SEC Secures Final Judgment Against Perpetrator in Crypto Fraud Case

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has obtained a final judgment of consent against Latvian national Ivars Auzins. Auzins was charged by the SEC in December 2021 for defrauding hundreds of retail investors through two separate fraudulent crypto schemes.

According to the SEC’s complaint, Auzins allegedly conducted his scams through the Denaro initial coin offering of digital assets between January and March 2018 and through Innovamine, an online entity that falsely claimed to offer a cloud mining and digital asset trading platform from April to July 2019.

Using fictitious names, fake legal entities, and fraudulent profiles, Auzins perpetrated his schemes and misappropriated nearly all of the funds raised from investors, as alleged in the complaint.

Auzins consented to a final judgment that permanently enjoins him from violating several antifraud and registration provisions. The judgment order also includes a disgorgement of $412,201.15, including prejudgment interest, against Auzins. He is also barred from serving as an officer or director of a public company for ten years and prohibited from participating in any offering of a crypto asset being offered and sold as a security for the same period.