The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has charged online entrepreneur Richard Schueler, also known as Richard Heart, with illegally raising more than $1 billion in three unregistered cryptocurrency offerings. He allegedly defrauded investors out of $12.1 million to buy luxuries including Enigma, the world's largest black diamond, Reuters reports.
Heart began promoting his Hex crypto tokens in 2018 as an investment that would make people “rich,” according to a criminal complaint filed by the SEC in the Eastern District of New York. He promoted his tokens, PulseX asset trading platform and PulseChain asset network on YouTube and other websites as pathways to "grandiose wealth."
According to the SEC, Hex's price had by June 30 fallen more than 98% from its peak, while PulseChain and PulseX offerings are now "practically worthless."
The Enigma. Credit: Sotheby's
The Enigma, which is believed to have come from outer space, is the largest faceted diamond of any kind to appear at auction. Heart purchased it from Sotheby’s in February 2022 for $4.3 million. At the time, Heart tweeted that he had bought the stone and would rename it the Hex.com diamond as a nod to his cryptocurrency platform.
The lawsuit seeks civil fines and the recouping of gains from alleged wrongdoing that began in late 2019.
Theodor Lisovoy, Editor in Chief of the European bureau, Rough&Polished
