A Hong Kong crypto firm was forced to pay more than $1.7 million in refunds and fines to investors after reaching a deal with New York State Attorney General (AG) Letitia James.
James filed a lawsuit against trading platform CoinEx in February, accusing the company of failing to register as a securities and commodities broker-dealer and falsely posing itself as a crypto exchange.
The attorney general announced in a press release this week that CoinEx will pay more than $1.1 million in refunds to 4,691 New York investors and more than $600,000 in fines to the state as part of an agreement to end the lawsuit.
The trading platform was also banned from operating in New York, although it announced months ago that it was ceasing operations in the US in response to the lawsuit. The agreement requires CoinEx to use geoblocking to prevent New York IP addresses from accessing its platform.
James, who has been New York’s AG since 2018, has put crypto in her sights in recent years, claiming to have recovered more than $500 million from the digital asset industry for violating state laws.
says the attorney general
“Unregistered crypto platforms pose a risk to investors, consumers and the wider economy. Today’s deal should serve as a warning to crypto companies that there are serious consequences for ignoring New York’s laws. My office will continue to crack down on crypto companies that blatantly flout the law, mislead investors and endanger New Yorkers.”
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