The Securities and Exchange Commission suspended trading in the securities of American Retail Group, Inc. (ARGB), also known as Simex, Inc. for making false cryptocurrency-related claims. The regulator's decision follows the company's statements regarding SEC regulation and registration.
In a statement, the SEC said the order is based on the company's two press releases in August, in which the Nevada-based company claimed that it had partnered with an SEC qualified custodian for use with cryptocurrency transactions that would be "under SEC Regulations."
The statements also claimed that the company was conducting a token offering that was "officially registered in accordance with SEC requirements."
Robert Cohen, Chief of the SEC Enforcement Division's Cyber Unit, said, "The SEC does not endorse or qualify custodians for cryptocurrency, and investors should use vigilance when considering an investment in an initial coin offering."
In early October, the SEC had issued an investor alert that warned investors to be vigilant for false claims about SEC endorsements used to promote digital asset investments.
Under the federal securities laws, the SEC can suspend trading in a stock for 10 days. It can generally prohibit a broker-dealer from soliciting investors to buy or sell the stock again until certain reporting requirements are met.
In a different case, in April, the regulator had temporarily suspended trading in the securities of New York -based IBITX Software Inc. In February, it did the same with three other companies after they made similar statements related to questionable acquisition of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology-related assets. The affected companies were Cherubim Interests, Inc., PDX Partners, Inc., and Victura Construction Group, Inc.
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