The amended consolidated class action complaint was filed in the district court of Southern Florida in the U.S.
The new class action complaint comes months after the shutdown of BitConnect and the subsequent crash of the BCC token. According to Attorney David Silver from the Silver Miller firm, the new complaint consolidates all previously filed lawsuits against BitConnect.
In a statement released by email, Attorney Silver revealed that Silver Miller would be the “Class Counsel” in the new lawsuit. The suit will also name additional BitConnect partners and owners who were not part of the previous suits.
Silver claimed that, due to the newly surfaced information, they have learned of other individuals who were part of the rampant BitConnect crypto scam. In his statement, the attorney further added that the amount of fraud and loss of investment in such a short time is staggering. According to him, the firm hopes to move the suit forward fast and hold everyone responsible accountable, whether in the U.S or abroad.
Background
The new class lawsuit cites around 22 different legal violations, providing an exhaustive overview of BitConnect’s history. Bitconnect’s crypto-lending platform was shut down in January after receiving cease and desist orders from North Carolina and Texas securities regulators. The authorities claimed the company was offering an unregistered securities trade through its ICO (Initial Coin Offering).
Following the orders, BitConnect’s digital token (BCC) flopped, falling from over $400 to less than $19 during the first few weeks of 2018. The sudden drop in price saw the company face a huge number of lawsuits. The suits came in a bid to seek restitution for investors who had just lost their holdings, citing securities sale laws and fraud.
While all these suits got filed during the first half of this year, several consolidations have resulted in the new suit filed last week. The new action names BitcConnnect Public Limited, BitConnect Ltd, Bitconnect International PLC, and BitConnect Trading Ltd, among other 40 or so individuals associated with the project. That includes BitConnect’s promoter Trevon James and the company’s head in India, Divyesh Darji.
YouTube is among the defendants included in the recent consolidated class action. The company got sued earlier in July for letting BitConnect promoters to publish over 70,000 hours of sales content. The lawsuit calls for a jury trial with the aim of seeking recission of the plaintiffs’ investments. It also aims to get compensation for the damages incurred by the plaintiffs.
According to attorney Silver, the best outcome would be that all BitConnect investors get a refund of their money.