers are required to include in registration
`
`statements when soliciting public investment. Instead, investors were left to rely only on the
`
`information Defendants chose to share about Coinseed and CSD tokens.
`
`VIOLATIONS
`
`5.
`
`By virtue of the foregoing conduct and as alleged further herein, Defendants
`
`Coinseed and Davaasambuu violated Sections 5(a) and (c) of the Securities Act of 1933 (“Securities
`
`Act”) [15 U.S.C. §§ 77e(a), 77e(c)].
`
`6.
`
`Unless Defendants are restrained and enjoined, they will engage in the acts, practices,
`
`transactions, and courses of business set forth in this Complaint or in acts, practices, transactions,
`
`and courses of business of similar type and object.
`
`NATURE OF THE PROCEEDINGS AND RELIEF SOUGHT
`
`7.
`
`The Commission brings this action pursuant to the authority conferred upon it by
`
`Sections 20(b) and 20(d) of the Securities Act [15 U.S.C. §§ 77t(b), 77t(d)].
`
`8.
`
`The Commission seeks a final judgment: (a) permanently enjoining Defendants from
`
`violating Sections 5(a) and 5(c) of the Securities Act, pursuant to Section 20(b) of the Securities Act
`
`
`
`2
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`Case 1:21-cv-01381 Document 1 Filed 02/17/21 Page 3 of 13
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`[15 U.S.C. § 77t(b)]; (b) ordering Defendants to disgorge their ill-gotten gains with prejudgment
`
`interest thereon, pursuant to Section 21(d)(5) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange
`
`Act”) [15 U.S.C. § 78u(d)(5)] and Sections 6501(a)(1) and (a)(3) of the National Defense
`
`Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, Pub. L. No. 116-283, to be codified at 15 U.S.C. §§ 78u(d)(3)
`
`and 78u(d)(7); (c) prohibiting Defendants from participating, directly or indirectly, in any offering of
`
`digital asset securities, provided, however, that such injunction shall not prevent Davaasambuu from
`
`purchasing or selling digital asset securities for his own personal account, pursuant to Sections
`
`21(d)(5) of the Exchange Act [15 U.S.C. § 78u(d)(5)]; (d) ordering Defendants to pay civil money
`
`penalties, pursuant to Section 20(d) of the Securities Act [15 U.S.C. § 77t(d)]; and (e) ordering any
`
`other and further relief the Court may deem just and proper.
`
`JURISDICTION AND VENUE
`
`9.
`
`This Court has jurisdiction over this action pursuant to Section 22(a) of the
`
`Securities Act [15 U.S.C. § 77v(a)].
`
`10.
`
`Defendants, directly and indirectly, have made use of the means or instrumentalities
`
`of interstate commerce or of the mails in connection with the transactions, acts, practices, and
`
`courses of business alleged herein.
`
`11.
`
`Venue lies in this District under Section 22(a) of the Securities Act [15 U.S.C.
`
`§ 77v(a)]. Defendants may be found in, are inhabitants of, or transact business in the Southern
`
`District of New York, and certain of the acts, practices, transactions, and courses of business
`
`alleged in this Complaint occurred within this District. At all relevant times, Coinseed’s principal
`
`place of business was located in New York, New York, and Davaasambuu resided in New York,
`
`New York, and Defendants conducted the offering and sale of securities described herein while
`
`located in New York, New York.
`
`
`
`
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`3
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`Case 1:21-cv-01381 Document 1 Filed 02/17/21 Page 4 of 13
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`DEFENDANTS
`
`12.
`
`Coinseed is a Delaware corporation incorporated in November 2017, with its
`
`principal place of business in New York, New York.
`
`13.
`
`Davaasambuu, age 34, is a citizen of Mongolia, and resided in New York, New
`
`York at all relevant times. Davaasambuu founded Coinseed, and he was at all relevant times and is
`
`currently Coinseed’s chief executive officer (“CEO”).
`
`STATUTORY AND LEGAL FRAMEWORK
`
`14.
`
`Congress enacted the Securities Act to regulate the offer and sale of securities. In
`
`contrast to ordinary commercial principles of caveat emptor, Congress enacted a regime of full and
`
`fair disclosure, requiring a company (an issuer) and its control persons who offer and sell securities
`
`to the investing public to provide sufficient, accurate information to allow investors to make
`
`informed decisions before they invest.
`
`15.
