ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, U.S. District Judge Ann Marie McIff Allen in Utah has denied the appeal request from Kristoffer Krohn, a promoter of Green United, regarding the September 23 ruling that allowed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to sue Green United LLC. The judge stated that Krohn failed to provide grounds for the appeal.In the arguments against the dismissal of the lawsuit, Krohn claimed that the SEC failed to prove that the Green Boxes offered by Green United were investment contracts, which the regulatory agency alleged in its complaint. He also argued that the SEC confused elements in the Howey test that defines securities. However, Judge Allen stated that Krohn's arguments were incorrect, accusing him of selectively quoting terms from two different definitions and "failing to provide any legal support to demonstrate that any court has adopted the definition he described."In 2023, the SEC charged that executives of Green United operated a fraudulent cryptocurrency mining scheme that defrauded investors of $18 million through the sale of Green Boxes and Green Boxes investment products from April 2018 to December 2022.

ChainCatcher News: A U.S. federal judge has dismissed the SEC's request for sanctions against Elon Musk, citing his absence from a court order related to his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter.Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley ruled that Musk should not be sanctioned for his testimony on October 3 and ordered the SEC to reimburse him $2,923 for travel expenses. The SEC argued that Musk violated an order from May 31 and sought stronger deterrents, but Corley found the issue to be without merit.Musk attributed his absence on September 10 to overseeing SpaceX's Polaris Dawn mission.The SEC's investigation aims to determine whether Musk delayed disclosing his purchase of Twitter stock in 2022, which could violate securities laws. Critics argue that this delay allowed Musk to acquire shares of the company at a lower price before disclosing his 9.2% stake.Musk previously acknowledged a misunderstanding of SEC rules. He had settled with the SEC in 2018 over tweets related to Tesla. The case is still pending in the Northern District of California. (Bitcoin.com)

ChainCatcher news, Celsius is attempting to reverse the so-called fraudulent transfers and recover more funds for creditors. However, due to the anonymity of the technology, Celsius has been unable to identify the wallet owners associated with the relevant transfers.As a result, the litigation administrator has designed a new alternative service method solution. Celsius proposes to airdrop NFTs to the relevant wallet addresses that contain hyperlinks pointing to a website with complaints and other related legal documents. To ensure that the NFTs are delivered correctly, Celsius will have FTI Consulting confirm that the wallets have received the NFTs on-chain and record the exact date and time the NFTs were opened. FTI will also monitor website traffic to ensure that the links are opened by actual humans rather than automated programs.

ChainCatcher news, according to market news, Sam Bankman-Fried's former deputy, FTX co-founder Gary Wang, has been spared from imprisonment by a U.S. judge due to his role in the FTX cryptocurrency fraud case.

ChainCatcher news, a California judge has rejected Kraken's motion for a temporary appeal, stating in his ruling that allowing the appeal would only "delay" the resolution process of the case the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is pursuing against the cryptocurrency exchange.The second-largest cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S., Kraken, filed a motion for a temporary appeal in September (a type of appeal challenging a judge's non-final ruling while allowing other aspects of the case to proceed). A month ago, U.S. District Court Judge William Orrick of the Northern District of California ruled that the SEC's allegations were reasonable, and the cryptocurrencies sold on the Kraken platform could be considered securities under the Howey test.

ChainCatcher news, according to a published document, U.S. District Judge Juan Merchan in New York has agreed to postpone the hearing of the criminal case involving elected President Trump related to the "hush money" until November 19.The Manhattan District Attorney charged Trump at the end of March last year with attempting to cover up a $130,000 "hush money" payment to an actress by falsifying business records before the 2016 presidential election. Trump firmly denies all charges and does not acknowledge any affair with the woman involved. (Jin Shi)

ChainCatcher news, according to Jinshi reports, documents show that a judge in New York State has suspended the proceedings of the criminal case against Trump regarding hush money at the request of the prosecution.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, former CEO of the crypto platform Celsius, Alex Mashinsky, is facing criminal charges in the United States. His representative lawyer has lost the case and failed to dismiss two charges related to commodity fraud and manipulation of the CEL token price.In documents submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on November 8, Judge John Koeltl ruled that Mashinsky's legal team's arguments for dismissing the charges were "either irrelevant or without merit." The judge denied the motion to dismiss the two charges, leaving seven charges still in the indictment against Mashinsky, with the trial scheduled to begin in January 2025.

