Hydrogen Technology Corp. and its former CEO will pay $2.8 million in fines and remedies for allegedly operating a price manipulation scheme.
A $2.8 million settlement has concluded a seven-month legal battle between the US securities regulator and a company accused of manipulating the price of cryptocurrencies.
In a litigation brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a New York District Court Judge decided against Hydrogen Technology Corporation and its former CEO Michael Ross Kane on April 20 and ordered them to pay $2.8 million in remedies and civil penalties.
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The total includes more than $1 million in fines and around $1.5 million in “disgorged” profits, which are benefits from illegal activity. Michael Kane, the CEO of Hydrogen, also consented to pay a $260,000 personal penalties.
The SEC filed a lawsuit in September 2022 stating that Kane participated in a plan to influence the volume and price of Hydrogen’s ERC-20 token Hydro (HYDRO) by using market maker Moonwalkers Trading Limited.
The SEC alleged that Kane and Moonwalkers CEO Tyler Ostern conspired “to create the false appearance of robust market activity” after the distribution of Hydrogen’s Hydro tokens through airdrops, bounty programs, and direct-to-market sales in 2018.
