SEC Alleges Bitcoin Mining Companies Operated $20 Million Ponzi Scheme

The Securities and Exchange Commission filed civil fraud charges against a Vermont man and two companies he controlled, alleging that the purported Bitcoin mining operation touted to investors was a giant Ponzi scheme that took in at least $20 million from over 10,000 victims. In a complaint filed today in a Connecticut federal court, the Commission charged Homero Joshua Garza, GAW Miners, LLC, and ZenMiner, LLC with multiple violations of federal securities laws. The Commission is seeking injunctive relief, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, imposition of civil monetary penalties, and prejudgment interest. The enforcement action is the second filed by the SEC involving allegations of a Bitcoin-based Ponzi scheme.