SEC v. Unicoin, Inc., Alexander Konanykhin, Maria Silvina Moschini, et al. — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Litigation Release No. 26314, dated May 27, 2025.
The SEC charged Unicoin, Inc. and four executives with a massive offering fraud, raising over $100 million from thousands of investors. They allegedly made false and misleading statements about Unicoin tokens being asset-backed and SEC-registered, when in reality, the assets were worth far less and the offerings were unregistered.
In Plain English
Imagine someone selling you rights to a special digital coin. They told you these coins were backed by billions in real estate and were officially registered with the government, making them super safe and valuable. But, in reality, the real estate wasn't worth nearly that much, and the coins weren't registered at all. The SEC stepped in because this was like selling a fake promise for a lot of money.
Disclaimer: all facts are drawn from the SEC's own filings; the claims described are allegations unless and until a court rules or the parties settle, and some cases end in dismissal.
How the Alleged Scheme Worked
- Marketing Unicoin Rights Certificates From February 2022 onwards, Unicoin, Inc. and its top executives began offering and selling 'Unicoin Rights Certificates' to the public. These certificates purportedly granted holders rights to receive Unicoin tokens once the company minted them.
- False Asset Backing Claims The executives falsely claimed that the Unicoin tokens underlying the certificates were 'asset-backed' by billions of dollars in real estate and equity interests in pre-IPO companies. For example, they announced acquisitions of properties in Argentina, Thailand, Antigua, and the Bahamas totaling over $1.4 billion, when most transactions never closed and the actual value was only about $300 million.
- Misrepresenting Funds Raised Unicoin and its executives repeatedly claimed they had sold more than $3 billion in rights certificates. In reality, the company had raised no more than $110 million from investors.
- Falsely Claiming SEC Registration The defendants falsely touted the rights certificates and Unicoin tokens as 'SEC-registered' or 'U.S. registered.' In fact, neither the tokens nor the offer and sale of the rights certificates were registered with the Commission.
- Extensive Public Promotions To promote these offerings, Unicoin broadly marketed the rights certificates through extensive promotional efforts. This included advertisements in major airports, on thousands of New York City taxis, and on television and social media.
- Targeting Prohibited Investors CEO Alex Konanykhin also engaged in unregistered offers and sales of his own rights certificates. He offered over 37.9 million of these to investors the company had prohibited from participating, allegedly to avoid jeopardizing its exemption from registration requirements.
- Misleading Statements in PPMs Richard Devlin, the General Counsel, allegedly violated securities laws by negligently making misstatements in private placement memoranda (PPMs) used to offer and sell the rights certificates and common stock.
The Enforcement Action
On May 20, 2025, the SEC charged Unicoin, Inc. and four executives (Alex Konanykhin, Maria Silvina Moschini, Alejandro Dominguez, and Richard Devlin) with offering fraud. The SEC alleges false and misleading statements about asset backing and SEC registration, raising over $100 million from thousands of investors. The complaint seeks permanent injunctive relief, disgorgement with prejudgment interest, and civil penalties against Unicoin, Konanykhin, Moschini, and Dominguez. Officer-and-director bars are sought against Konanykhin, Moschini, and Dominguez. Devlin consented to a final judgment including permanent injunctive relief and a $37,500 civil penalty without admitting or denying the allegations.
Named in this action: Unicoin, Inc., Alexander Konanykhin, Maria Silvina Moschini, Alejandro Dominguez, Richard Devlin.