The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently filed an amended complaint against Justin Sun and other defendants, arguing that Sun’s alleged visits to the US should give the SEC the necessary jurisdiction to pursue legal action. The regulator claimed that Sun had traveled extensively to the US between 2017 and 2019, spending over 380 days in the country. These trips were purportedly carried out on behalf of the Tron Foundation and the BitTorrent Foundation, both of which are named as defendants in the case. The SEC is looking to use these visits as a basis for claiming jurisdiction over Sun and the companies involved in unregistered offers and sales of BTT and TRX tokens.
In addition to the visits made by Sun, the SEC also alleged that Sun and the companies engaged in a wash trading scheme on Bittrex, a now-defunct crypto exchange based in the US. The agency included the fact that Bittrex is headquartered in the US as part of its jurisdictional claims over Sun and the other defendants. Furthermore, the amended complaint stated that Sun personally communicated with and provided documents to Bittrex in 2018 to have the exchange list the TRX crypto. These documents linked Sun to the other companies involved in the case, with Sun himself signing some of the papers.
Sun’s defense lawyers previously argued for the dismissal of the SEC case in March, citing a lack of personal jurisdiction due to Sun being a foreign national. They also addressed the improper distributions on Bittrex but highlighted that there was no specific allegation that any US resident purchased or attempted to purchase TRX on the platform. The SEC originally sued Sun and the other defendants in March 2023, based on claims that sales targeted investors in the Southern District of New York and that celebrity promoters contacted individuals in the US through social media. The SEC later sued Bittrex in April 2023, with the case being settled in August of the same year after the exchange ceased operations globally.
The amended complaint filed by the SEC against Justin Sun and other defendants highlights the ongoing legal battle surrounding unregistered offers and sales of cryptocurrencies in the US. The allegations of extensive visits, wash trading schemes, and personal communications with Bittrex have added further complexity to the case. Sun’s defense arguments for dismissal based on jurisdiction issues have been challenged by the SEC, who continue to pursue regulatory and legal action against him and the companies involved. The outcome of this case will likely have significant implications for the regulation of cryptocurrency offerings and trading in the US.
Leave a Reply