A district court judge has dismissed the US securities regulator’s lawsuit accusing Hex founder Richard Heart of raising over $1 billion through unregistered crypto offerings and defrauding investors of $12.1 million.
Heart, whose real name is Richard Schueler, was also accused of spending those allegedly stolen funds on luxury items — including the world’s largest black diamond.
However, Judge Carol Bagley Amon said those alleged deceptive acts couldn’t be decided on as the Securities and Exchange Commission failed to establish that the US had jurisdiction over Heart’s crypto activities — which she said were global in scope and not specifically targeted at US investors.
“The alleged misappropriation occurred through digital wallets and crypto asset platforms, none of which were alleged to have any connection with the United States,” Amon said in the Feb. 28 court ruling.
“To the extent the Complaint shows that Heart…