The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged the founder of Bitcoin mining company VBit with embezzling $48.5 million and committing fraud.

Odaily reports that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a lawsuit against Danh C. Vo, founder and CEO of Bitcoin mining company VBit Technologies Corp., accusing him of misappropriating approximately $48.5 million in a fraudulent investment project. SEC filings show that Vo and VBit raised over $95.6 million from approximately 6,400 investors and misrepresented the Bitcoin mining business model and the intended use of funds in their promotional materials.

The SEC pointed out that Vo promoted so-called "custody agreements" to investors, claiming they offered ordinary investors a solution for passively earning mining rewards without managing equipment. However, the number of custody agreements sold far exceeded the actual scale of the mining machines the company operated. The regulator believes that Vo knowingly or disregarded the facts and continued to make misleading statements to investors.

In addition, the SEC disclosed that Vo transferred approximately $5 million to his family and former spouse and left the United States in November 2021. The SEC filed charges against him for unregistered securities offering and fraud. VBit was acquired in 2022, and its mining operations have ceased. (The Block)