SEC asks to toss Debt Box suit after court threatens sanctions

The United States securities regulator is seeking to dismiss a lawsuit it launched against a crypto company after a federal court issued an order mandating the agency provide reasons why it should not incur penalties for lying.

In a Jan. 30 court filing to a Utah District Court in its case against Debt Box, the Securities and Exchange Commission said it “has determined that the best way to proceed is to dismiss this action without prejudice.”

“While the Commission recognizes that its attorneys should have been more forthcoming with the Court, sanctions are not appropriate or necessary to address those issues.”

The SEC initially claimed Debt Box perpetrated a $50 million fraudulent crypto scheme amid its operations as a software mining license provider.

In August, it won a restraining order to freeze Debt Box‘s assets after claiming the firm had already sent $720,000 overseas and the firm would flee to the United Arab Emirates and secretly transfer more assets with them if it was notified of the order.

NEW: The @SECGov has just filed a brief in the @DebtBox case saying that it intends to dismiss the lawsuit against the company.

The SEC is choosing dismissal rather than face possible sanctions from the judge for misleading the court in order to secure a restraining order and… pic.twitter.com/ByxkG6prV4

— Eleanor Terrett (@EleanorTerrett) January 30, 2024

However, Judge Robert J. Shelby, overseeing the case reviewed his initial order and concluded the SEC misrepresented evidence and that the $720,000 transfer was instead sent within the U.S.

In December, Judge Shelby gave the SEC a “show cause order” — a type of court order that requires a party to justify, explain, or prove something to the court.

The SEC is now asking the court to reject Debt Box’s request for additional sanctions.

A dismissal with prejudice is “an extreme sanction appropriate only in cases of willful misconduct,” the SEC said. “No such willful misconduct occurred here.”

"I'm sorry, so sorry
How long must you punish me?
Why can't we just move on?
Let bygones be bygones
But you never will
What's the difference
If this time I'm the one that did the wrong?
Should it matter?"

Dolly Parton, "Bygones." And the SEC in its sur-reply in Debt Box. pic.twitter.com/eS6ZStxp2A

— paulgrewal.eth (@iampaulgrewal) January 30, 2024

Related: Cryptocurrency versus the SEC: A fight for fair digital investing

“The SEC got this case wrong. Badly wrong,” lawyers for Debt Box told Judge Shelby in a Dec. 4 motion to dismiss.

“The SEC should not be allowed to continue to spin a false narrative to avoid dismissal.”

An SEC spokesperson told Cointelegraph it declined tocomment beyond the public filings.

I've just read over the documents in the Debt Box case and this is absolutely shocking behavior. The SEC went to a judge seeking an emergency order to paralyze several businesses and blatantly misrepresented facts to get it before anyone on the other side could defend themselves.

— David "JoelKatz" Schwartz (@JoelKatz) December 5, 2023

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