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The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a civil enforcement action against cryptocurrency firm Unicoin Inc. and four of its executives, alleging their involvement in a $100 million massive offering fraud that misled over 5,000 investors worldwide.

In the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the SEC claims that Unicoin, headquartered in New York, promoted an unregistered and fraudulent offering by issuing "Unicoin rights certificates" under false pretenses. These certificates were marketed as providing rights to Unicoin tokens that were purportedly backed by billions in real estate and equity assets — claims the SEC says were knowingly false.

“Unicoin and its executives exploited thousands of investors with fictitious promises that its tokens, when issued, would be backed by real-world assets,” said Mark Cave, Associate Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “As alleged, these assets were worth only a fraction of what the company claimed, and most sales were illusory.”

The SEC accuses the company of misrepresenting its assets, falsely labeling the tokens as “SEC-compliant” and “U.S.-registered,” and overstating the value and ownership of international real estate assets in Argentina, Thailand, Antigua, and the Bahamas. The SEC also contends Unicoin misled investors about the company’s financial health and the scope of rights certificate sales.

Named in the complaint are:

• Alex Konanykhin, CEO and Chairman

• Alex Dominguez, former Chief Investment Officer

• Silvina Moschini, former President and current board member

• Richard Devlin, General Counsel

All are charged with violating federal securities laws, including antifraud provisions and the sale of unregistered securities.

While Devlin has agreed to a final judgment including a $37,500 civil penalty—without admitting or denying the allegations—he is the only executive to reach such a resolution to date.

The SEC seeks disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, civil penalties, and officer/director bans against Konanykhin, Dominguez, and Moschini.

This enforcement action follows the SEC’s recent reorientation in crypto oversight, including voluntary dismissals in cases involving Kraken, Coinbase, Ripple Labs, and others.