`
`Section 5(a) of the Securities Act [15 U.S.C. § 77e(a)] provides that, unless a
`
`registration statement is in effect as to a security or an exemption from registration applies, it is
`
`unlawful for any person, directly or indirectly, to sell securities in interstate commerce. Section 5(c)
`
`of the Securities Act [15 U.S.C. § 77e(c)] provides a similar prohibition against offers to sell or offers
`
`to buy, unless a registration statement has been filed. Thus, Sections 5(a) and 5(c) of the Securities
`
`Act prohibit the unregistered offer or sale of securities in interstate commerce absent an applicable
`
`exemption.
`
`16.
`
`Registration statements relating to an offering of securities provide public investors
`
`with material information about the issuer and the offering, including financial and managerial
`
`information, how the issuer will use the offering proceeds, and the risks that affect the enterprise
`
`and an investment in its securities.
`
`17.
`
`The definition of “security” under the Securities Act includes a wide range of
`
`
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`4
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`Case 1:21-cv-01381 Document 1 Filed 02/17/21 Page 5 of 13
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`investment vehicles, including “investment contracts.” An investment contact exists when there is
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`an investment of money in a common enterprise with a reasonable expectation of profits to be
`
`derived from the efforts of others.
`
`18.
`
`In addition to traditional instruments like stocks and bonds, courts have found that
`
`novel or unique investment vehicles constitute investment contracts. As the Supreme Court of the
`
`United States noted in SEC v. W.J. Howey Co., Congress defined “security” broadly to embody a
`
`“flexible rather than a static principle, one that is capable of adaptation to meet the countless and
`
`variable schemes devised by those who seek the use of the money of others on the promise of
`
`profits.” 328 U.S. 293, 299 (1946).
`
`BACKGROUND ON DIGITAL ASSETS AND DISTRIBUTED LEDGERS
`
`19.
`
`The term “digital asset” generally refers to an asset issued and/or transferred using
`
`distributed ledger or blockchain technology, including assets sometimes referred to as digital
`
`“tokens,” digital “coins,” “cryptocurrencies,” and “virtual currencies.”
`
`20.
`
`A blockchain or distributed ledger is a peer-to-peer database spread across a network
`
`of computers that records all transactions in theoretically unchangeable, digitally recorded data
`
`packages. The system relies on cryptographic techniques for secure recording of transactions.
`
`21.
`
`Entities have offered and sold digital assets in fundraising events, often called initial
`
`coin offerings, or ICOs, in exchange for consideration.
`
`22.
`
`Issuers of digital assets typically release a “whitepaper” or marketing materials
`
`describing the project and the terms of the offering. To participate, investors typically transfer
`
`consideration—in the form of fiat currency or other digital assets—to the issuer’s accounts. After
`
`completion of the offering, the issuer will deliver its unique digital asset to the participant’s unique
`
`address on a distributed ledger or blockchain.
`
`23.
`
`On July 25, 2017, the Commission issued the Report of Investigation Pursuant to Section
`
`
`
`5
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`Case 1:21-cv-01381 Document 1 Filed 02/17/21 Page 6 of 13
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`21(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934: The DAO (the “DAO Report”), stating the Commission’s
`
`view that digital assets may be securities, and that the federal securities laws and registration
`
`requirements “apply to those who offer and sell securities in the United States, regardless whether
`
`the issuing entity is a traditional company or a decentralized autonomous organization, regardless
`
`whether those securities are purchased using U.S. dollars or virtual currencies, and regardless
`
`whether they are distributed in certificated form or through distributed ledger technology.” The
`
`DAO Report focused on the Howey test, finding that the offering of digital assets at issue in that
`
`report were investment contracts and, therefore, securities.
`
`FACTS
`
`I.
`
`
`
`DAVAASAMBUU FOUNDED COINSEED AND DEVELOPED ITS PRINCIPAL
`PRODUCT, A MOBILE DIGITAL ASSET INVESTMENT APPLICATION
`
`24.
`
`Davaasambuu founded Coinseed in approximately September 2017. He was and is
`
`Coinseed’s CEO, and he developed its principal product, a mobile application that purported to,
`
`among other things, enable users to invest in digital assets.
`
`25.
`
`Davaasambuu wrote all of the code underlying Coinseed’s website and Coinseed’s
`
`mobile application.
`
`26.
`
`Coinseed launched its application on the two largest mobile phone operating systems
`
`in November 2017.
`
`27.
`
`Coinseed marketed itself as a “spare change investing app,” to which a user could
`
`link his or her credit or debit card and bank account. After a user made a purchase with a linked
`
`credit or debit card, Coinseed represented it would automatically “round up” the user’s purchase to
`
`the nearest dollar, later withdraw the difference from the user’s bank account, and then invest the
`
`difference between the purchase price and the “rounded up” amount in a basket of digital assets
`
`selected by the user.
