Letitia James, the attorney general for the State of New York, announced that her office had secured a $2 billion settlement with cryptocurrency firm Genesis to compensate defrauded investors.
In a May 20 notice, the New York AG said a bankruptcy court had approved the $2 billion settlement between authorities and Genesis Global Capital, Genesis Asia Pacific and Genesis Global Holdco. The settlement requires the funds to be returned to Genesis investors and bans the company from operating in New York.
James claimed Genesis had been “lying and cheating investors” who sent more than $1.1 billion to the platform through the Gemini Earn program. Cointelegraph contacted a Genesis spokesperson, who referred to the company’s May 17 statement.
“Our goal throughout this process has been to maximize value for all creditors, and we are gratified that the court approved both our [bankruptcy plan] and the NYAG settlement agreement,” said Genesis interim CEO Derar Islim.
The New York Attorney General’s office filed its lawsuit against Genesis in October 2023, later expanding it to include the Digital Currency Group, its CEO Barry Silbert, and former Genesis CEO Soichiro Moro. James said the settlement terms only applied to Genesis, and the lawsuit would continue against the remaining defendants and the Gemini Trust Company.
Related: Filings shake up NY Attorney General case against Genesis, Gemini
The Genesis settlement marked the latest in a series of lawsuits brought by the New York AG against crypto firms with operations in the state. James’ office filed suit against KuCoin in 2023 for operating as an unregistered exchange — also claiming at the time that Ether (ETH) was a security — and settled with the firm for $22 million.
The New York AG also filed a lawsuit against former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky for allegedly hiding the platform’s “dire financial condition.” Mashinsky currently faces criminal charges in the Southern District of New York related to securities fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud and is expected to go to trial in January 2025.
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