A United States District Court has allowed a #class-action lawsuit against the creators of HelbizCoin to proceed. Here are the key details of the case:
1. The lawsuit was filed in #2020 against Helbiz, its #CEO Salvatore Palella, and its partners.
2. Helbiz, an Italian #electric scooter-sharing company, raised $38.6 million in an ICO and issued an ERC-20 token in 2018, with Ethereum co-founder Anthony Di Iorio involved.
3. Up to 20,000 #investors alleged that HelbizCoin was a fraudulent pump-and-dump scheme and accused the company of making false statements to induce people to buy the coins.
4. On September 1, the US District Court for the Southern District of New York partially ruled in favor of the investors. Some claims were dismissed against certain defendants, including Paysafe, Skrill, Decentral, and Alphabit.
5. However, the court allowed claims for fraud, price manipulation, violations of securities and commodities laws, RICO Act violations, and unjust enrichment to proceed against some defendants.
6. The lawsuit determined that the ERC-20 token is considered a security under federal law.
7. The case had previously been dismissed by a lower court judge in January 2021 but was revived by a 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in October 2021. An amended complaint was filed in March 2022.
This development highlights ongoing legal challenges and regulatory scrutiny within the cryptocurrency and ICO space.
