According to a DOJ filing in the BitConnect SEC case, promoters might be charged with a crime.
The DOJ filed a request for a stay of the SEC’s civil complaint against the US promoters of BitConnect on November 30.
The claimed justifications for the wished-for stay include;
the continuing grand jury inquiry in connection with the concurrent criminal matter that is still pending.
Both civil and criminal cases revolve around the same fundamental facts.
Glenn Arcaro is the related parallel civil lawsuit (right).
In September, a guilty plea resulted in a resolution of the matter. In January 2022, Arcaro is expected to get his punishment.
Trevon Brown (also known as Trevon James), Craig Grant, Joshua Jeppesen, Ryan Maasen, and Michael Noble are named defendants in the SEC’s BitConnect promotion case.
According to the DOJ’s complaint, one or more of the civil defendants are the subject of active criminal investigations.
I may be reading too much into what the DOJ is saying, but it seems like they are primarily focusing on Trevon James and Craig Grant.
Craig Grant, the defendant, was last known to reside in Jamaica, although it is unclear where he is now. Trevon Brown’s whereabouts are presently unknown.
Both of the aforementioned defendants have not appeared in the Civil Case and have not spoken an opinion on it.
Prior defendants Joshua Jeppesen, Ryan Maasen, Michael Noble, and Lauren Mascola are no longer parties to the current dispute because their involvement in the civil case has been discontinued.
A pause in the legal process is necessary. The same alleged fraudulent scheme is allegedly at issue in both civil and criminal cases, thus this motion is timely.
Furthermore, a stay is required to protect the confidentiality of the continuing grand jury proceedings and to advance the judicial economy.
The SEC filed civil charges against defendants Joshua Jeppesen, Ryan Maasen, Michael Noble, and Laura Mascola in July.
Only Trevon Brown and Craig Grant are left.
In light of that, take into account the following passage from the DOJ’s brief;
The United States’ motion is timely. In other words, it was submitted before any Defendant had responded to the SEC Complaint and before any Civil Case discovery had begun.
Only Grant and Brown would be subject to the DOJ’s agreement because they haven’t reacted to the SEC’s claim.
I can’t rule out taking legal action against Jeppesen, Maasen, Noble, and/or Mascola until criminal investigations and indictments are made public. But it appears that Grant and Brown will face criminal charges, at least for the time being.
We are aware that Brown was questioned by the FBI in 2018. There haven’t been any developments since then regarding Brown or Grant.
It’s also intriguing that the DOJ insists they are unaware of Brown’s or Grant’s present whereabouts.
Trevon James keeps promoting cryptocurrency fraud on YouTube:
Brown was residing in a house in South Carolina with his family.
Brown uploaded a video on YouTube on October 30th with a drastically different background.
Don’t ask me where I am, Brown said in response to a viewer’s inquiry about his whereabouts.
When Craig Grant learned that the SEC was suing him, he left for Jamaica.
The SEC located Grant and served him at his Spanish Town home after hiring a local law firm.
According to the DOJ complaint, Grant may have since run away once more. The US government may ask Jamaican authorities for help if there were an indictment.
Update 8 December 2021: Craig Grant appears to have removed all of his “Jamaican farmer” YouTube videos in response to the news that he is probably going to be indicted in the US.
