On November 16, under California Corporations Code § 25532, the California Division of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) issued a desist and refrain order against a securities investment platform for allegedly making false representations and material omissions to investors.

The DFPI alleges the investment platform sold securities in California on its website and the platform referred to them as “certificates.” The platform claimed that the certificates paid investors returns ranging from 2.5 percent to five percent in addition to guaranteed monthly returns. To solicit investors, the platform allegedly engaged in a multi-level marketing (MLM) structure that would have investors influence others to send money. DFPI alleged that the certificates were not qualified under the California Corporate Securities Law. DFPI also alleged that the platform omitted material information to investors, which included (i) falsely representing that the platform was partnered with a particular forex broker; (ii) representing that it was a licensed bank (while omitting that the “license” was granted by a “fictitious regulator”); (iii) using the terms “bank” and “banking” while omitting that it was not authorized to engage in the business of banking in California; (iv) misrepresenting profits and risk of loss; and (v) failing to disclose that its securities were not qualified in California.