According to the charges filed against Ian Balina, “Balina, a self-described crypto asset investor, promoter, and influencer, who claimed he could help people “make millions with initial coin offerings,” failed to disclose the compensation he received from the issuer while he publicly promoted the tokens.“
The US SEC filed a complaint against Ian Balina over violation of the Federal Securities law by promotion of unregistered ICO in 2018.
The document filed in the Western District of Texas’s Austin Division claims that Ian Balina’s failed to disclose the compensation he received for promoting SPRK tokens in 2018.
According to the SEC, Balina signed a contract to invest $5M with Sparkster and received a 30% discount on his purchase.
Balina organized an investing pool of fifty members on Telegram where he resold the SPRK tokens that he purchased from Sparkster. The SEC alleges that Balina also did not file a registration statement with the regulatory firm for the sale of SPRK tokens.
In response, Ian Balina called the SEC’s charges “baseless” and “frivolous,” and declined settlement with the agency.
He adds,
“This is the first time a private pre-sale purchase of a digital asset token has been accused of being "compensation" in exchange for publicity.”
Balina's formal response to the SEC states that his $106K worth of investments with Sparkster can be verified from his blockchain activity. It claims the SEC lacks any precedent to declare the discounted purchase of a commodity as “compensation.”
The SEC also issued a cease and desist order against Sparkster and its CEO Sajjad Daya over selling unregistered SPRK tokens in 2018. Unlike Balina, Sparkster agreed to pay $35M to “Harmed Investors” as a settlement.