`
`28.
`
`In addition to this “rounding up” investment feature, Coinseed represented it would
`
`
`
`6
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`Case 1:21-cv-01381 Document 1 Filed 02/17/21 Page 7 of 13
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`display all users’ portfolios along with their return percentages on its platform. Coinseed
`
`encouraged users to replicate the highest performing portfolios, which Coinseed represented could
`
`be accomplished by clicking a button that would convert a user’s basket of digital assets to match
`
`the mix of assets in a selected portfolio.
`
`29.
`
`At all relevant times, Coinseed assessed a 1% fee on the total value of a user’s
`
`portfolio every time he or she elected to convert his or her portfolio to match another user’s
`
`portfolio. Coinseed referred to this fee as a “portfolio conversion fee.”
`
`II.
`
`
`DEFENDANTS OFFERED AND SOLD CSD TOKENS
`
`30.
`
`Coinseed offered CSD tokens for sale in two rounds, from December 2017 to
`
`January 2018, and from March 2018 to May 2018 (together, the “Offering”).
`
`31.
`
`32.
`
`Davaasambuu wrote the code underlying the CSD token.
`
`To promote Coinseed’s Offering, Davaasambuu drafted, reviewed, and approved
`
`two materially identical whitepapers (together, the “Whitepaper”), the first of which Defendants
`
`posted on Coinseed’s publicly available website by no later than early December 2017.
`
`33.
`
` In the Whitepaper, Defendants described Coinseed’s business plan, including its
`
`mobile application and portfolio conversion feature, and touted the Coinseed application as a
`
`“game-changer” that “will change how people invest.”
`
`34.
`
`Defendants explained in the Whitepaper that, to achieve Coinseed’s business goals, it
`
`“need[ed] the cryptocurrency community’s support to accelerate [Coinseed’s] growth and global
`
`expansion.”
`
`35.
`
`Defendants stated they would use proceeds of the Offering, among other business
`
`purposes, for “[s]caling up the Coinseed platform in the US and globally.” The Whitepaper also
`
`included a chart that showed that Coinseed would use the majority of investors’ funds on
`
`“[m]arketing to [s]cale [u]p Coinseed.”
`
`
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`7
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`Case 1:21-cv-01381 Document 1 Filed 02/17/21 Page 8 of 13
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`36.
`
`To obtain the funds needed to expand their enterprise, Defendants marketed the
`
`CSD tokens to prospective investors with the promise of monthly profits, stating: “By supporting
`
`the Coinseed platform, you can share the profit by purchasing Coinseed’s CSD tokens. We will
`
`distribute the share of the profit to the CSD token holders every month.”
`
`37.
`
`In a section of the Whitepaper entitled “Illustration of Benefits,” Defendants
`
`promised that, as of May 2018, on or around the close of the Offering, CSD token holders would
`
`receive 50% of the revenue that Coinseed generated from portfolio conversion fees.
`
`38.
`
`Defendants further represented that Coinseed would distribute this 50% of the
`
`portfolio conversion fee revenue to CSD token holders equally, on a monthly basis.
`
`39.
`
`Defendants stated that Coinseed’s management team, which included Davaasambuu,
`
`would be allocated 20% of the total available CSD tokens, with a vesting program that released
`
`tokens to the management team every six months for a two-year period. Defendants explained that
`
`this vesting program was established to “ensure the longevity of the project” and the commitment
`
`of Davaasambuu and Coinseed’s management “to building the system in the long-term.”
`
`40.
`
`In addition to advertising the Offering on its website, Coinseed promoted
`
`investment in CSD tokens through its social media accounts and through press releases displayed on
`
`various digital asset-focused blogs.
`
`41.
`
`Defendants ultimately raised at least $141,410 in sales of CSD tokens, obtained from
`
`hundreds of unique digital asset wallets, the vast majority of which were linked to unique email
`
`addresses, suggesting that hundreds of investors participated in the Offering.
`
`III. CSD TOKENS WERE SECURITIES
`
`42.
`
` In Howey, the Supreme Court made clear that the determination of whether an
`
`instrument is an investment contract, and therefore a security, is a “flexible rather than a static
`
`principle, one that is capable of adaptation to meet the countless and variable schemes devised by
`
`
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`8
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`Case 1:21-cv-01381 Document 1 Filed 02/17/21 Page 9 of 13
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`those who seek the use of the money of others on the promise of profits.”
`
`43.
