SEC Charges Unicoin and Executives Over Alleged $100M Crypto Fraud Scheme

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged New York-based Unicoin and three of its senior executives with misleading investors and raising over $100 million through fraudulent crypto asset offerings. 

Filed in the Southern District of New York on Tuesday, the complaint accuses the firm of issuing deceptive “rights certificates” tied to Unicoin tokens and falsely marketing them as being backed by real-world assets.

Executives Accused of Misleading Investors

According to the SEC, Unicoin CEO Alex Konanykhin, board member Silvina Moschini, and former Chief Investment Officer Alex Dominguez are at the center of the alleged scheme. The agency claims they falsely promoted investment certificates by asserting they were backed by valuable international real estate—when in reality, the properties were worth only a fraction of what was promised.

Unicoin also allegedly overstated its fundraising efforts, claiming to have raised $3 billion through certificate sales. The SEC asserts the actual amount raised was closer to $110 million. Furthermore, Konanykhin is said to have personally sold nearly 38 million rights certificates to investors who were not legally eligible to participate.

In addition to the three executives, Unicoin’s general counsel Richard Devlin was named for misleading investors through a private placement memorandum. Although Devlin has not admitted wrongdoing, he agreed to a $37,500 fine and accepted a permanent injunction.

“Unicoin and its executives exploited thousands of investors with fictitious promises,” said Mark Cave, associate director in the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “Their claims of real estate-backed tokens were simply not true.”

Company Denies Allegations, Vows Legal Fight

Unicoin and its leadership deny the charges. In a statement to Decrypt last month, Konanykhin dismissed the SEC’s claims, insisting the lawsuit is politically motivated and not reflective of current agency leadership. 

“It’s grotesque that the most compliant crypto company in the U.S. remains the only one being persecuted by the SEC,” he said, calling the case a remnant of the previous Gensler-led administration.

The timing of the lawsuit is also raising eyebrows, as the SEC under President Trump has recently backed off other major crypto enforcement actions, including cases against Coinbase, Ripple, and Kraken.

The SEC is seeking permanent bans for the three top executives, alongside disgorgement and civil penalties. The case could become a high-profile test of the agency’s evolving stance on crypto regulation under the new administration.