Las Vegas resident charged in crypto fraud targeting Filipino community

From late 2017 through mid-2018, Emil Ryn allegedly raised over $800,000 from 26 investors, some of whom took out home equity loans in order to invest. TWITTER

LAS VEGAS – The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Emiliano S. Ryn of Las Vegas and his company, GexCrypto Corp., with defrauding members of the Filipino community in a scheme involving crypto assets.

According to the SEC’s complaint filed in the United States District Court Ryn posed as a successful Filipino cryptocurrency entrepreneur who could make members of his community also become rich through investing in GexCrypto, a purported first-of-its-kind crypto asset trading platform, and in a second crypto asset mining business.

From late 2017 through mid-2018, Ryn allegedly raised over $800,000 from 26 investors, some of whom took out home equity loans in order to invest.

The complaint stated that despite Ryn portraying GexCrypto as a world-class trading platform with superior service and technology, the platform was never built and was never operational.

The complaint further accuses Ryn’s of falsely promising investors guaranteed returns from the crypto asset mining business, a minimum of $10,000 per month. In reality, Ryn never paid any returns, and investors lost all of their contributions.

Ryn and GexCrypto are charged with violating the registration provisions of Sections 5(a) and (c) of the Securities Act of 1933, as well as the antifraud provisions of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder.

Without admitting or denying the allegations in the SEC’s complaint, Ryn and GexCrypto each consented to final judgments permanently enjoining them from violating the charged provisions and ordering them to pay, on a joint-and-several basis, disgorgement of $825,994.37, prejudgment interest of $187,567.87, and a civil money penalty of $1,000,000.

The final judgment against Ryn also prevents him from serving as an officer or director of a public company and from participating in the issuance, purchase, offer, or sale of any security with the exception of Ryn purchasing or selling securities for his own personal accounts. The settlement is subject to court approval.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy and the Division of Enforcement’s Retail Strategy Task Force have issued an Investor Alert with tips on how investors should avoid investment decisions based solely on common ties with someone recommending or selling the investment.