`
`At all relevant times during the Offering, Coinseed offered and sold the CSD token
`
`as an investment contract and therefore a security subject to the registration requirements of the
`
`federal securities laws.
`
`A.
`
`44.
`
`CSD Token Purchasers Invested Money
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Investors purchased CSD tokens in exchange for the transfer of specified digital
`
`assets, including Ether, Bitcoin, Litecoin, or Dash, to Coinseed.
`
`45.
`
`Such contributions to Coinseed constitute an investment of money by CSD token
`
`purchasers.
`
`
`
`
`
`B.
`
`46.
`
`Purchasers of CSD Tokens Invested into a Common Enterprise
`
` Investors who purchased CSD tokens in the Offering invested into a common
`
`enterprise with other CSD token purchasers, as well as with Defendants.
`
`47.
`
`According to Defendants, each holder of a CSD token was entitled to 50% of
`
`Coinseed’s portfolio conversion fee revenues. As a result, the fortunes of each of the CSD token
`
`holders were tied to Coinseed’s success and profitability. In other words, if Coinseed attracted
`
`application users who, in turn, utilized the portfolio conversion feature, then both Coinseed and
`
`CSD token holders would reap rewards in the form of portfolio conversion fee revenues. CSD
`
`token holders’ profits were thus directly intertwined with Coinseed’s success or failure in attracting
`
`additional users to its mobile application and promoting its portfolio conversion feature, which in
`
`turn would generate greater or lesser portfolio conversion fee revenue.
`
`48.
`
`Defendants represented in the Whitepaper that Coinseed would collectively use the
`
`proceeds raised from the Offering to, among other things, develop and expand Coinseed’s platform
`
`and mobile application, and, according to Davaasambuu, Defendants actually pooled funds raised
`
`from the Offering in wallets Coinseed used for its operations.
`
`
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`Case 1:21-cv-01381 Document 1 Filed 02/17/21 Page 10 of 13
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`49.
`
`Defendants further represented to prospective investors in CSD tokens that
`
`investors would share pro-rata in the portfolio conversion fee revenues generated on the platform,
`
`as a type of dividend.
`
`50.
`
`Investors’ fortunes also were linked to those of Defendants. Coinseed’s
`
`management team, which included Davaasambuu, were to be allocated 20% of CSD tokens in the
`
`Offering, thus significantly intertwining the fortunes of the investors and Davaasambuu.
`
`51.
`
`In addition, Coinseed and the CSD token purchasers’ fortunes were both tied to
`
`individuals’ use of Coinseed’s application and portfolio conversion feature. Both would make more
`
`money if more individuals used the application and conversion feature, and less money if fewer
`
`individuals did so. Coinseed also represented that a percentage of the revenues generated on its
`
`platform would be shared with investors, thereby further linking the fortunes of Coinseed and CSD
`
`token purchasers.
`
`C.
`
`
`52.
`
`Reasonable CSD Token Purchasers Would Expect a Profit from Defendants’
`Efforts
`
`Reasonable CSD token purchasers expected value from the token due to their
`
`entitlement to 50% of Coinseed’s portfolio conversion fee revenues.
`
`53.
`
`Defendants did not represent that CSD tokens had any consumptive use, either on
`
`the Coinseed platform or elsewhere, and the CSD tokens did not have any such use.
`
`54.
`
`Instead, Defendants led investors to expect, and reasonable investors would expect,
`
`that they could reap a profit from their investment in CSD tokens, derived from Defendants’
`
`efforts.
`
`55.
`
`Defendants’ Whitepaper emphasized opportunities for potential profit for investors
`
`in CSD tokens, stating the “benefits” of investment consisted of the right of investors to receive a
`
`specified monthly percentage of Coinseed’s portfolio conversion fee revenue stream.
`
`56.
`
`At the time of the Offering, CSD tokens had no use other than as sources of profit
`
`
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`10
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`Case 1:21-cv-01381 Document 1 Filed 02/17/21 Page 11 of 13
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`linked to this revenue stream.
`
`57.
`
`Coinseed and Davaasambuu made attempts to list the CSD token for trading on the
`
`secondary market but were ultimately unsuccessful.
`
`58.
`
`Purchasers of CSD tokens were entirely passive, and had no control over Coinseed’s
`
`management or operations, its mobile application, or any other aspect of its business.
`
`59.
