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CoinEx crypto exchange sued by New York for failing to register with state

February 23, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

The NY Attorney General is looking for a court order to remove the exchange from the state and wants it to block all internet addresses originating from New York.

Cryptocurrency exchange CoinEx has been sued by the New York Attorney General, Letitia James, alleging the firm falsely represented itself as an exchange due to failing to register as a securities and commodities broker-dealer in the state.

A 38-page petition filed by James in the New York Supreme Court on Feb. 22 alleged CoinEx “engaged in repeated and persistent fraudulent practices” and violated the state’s Martin Act — considered one of the most strict anti-fraud and securities regulation laws in the United States.

She also asserted CoinEx listed various tokens that qualified as “both commodities and securities” naming Amp (AMP), LBRY Credits (LBC), Rally (RLY) and Terra (LUNA).

When crypto platforms disregard our laws, they put New Yorkers at risk.

We're seeking to stop @coinexcom from operating in New York and will continue to protect people from the dangers of the cryptocurrency industry.
— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) February 22, 2023

In a Feb. 22 statement, James said CoinEx is not registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) “as is required under New York law” to sell the tokens.

The Attorney General’s Office created a CoinEx account with a New York-based computer and internet address and alleged it was able to trade on the platform.

“The days of crypto companies like CoinEx acting like the rules do not apply to them are over,” she added.

The petition also states that CoinEx failed to comply with a Dec. 22, 2022 subpoena sent by the Attorney General’s Office in order to “provide testimony concerning the virtual asset trading activities of its platform.”

“CoinEx was compelled by subpoena to appear for an examination under oath on January 9, 2023, and failed to appear [...] CoinEx’s non-appearance is prima facie proof that CoinEx has engaged in the [mentioned] fraudulent practices.”

In the petition, James is seeking a court order to stop CoinEx from marketing itself as an exchange, prevent it from operating in the state and will order the exchange to geo-block internet addresses and GPS location data originating from New York.

Cointelegraph contacted CoinEx for comment but did not receive an immediate response.

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Judge blocks sale of Jay-Z’s first album and its copyright as an NFT

June 23, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

Damon Dash has slammed the complaint against him from Roc-A-Fella Records, stating that he never minted an NFT and was only attempting to sell his stake in the company.

A New York judge has issued a temporary restraining order to block an alleged attempt from Roc-A-Fella Records Inc (RAF) co-founder Damon Dash to sell a tokenized version of Jay-Z's first album “Reasonable Doubt” along with its copyright.

Dash however has claimed he was only trying to sell his stake in RAF.

Rapper Jay-Z co-founded RAF with Damon Dash and Kareem Burke back in 1996. The record label has split ownership between the three, with the company owning the full copyright to the album in question.

RAF asserted that Dash was attempting to auction off a tokenized version of the album and its copyright on SuperFarm on June 23, an NFT marketplace co-created by crypto YouTuber ElioTrades. While that auction was cancelled the complaint alleges Dash is "frantically" trying to arrange another.

New York District Judge John P. Cronan agreed to halt the sale and restrain Dash from selling the copyright to the album until at least after a July 1 hearing.

A complaint filed on June 18 shows a number of claims against Dash, including breach of fiduciary duty, unjust enrichment, conversion, and replevin. It reads:

“The bottom line is simple: Dash can’t sell what he doesn’t own. By attempting such a sale, Dash has converted a corporate asset and has breached his fiduciary duties."

The complaint cites an announcement from SuperFarm before the auction on June 23, in which the NFT platform said that it is “proud to announce, in collaboration with Damon Dash, the auction of Damon‘s ownership of the copyright to Jay-Z’s first album Reasonable Doubt,” with RAF asserting that the NFT has already been minted on the blockchain.

The plaintiff’s prayer for relief includes nominal damages, punitive damages, the cost of the lawsuit and attorney fees, and the enjoinment of Dash from selling any interest in the album.

Speaking with Rolling Stone on June 22, Dash slammed the complaint, claiming that he never minted the album as an NFT, and was only attempting to sell his stake in the company:

“There hasn’t been an announcement. There wasn’t an announcement at all. Don’t you think that if I made an announcement that I’m selling Reasonable Doubt you would’ve heard about it?”

“What they’re accusing me of is minting a whole album. So if it’s already minted, it’s already on the blockchain, that means it’s already there. It never happened, and they know it never happened,” he added.

Crypto lawsuit