🌿 FINRA files first fraud complaint against crypto broker

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), a self-regulatory organization for the securities industry, has charged Timothy Tilton Ayre, a Massachusetts resident, with securities fraud for an unregistered token sale. This represents the first action brought forth by the organization which earlier this year announced plans to collect crypto related information from its members. Ayre allegedly sold unregistered securities in the form of the HempCoin token, which claimed to represent an investment in Rocky Mountain Ayre a company that traded in over the counter equity markets under the ticker RMTN. HempCoin was promoted as the first currency to be backed by equity ownership but Ayre failed to register it as a security and never applied for an exemption, according to FINRA. According to the charges, Ayre also made materially false and misleading statements related to RMTN, failed to disclose the creation of HempCoin, and made multiple false and misleading statements in financial disclosures. FINRA procedure allows Ayre to defend himself in front of a disciplinary board.