`
`Investors in CSD tokens reasonably relied on the managerial and entrepreneurial
`
`efforts of Defendants to establish, operate, and expand use of Coinseed’s mobile application, which
`
`would, if successful, result in increased dividends for CSD token investors. Defendants conveyed to
`
`prospective investors that Coinseed’s management team’s efforts were critical to Coinseed’s success,
`
`explaining in the Whitepaper that the vesting program applicable to the distribution of CSD tokens
`
`to Coinseed’s management team was designed to “ensure [their] commitment to building the system
`
`in the long-term.”
`
`IV. DEFENDANTS FAILED TO REGISTER THE OFFERING WITH THE
`COMMISSION
`
`60.
`
`Defendants used interstate commerce for the Offering by, among other things,
`
`promoting investments in CSD tokens on Coinseed’s publicly available website, created and
`
`maintained by Davaasambuu.
`
`61.
`
`Defendants never filed a registration statement with the Commission with respect to
`
`their offer or sale of CSD tokens.
`
`62.
`
`Defendants’ offer and sale of CSD tokens were not exempt from the registration
`
`requirements of the Securities Act.
`
`63.
`
`At the time of the Offering, Defendants’ public disclosures failed to disclose the
`
`information required within a registration statement.
`
`64.
`
`CSD token purchasers and the market thus lacked the information that issuers
`
`provide under the Securities Act when they solicit public investment.
`
`
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`11
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`FIRST CLAIM FOR RELIEF
`Violations of Securities Act Sections 5(a) and (c)
`(Both Defendants)
`
`65.
`
`The Commission re-alleges and incorporates by reference here the allegations in
`
`paragraphs 1 through 64.
`
`66.
`
`Coinseed and Davaasambuu, directly or indirectly, singly or in concert, (i) made use
`
`of means or instruments of transportation or communication in interstate commerce or of the mails
`
`to sell, through the use or medium of a prospectus or otherwise, securities as to which no
`
`registration statement was in effect; (ii) for the purpose of sale or for delivery after sale, carried or
`
`caused to be carried through the mails or in interstate commerce, by any means or instruments of
`
`transportation, securities as to which no registration statement was in effect; or (iii) made use of
`
`means or instruments of transportation or communication in interstate commerce or of the mails to
`
`offer to sell or offer to buy, through the use or medium of a prospectus or otherwise, securities as to
`
`which no registration statement had been filed.
`
`67.
`
`By reason of the foregoing, Coinseed and Davaasambuu violated and, unless
`
`enjoined, will again violate, Securities Act Sections 5(a) and 5(c) [15 U.S.C. §§ 77e(a) and 77e(c)].
`
`
`
`WHEREFORE, the Commission respectfully requests that the Court enter a Final
`
`PRAYER FOR RELIEF
`
`Judgment:
`
`I.
`
`Permanently enjoining Defendants and their agents, servants, employees and attorneys and
`
`all persons in active concert or participation with any of them from violating, directly or indirectly,
`
`Securities Act Sections 5(a) and (c) [15 U.S.C. §§ 77e(a), 77e(c)];
`
`Ordering Defendants to disgorge all ill-gotten gains they received directly or indirectly, with
`
`II.
`
`
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`Case 1:21-cv-01381 Document 1 Filed 02/17/21 Page 13 of 13
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`pre-judgment interest thereon, pursuant to Section 21(d)(5) of the Exchange Act [15 U.S.C. §
`
`78u(d)(5)] and Sections 6501(a)(1) and (a)(3) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal
`
`Year 2021, Pub. L. No. 116-283, to be codified at 15 U.S.C. §§ 78u(d)(3) and 78u(d)(7);
`
`III.
`
`Prohibiting Defendants from participating, directly or indirectly, in any offering of a digital
`
`asset security pursuant to Section 21(d)(5) of the Exchange Act [15 U.S.C. § 78u(d)(5)]; provided,
`
`however, that such injunction shall not prevent Davaasambuu from purchasing or selling digital
`
`asset securities for his own personal account;
`
`IV.
`
`Ordering Defendants to pay civil monetary penalties under Securities Act Section 20(d)
`
`[15 U.S.C. § 77t(d)]; and
`
`V.
`
`Granting any other and further relief this Court may deem just and proper.
`
`
`Dated: New York, New York
`February 17, 2021
`
`
`
`
`
`____________________________________
`RICHARD R. BEST
`REGIONAL DIRECTOR
`Lara Shalov Mehraban
`Sandeep Satwalekar
`Mark R. Sylvester
`Amy Mayer
`Attorneys for Plaintiff
`SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
`New York Regional Office
`Brookfield Place
`200 Vesey Street, Suite 400
`New York, New York 10281-1022
`(212) 336-0159 (Sylvester)
`sylvesterm@sec.gov
`
`
`
`
`
`13
`
`