The Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth Securities Division has filed an administrative complaint against Kirill Bensonoff and Caviar, a Cayman Island company. The division, part of the Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth, accuses Brookline, MA, resident Kirill Bensonoff and his company, Caviar, of selling unregistered securities after he launched an ICO to sell "caviar" tokens from his home. Bensonoff is said to own a home in Brookline, Massachusetts and is described as attempting to avoid US securities laws by operating out of Cayman. Caviar is in the midst of an initial coin offering (ICO) that has ostensibly raised $3.1 million in a token crowdsale goal of $25 million. The complaint states that Caviar and Bensonoff offered the sale of unregistered securities. The tokens are said to offer quarterly dividends from a pooled investment fund of cryptocurrencies and real estate date. The enforcement action seeks an order for Caviar to do the following:
- requiring Respondents to permanently cease and desist from further conduct in violation of the Act [Massachusetts regulations];
- requiring Respondents to offer rescission to all investors from whom they have received funds
- requiring Respondents to provide a verified accounting ofall proceeds which were received as a result of the alleged wrongdoing;
- requiring Respondents to disgorge all profits and other direct or indirect remuneration received from the alleged wrongdoing;
- imposing an administrative fme on Respondents in such amount and upon such terms and conditions as the Director or Presiding Officer may determine;