NMRLD News:
SANTA FE โThe New Mexico Department of Regulation and Licensingโs Financial Institutions Division has joined 24 other state financial regulatory agencies in taking class action against Plutus Financial, Inc., Abra Trading, LLC, Plutus Financial Holdings, Inc., Plutus Lending, LLC (collectively โAbraโ), and CEO and largest equity owner William โBillโ Barhydt for operating a cryptocurrency business without receiving the required state license.
A multi-state investigation determined that Abra operated a mobile application for buying, selling, trading, and investing in cryptocurrencies without obtaining the required licenses. Under the settlement, Abra agreed to stop accepting allocations of virtual assets from Abra Tradeโs U.S. trading account customers into its products and services and to stop making, buying, selling, or trading cryptocurrencies available to Abra Tradeโs U.S. customers as of June 15, 2023.
The terms of the settlement require Abra to refund any remaining virtual assets on its platform to Abra Tradeโs U.S. customers in the settlement states.
โOur job is to protect consumers by preventing unauthorized activity,โ said Mark Sadowski, director of the Division of Financial Institutions. โBusinesses that do not operate in compliance with New Mexico laws will be held accountable.โ
In addition, under the agreement, Barhydt agrees that he will not participate in any capacity in the business or affairs of any money transmitter or money services business licensed or required to be licensed in the states participating in the agreement, except as a passive investor for five years.
New Mexico and the other states involved in the settlement agreed to waive a monetary penalty of $250,000 per jurisdiction to facilitate refunds to customers. Once the remaining virtual assets are returned in accordance with the terms of the settlement, up to $82.1 million will be refunded to consumers. The investigation and settlement were conducted in conjunction with a separate investigation by The New Mexico Securities Division.
Consumers who have questions about the settlement or believe they may have been affected by Abra's unlicensed activity should contact the Division of Financial Institutions at 505.476.4885 or online at www.rld.nm.gov/financial-institutions/.
Consumers can also visit Consumer Access to NMLS to verify that a company is licensed to do business in New Mexico and view past enforcement actions.