ChainCatcher news, November 7, FTX co-founder Gary Wang's lawyer argued that Wang should not be sentenced to prison, as he cooperated with authorities and was unaware of the extent of the exchange's criminal activities.According to a sentencing memorandum submitted on Wednesday, Wang stated that he was not aware of the misappropriation of FTX customer funds by sister company Alameda Research and only learned of the situation after the fraudulent activities were "well underway." Wang is scheduled to be sentenced in a New York court on November 20. Wang's son is also set to be born a week later on November 27, and both he and his wife Cheryl Chen are full-time software engineers. The memorandum states that his current work includes supporting "forensic companies, criminal investigators, and judicial professionals seeking to preserve evidence faithfully."Wang later testified in SBF's trial, telling the court about the special privileges secretly granted to Alameda Research for accounts on FTX. The lawyer also stated, "It is crucial, as acknowledged by the government and evidenced in the trial, that when Gary was writing code, he had no idea that Bankman-Fried would exploit these features to steal customer funds. Bankman-Fried did not even inform Gary before he began to utilize these features (let alone coordinate with him)."

ChainCatcher news, according to CNN, a U.S. federal judge stated that she would not block the U.S. Department of Justice from deploying monitors at polling places in St. Louis, dismissing a lawsuit filed by Missouri Republican officials. It is reported that the U.S. Department of Justice can send observers to election sites in St. Louis and Texas.U.S. District Judge Sarah Pitlyk, appointed by former President Donald Trump, pointed out that a previous court agreement between the city of St. Louis and the U.S. Department of Justice allows DOJ staff to oversee whether the city's polling places comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act; in another case, the U.S. Department of Justice was allowed to have Texas election monitors remain outside polling places on election day.

ChainCatcher news, mining company Greenidge Generation has received a temporary extension allowing its Bitcoin mining facility in Dresden to continue operating until November 14.Greenidge noted in a filing on Tuesday that the New York State Supreme Court is expected to rule on its lawsuit against the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) on November 14. In June 2022, the DEC denied Greenidge's application to renew its Title V air permit for the Dresden plant. After an appeals process, Greenidge was ultimately denied again in May of this year.A court hearing was held on October 29, and the permit has been further extended to November 14.Greenidge announced preliminary financial results for the third quarter earlier this month, stating that it produced 167 BTC from July to September, of which 54 BTC was generated from proprietary hash rate and 113 BTC was produced for hosted client NYDIG.

ChainCatcher news, according to Hong Kong media reports, JPEX is suspected of violating regulations by promoting and operating in Hong Kong. The first civil lawsuit involves two plaintiffs seeking to recover 240,000 Tether or 1.85 million Hong Kong dollars from JPEX Group and a total of 7 defendants. One of the defendants, a JPEX registered company in Hong Kong, was absent from last month's hearing. Judge Zhou Zhaowen issued a ruling yesterday stating that the company, as an operator, holds assets and constitutes an express trust but has violated its responsibilities. Particularly, the case of the first plaintiff is evidently strong, thus the judge ordered the company to compensate at the request of the two individuals.According to the statement of claim, the first defendant, a company registered in Australia under JPEX, operates the JPEX virtual asset service and electronic platform. The plaintiffs personally or in their name deposited virtual currency into the platform account, and they request the court to rule that the second defendant has violated good faith and/or must restructure and repay debts. The judge also stated that in many common law jurisdictions, including Hong Kong, courts accept that cryptocurrency is considered "property" and can form a trust.The judge recognized that the two defendants operate a cryptocurrency trading platform, which records the movement of currency between accounts, involving trustee benefits and various agreement terms. Therefore, the defendants, as trustees, violated their responsibilities by transferring assets without authorization.

