Colorado joined national “Operation Cryptosweep” to suss out fraudulent cryptocurrency offerings

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When Colorado regulators went after two out-of-state companies promoting their cryptocurrency offerings to residents earlier this month, it was part of the national “Operation Cryptosweep” that resulted in 70 investigations and 35 enforcement actions nationwide, investigators said Monday.

The state was among at least a dozen North American regions that stormed the cryptocurrency market in May to weed out fraud in the budding business of selling virtual coins, also known as initial coin offerings, or ICOs. Several companies in New Jersey, Alabama, New York and British Columbia received cease and desist letters, according to organizers North American Securities Administrators Association.

Colorado Securities Commissioner Gerald Rome said that he went after Linda Healthcare Corp. in Milpitas, Calif., and Broad Investments in Sammamish, Wash., because they violated state securities law by promoting the offering to Colorado residents but failed to disclose investment risks. They also did not have an operating website.

“We have more investigations going,” Rome said in an earlier interview. “We’ll continue to look at what’s happening in Colorado and doing the job that we’re supposed to do.”

Broad Investments’ site is no longer publicly available. Linda Healthcare now has a banner that says “Because this coin offering constitutes a security in Colorado we do not accept ETH (a cryptocurrency) from Colorado residents.”



Source : Denver Post