{"id":94492,"date":"2024-09-24T01:48:25","date_gmt":"2024-09-24T05:48:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/?p=94492"},"modified":"2024-09-24T01:48:31","modified_gmt":"2024-09-24T05:48:31","slug":"green-united-fails-to-drop-18m-case-for-fraud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/green-united-fails-to-drop-18m-case-for-fraud\/","title":{"rendered":"Green United Fails To Drop $18M Case For Crypto Mining Fraud"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Green United LLC has failed to discharge a lawsuit filed by the SEC on operating a fraudulent <a href=\"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/what-are-crypto-mining-pools.html\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"93019\">crypto mining<\/a> scheme that earned investors $18 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/green-United-1024x512.jpg\" alt=\"Green United Fails To Drop $18M Case For Crypto Mining Fraud\" class=\"wp-image-94495\" srcset=\"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/green-United-1024x512.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/green-United-300x150.jpg 300w, https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/green-United-768x384.jpg 768w, https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/green-United-860x430.jpg 860w, https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/green-United.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Green United Fails To Drop $18M Case For Crypto Mining Fraud<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In March, the SEC accused defendants Wright Thurston and Kristoffer Krohn, who operated cryptocurrency mining firm Green United LLC, of fraudulently offering securities. They sold &#8220;Green Boxes&#8221; and &#8220;Green nodes&#8221; that were marketed as miners for the <a href=\"https:\/\/greentoken.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">GREEN token <span class=\"wpil-link-icon\" title=\"Link goes to external site.\" style=\"margin: 0 0 0 5px;\"><svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" style=\"height:16px; width:16px; fill:#000000; stroke:#000000; display:inline-block;\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:svg=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><g id=\"wpil-svg-outbound-7-icon-path\" fill=\"none\" clip-path=\"url(#clip0_31_188)\">\r\n                            <path d=\"M9.16724 14.8891L20.1672 3.88908\" stroke-linecap=\"round\"\/>\r\n                            <path d=\"M13.4497 3.53554L20.5208 3.53554L20.5208 10.6066\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"\/>\r\n                            <path d=\"M17.5 13.5L17.5 16.26C17.5 17.4179 17.5 17.9968 17.2675 18.4359C17.0799 18.7902 16.7902 19.0799 16.4359 19.2675C15.9968 19.5 15.4179 19.5 14.26 19.5L7.74 19.5C6.58213 19.5 6.0032 19.5 5.56414 19.2675C5.20983 19.0799 4.92007 18.7902 4.73247 18.4359C4.5 17.9968 4.5 17.4179 4.5 16.26L4.5 9.74C4.5 8.58213 4.5 8.0032 4.73247 7.56414C4.92007 7.20983 5.20982 6.92007 5.56414 6.73247C6.0032 6.5 6.58213 6.5 7.74 6.5L11 6.5\" stroke-linecap=\"round\"\/>\r\n                        <\/g>\r\n                        <defs>\r\n                            <clipPath id=\"clip0_31_188\">\r\n                                <rect fill=\"white\" height=\"24\" width=\"24\"\/>\r\n                            <\/clipPath>\r\n                        <\/defs><\/svg><\/span><\/a>on the &#8220;Green Blockchain.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Green United Loses Bid In $18M Lawsuit <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Judge Ann Marie McIff Allen stated in the Sept. 23 decision that the defendants had failed to refute the Securities and Exchange Commission's securities allegations, asserting that the &#8220;SEC has adequately alleged all necessary elements of a security in the form of an investment contract.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Judge Allen, Thurston's actions resulted in the &#8220;illusion&#8221; that investors were earning GREEN tokens through mining, so he declined to invalidate the <a href=\"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/us-sec-sues-geosyn-mining-owners-for-5-6m-fraud.html\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"77332\">SEC's fraud claims<\/a> against him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;In reality, they were only granted GREEN by Mr. Thurston's discretionary decision to distribute it to investors, purportedly based on the quantity of Green Boxes they possessed.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201c[This] constitutes a deceptive act in furtherance of the Green Box fraud.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.cointelegraph.com\/uploads\/2024-09\/019221ca-119f-7621-bf6d-206b17066511\" alt=\"An excerpt from the defendants\u2019 motion to dismiss. Source: PACER\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>An excerpt from the defendants\u2019 motion to dismiss. Source: PACER<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>The SEC also claimed that the hardware sold by Green United was<a href=\"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/bitcoin-mining-pools-how-to-earn-cash-from-mining-bitcoin.html\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"93023\"> Bitcoin mining<\/a> devices that did not mine GREEN as advertised, and the purported blockchain never existed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The SEC stated that investors &#8220;did not receive&#8221; any Bitcoin mined by Green United, and the alleged scheme raised approximately $18 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thurston and Krohn also asserted in their motion to dismiss that the SEC lacked authority over digital assets, as Congress had already &#8220;considered and rejected&#8221; its authority. They also contended that such enforcements contradict the Due Process clause and separation of powers outlined in the US Constitution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nevertheless, Judge Allen also rejected this argument:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cThis action does not present any novel attempt at regulation by the SEC. Rather, the SEC, by this action, pursues the regulatory goals Congress set for it ninety years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>The SEC's lawsuit will proceed to the subsequent legal procedure phase, typically the discovery or trial stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On May 19, Thurston and Krohn submitted motions to dismiss the SEC's lawsuit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thurston established Green United in Utah from April 2018 until at least December 2022, when Krohn contractually promoted the initiative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Green United LLC has failed to discharge a lawsuit filed by the SEC on operating a fraudulent crypto mining scheme that earned investors $18 million. In March, the SEC accused defendants Wright Thurston and Kristoffer Krohn, who operated cryptocurrency mining firm Green United LLC, of fraudulently offering securities. They sold &#8220;Green Boxes&#8221; and &#8220;Green nodes&#8221; [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":94495,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[754,21989,143],"class_list":["post-94492","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-bitcoin-mining","tag-green-united-llc","tag-sec"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/green-United.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94492","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94492"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94492\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/94495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94492"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94492"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94492"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}