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The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged siblings John and JonAtina Barksdale with defrauding investors in a Cryptocurrency scheme by making false statements. The SEC charged the two with "defrauding thousands of retail investors out of over $124 million (approximately Rs. 950 crore) through two unregistered fraudulent securities offerings employing a digital token called "Ormeus Coin." According to the SEC, the siblings sold Ormeus Coin on cryptocurrency exchanges and advertised it via. YouTube and roadshows around the world.

According to the complaint, the siblings have been selling 'Ormeus Coin' to investors since June 2017, when they also created a multi-level marketing company named Ormeus Global, which operated until April 2018. Ormeus Global sold subscription packages that included "Ormeus Coin and a crypto trading platform investment."

The two have also been accused of "falsely" claiming that 'Ormeus Coin' was backed by a "$250 million (approximately Rs. 1,915 crore) crypto mining enterprise" that generated monthly income of $5.4 million (about Rs. 41.5 crore) to $8 million (roughly Rs. 61 crore). The siblings' mining operations, on the other hand, concluded in 2019 with total revenue of only $3 million (approximately Rs. 23 crore).

John Barksdale is also accused of staging "global" roadshows to promote the duo's merchandise. Tina Barksdale allegedly advertised the services via YouTube, news releases, social media posts, and other promotional materials.

The defendants also attempted to "preserve the [mining operation] fiction" by displaying a "wallet of an unrelated third party showing more than $190 million (roughly Rs. 1,455 crore) in assets as of November 2021," despite the fact that the actual Ormeus wallets contained less than $500,000, according to the complaint (roughly Rs. 4 crore). Price fixing and theft of investor funds for "personal motives" have also been mentioned.

In a statement, Melissa Hodgman, associate director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement, said, "We argue that the Barksdales functioned like modern-day snake-oil salesmen, misleading retail investors for their own personal gain through social media, promotional websites, and in-person roadshows."

The Barksdales are accused of breaching federal securities laws in a complaint filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.

The Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York has filed separate criminal charges against John Barksdale.

"As alleged, John Barksdale engaged in a web of deception in order to market the cryptocurrency Ormeus Coin to investors all over the world," the office said in a statement.