Texas State Securities Board Takes Enforcement Action Against Crypto Firm Abra and CEO Bill Barhydt – Whats Going On?
Image Source: Pixabay The Texas State Securities Board has issued an emergency cease-and-desist order against crypto lender Abra, claiming that it has been insolvent since at least March 31, 2023. In a Thursday filing, the Texas regulator unveiled enforcement actions against Abra and its founder William Barhydt for allegedly committing securities fraud as well as engaging in deception regarding the sale of investment products through its affiliates Abra Earn and Abra Boost. Abra “made offers of investments in Abra Earn in Texas containing statements that were materially misleading or otherwise likely to deceive the public,” the filing said, making similar claims about other Abra products. “The alleged misconduct includes the intentional concealment of financial information reflecting the capitalization of parties, defaults on loans, and the transfer of assets to Binance.” The regulator claimed that the company secretly transferred assets to Binance, which was sued last week by the US Securities and Exchange Commission and accused of running an unregistered crypto exchange. It alleged that as of February 2023, Abra Trade and Respondent Plutus Lending had more than $118 million worth of digital assets held at Binance. Moreover, the filing claimed that Abra had previously asserted that it would “cease selling investment in Abra Earn in October 2022,”
