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Letitia James scores new $50 million win

SatoshiTimes Staff

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Letitia James

Cryptocurrency platform Gemini Trust agreed on Friday to return $50 million to customers who invested in the failed investment scheme Gemini Earn to settle a lawsuit brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James.

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It is huge victory for Giacomo, which sued the company in October over its handling of the program, accusing Gemini of lying to its customers about the risks it posed. The victory is also a relief for more than 230,000 investors, including 29,000 New Yorkers, who will be reimbursed by the cryptographic platform.

“We recovered $50 million from the Gemini cryptocurrency platform for defrauding hundreds of thousands of investors,” James he wrote on X Friday. “Everyone the Twins deceived will get their money back.”

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The settlement follows another recent victory for James, who had sued Genesis Trading crypto platform for allegedly lying to customers about how risky investing in Gemini Earn, offered with Gemini, was.


Letitia James speaks during the Celebrate Israel Parade on Fifth Avenue on June 2, 2024 in New York City. The New York Attorney General managed to recover $50 million for Gemini Earn investors. Letitia James speaks during the Celebrate Israel Parade on Fifth Avenue on June 2, 2024 in New York City. The New York Attorney General managed to recover $50 million for Gemini Earn investors. Roy Rochlin/Getty Images

“Gemini worked with the Genesis Trading crypto platform and lied to people about the risk of their investments, and last month we secured $2 billion from Genesis for its role in this scheme,” James wrote on X. “We will continue to crack down on crypto companies that don’t play by the rules.”

Newsweek reached out to Gemini and Genesis for comment via email Saturday morning.

An update from the New York Attorney General’s office says the settlement agreed to Friday “provides all defrauded investors with full recovery of assets who invested in the Earn program but were unable to withdraw when the program of investment has collapsed.” Eligible investors do not need to take any action to recover their digital assets, but will receive them in their accounts.

The $2 billion deal with Genesis also prohibits Gemini from operating any cryptocurrency lending programs in New York.

“Hundreds of thousands of people, including at least 29,000 New Yorkers, have seen their trust betrayed and their money swindled by Gemini through its fake Earn program,” James said in a press release Friday.

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“Gemini marketed its Earn program as a way for investors to grow their money, but in reality it lied and locked investors out of their accounts,” James added. “Today’s settlement will save defrauded investors and should remind cryptocurrency companies that deceiving investors is illegal and will not be tolerated by my office.”

Gemini Earn was a crypto lending program that promised high interest rates to Gemini customers who lent their crypto assets to third-party borrower Genesis. The now-defunct program then froze the assets for months before agreeing to return them to customers.