Former New Jersey Department of Corrections lieutenant John A. DeSalvo has been charged by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission with orchestrating a cryptocurrency scam that specifically targeted police officers and first responders.
According to a report on August 23 announcementDeSalvo allegedly raised $623,388 from 222 investors by selling his own Blazar tokens between November 2021 and May 2022. DeSalvo claims that Blazar will provide good returns for police, firefighters and paramedics alike “replacing the traditional state pension system”. DeSalvo allegedly told investors:
“The Blazar Token is the first coin or token that will be able to be purchased through a weekly payroll deduction. It will be deducted from one’s weekly pre-tax income, similar to paying a pension, 401k, IRA or any other retirement savings plan.”
When pitching investors, De Salvo falsely stated: “We became a security token for the SEC,” despite never being registered with the regulator. Despite telling investors there was an initial “lockup period” for insiders, DeSalvo sold 41 billion Blazar tokens, worth 51,000 at the time, in May 2022 when the decentralized exchange PancakeSwap debuted. Dollar.
When DeSalvo sold, investors were prohibited from selling their Blazar tokens. Blazar tokens have lost more than 99.9% of their value as of May 22, less than two weeks after DeSalvo sold PancakeSwap. The SEC wrote:
“DeSalvo’s massive sale put downward pressure on the trading price of Blazar tokens and drained most of the liquidity in the PancakeSwap investment, leading to its collapse and significant losses for investors.”
The SEC seeks a permanent injunction against DeSalvo, barring him from offering securities, civil penalties and forfeiture of profits.
Magazine: Blockchain games aren’t really decentralized…but that’s about to change
Svlook
