Smoke and Mirrors? Inside the Alleged Investor Deception
Founded in 2010 in California, Linqto made its pivot in 2020 to offer a slick online platform that allowed customers to invest indirectly in private companies for as little as $1,000. Its curated pitch covered industries from aerospace to AI, promising access once reserved for deep-pocketed VCs.
But according to Stein’s declaration, customers were misled into thinking they were purchasing economic stakes in securities—securities Linqto acquired and then resold at a markup. The company allegedly pocketed the spread, turning regulatory blind spots into profit margins.
“Substantial contingent liabilities to customers” now threaten to make Linqto balance-sheet insolvent, Stein admitted, citing misleading marketing and improper operations.
The internal review found that Linqto holds securities in 111 private companies valued at approximately $500 million, yet may have fundamentally misrepresented ownership structures to thousands of retail investors.