ChainCatcher News, U.S. Federal Judge Tanya Chutkan announced on October 18 local time the evidence in the Trump election immunity lawsuit, failing to postpone the announcement until after the November 5 U.S. presidential election.Previously, on July 1, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Trump enjoys a certain degree of immunity from criminal prosecution in federal cases involving alleged "interference in the 2020 election," but does not have immunity from prosecution for actions taken in a private capacity, and instructed lower courts to reconsider the case to determine which actions qualify as "official acts" that cannot be prosecuted.This ruling indicates that the progress of the case will take time. U.S. media generally believe that Trump is unlikely to face trial before the presidential election in November this year.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bloomberg, former FTX engineering director Nishad Singh has requested the judge not to send him to prison due to the collapse of FTX.In a memorandum submitted to the Manhattan federal judge on Wednesday night, Nishad Singh's lawyer stated that, given his limited role in the FTX bankruptcy case, his close cooperation with investigators, and his commitment to leading a "model life," he should be treated leniently.

ChainCatcher news, Ripple Labs Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty stated that as the U.S. SEC prepares to appeal the federal judge's decision regarding XRP, the agency is set to face another defeat.In an interview, he said, "This will backfire on the SEC. I feel good about our case in the Southern District of New York, and even better about the case in the Second Circuit."Alderoty mentioned that when the U.S. SEC first sued Ripple and its two executives in 2020, the company publicly announced that its legal battle was "on behalf of the entire industry." He added that this move indicated the SEC "would take action against the entire industry."In August of this year, Judge Torres ordered Ripple to pay a $125 million fine for XRP transactions that violated securities laws. The SEC had previously claimed that Ripple raised $1.3 billion through unregistered securities offerings since 2013 and later sought a $2 billion fine against it. While Ripple appreciated Judge Torres's ruling, which stated that XRP "is not necessarily a security on its face," there were also judges who disagreed.The SEC has not indicated which parts of the Torres ruling it plans to appeal, while Ripple has also taken its own legal actions.

ChainCatcher news, the crypto bank Banq previously filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for Nevada, but its application has been dismissed.The judge presiding over the case, Natalie M. Cox, stated that the bank's bankruptcy filing was a "malicious" strategy aimed at "gaining an advantage in pending litigation" rather than restructuring.Judge Cox wrote in her ruling that the bankruptcy proceedings were a tactic to protect Banq and its founder Jon Jiles from an investor lawsuit initiated by N9 (the company's primary creditor holding a $3 million stake). N9 accused Jiles of failing to fulfill his fiduciary duties by prioritizing the interests of Prime Trust (of which he is a founder and managing member) over those of Banq.Previous news, the crypto custody company Prime Trust's subsidiary Banq has filed for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Nevada.

According to ChainCatcher, as reported by CoinDesk, former FTX executive Ryan Salame was sentenced for violating U.S. election laws after donating millions of dollars during the last congressional election. He attempted to delay his prison sentence at the last minute to treat a dog bite on his face, but was denied. Salame had criticized the charges against him on social media; he was originally supposed to begin serving over seven years in prison on August 29, but he told the court that he was bitten by a large German shepherd, which postponed his sentencing to October 11. Earlier this week, he requested another extension. However, during an interview with Tucker Carlson, there were no obvious signs that he was hindered by his injury—when the court rejected Salame's efforts, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan of the Southern District of New York noted this fact.Salame claimed he needed "urgent and necessary medical and surgical care" and could not report to prison immediately, while prosecutors responded that he appeared to be in good condition. The prosecutors stated that when he appeared in court last month, he showed "no signs of drooling or slurred speech" while answering questions, and then he participated in Carlson's interview, during which Salame "appeared to be physically recovered and showed no signs of injury." The judge pointed out that Salame had already "benefited from an extremely generous delay in his incarceration," and the court expressed skepticism about the "validity" of Salame's claims.

ChainCatcher news, according to Coindesk, U.S. Delaware bankruptcy court judge John Dorsey decided on Monday during a hearing to approve the FTX bankruptcy plan, which will fully repay cryptocurrency customers in cash plus interest. Under the plan, 98% of creditors will receive at least 118% of the value of their claims in cash.FTX lawyers stated that they are still considering distributing stablecoins to creditors as an option and confirmed that they are in discussions with at least four companies that could handle such distribution if necessary.