SEC dismisses claims against John McAfee, fines accomplice for ICO promotion

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) obtained the final verdict on October 5, 2020 for an ICO promotion plan against the late entrepreneur John McAfee and accomplice Jimmy Gale Watson, Jr.

In the original complaint, the SEC alleged that McAfee and Watson were promoting ICO investments on Twitter without disclosing that they were being paid for it. Watson allegedly helped McAfee negotiate promotional deals with ICO publishers and disburse the crypto payments, among other pump-and-dump fees.

The US District Court for the Southern District of New York found Watson guilty of violating the law and imposed a cumulative fine of $375,934.86. In addition, Watson is prohibited from participating in any ICO related issue, purchase, offer or sale. The lawsuit states:

“However, such an order will not prevent Watson from buying or selling securities for his own personal accounts.”

The SEC’s claims against McAfee were dismissed after the Commission filed a death notice for the infamous entrepreneur.

Related: US Treasury calls for public comment on digital asset policy, following Biden’s executive order

The US Treasury asked for public input to be included in its reporting to the president on the potential implications of digital assets on financial and payment infrastructures. Nellie Liang, Deputy Finance Minister for Home Finance, shared his thoughts on this:

“For consumers, digital assets can offer potential benefits, such as faster payments, as well as potential risks, including risks related to fraud and scams.”

Therefore, Liang hopes to get input from Americans and market participants to better understand the impact of mainstreaming crypto assets.