The SEC obtained a court order halting an ongoing fraud involving an initial coin offering that had raised up to $21 million from investors inside the U.S. and abroad, along with an emergency asset freeze and the appointment of a receiver for Titanium Blockchain Infrastructure Services, the firm behind the alleged scheme. An unsealed SEC complaint alleged Titanium President Michael Alan Stollery, a/k/a Michael Stollaire, a self-described "blockchain evangelist," lied about business relationships with the Federal Reserve and dozens of well-known firms, including PayPal, Verizon, Boeing and The Walt Disney Company. The complaint alleges that Titanium's website contained fabricated testimonials from corporate customers and that Stollaire publicly – and fraudulently – claimed to have relationships with numerous corporate clients. The complaint alleges that Stollaire promoted the ICO through videos and social media and compared it to investing in "Intel or Google." It's the latest in a series of fraudulent ICOs the SEC has halted amid the offerings' rapid growth and the resulting increased regulatory oversight.
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