Almost a year ago, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a cease-and-desist on Steve Bannon and Guo Wengui’s GTV Media Group, along with parent firm Saraca Media Group and Guo’s Voice of Guo Media. The collective has been identified as offering unregistered securities and was able to raise US$487 million from more than 5,000 investors between April 2020 to June 2020.
While all is said and done–the respondents were ordered to pay around US$539.4 million in disgorgement and penalties and has paid around US$455.5 million back so far–one could wonder how this kind of investment scheme slipped through the cracks.
Second-hand retail investment
In April 2020, months before the US general elections, GTV and Saraca launched a stock offering to sell between 20 million and 200 million shares of GTV common stock at US$1.00 per share, representing Saraca’s 10% equity in GTV. In total, the entities were able to sell approximately US$339 million worth of shares to more than 1,000 investors. Based on the company’s promotion about the stock offering, the minimum amount for investing was at US$100,000.
But that was not enough for the companies. The Guo-led media firms also tapped Voice of Guo–giving the latter a one-page Limited Purpose Agency Agreement–to distribute further GTV shares for investors who want to put in investments below the US$100,000-minimum.
“VOG then solicited investors and collected investor funds for the purpose of purchasing shares of GTV stock on their behalf. There was no minimum investment amount to invest in the Stock Offering through VOG and investment amounts were generally in the amount of $100 or more,” read the SEC decision back in September 2021.
The move raised an additional US$114 million from more than 4,500 investors. None of these investors who bought through Voice of Guo were ultimately issued shares.
In both offerings, the majority of the investors were unaccredited.
While pooling funds for an investment is a common practice, one could argue the limits (or the lack thereof) to which retail investment can go–especially through a second-hand agent at that.
Photo of a GTV Media stock certificate issued July 16 2020 which appears to be signed by Guo’s controller, Max Krasner. Krasner is not a CPA & had no relevant experience in the finance… pic.twitter.com/N8Ar1LdZGW
A typical investment is usually based on an investor’s faith in the investee’s corporate governance, including business and investment acumen. While technically not illegal, investing pooled investments in another investment vehicle that will in turn utilize it to hedge its own investment bets is arguably far too removed from control of the original investee.
Shortly after raising the funds from the stock offering, Saraca is said to have transferred US$100 million to a certain “Hedge Fund A for purposes of investing in the fund.” The hedge fund takes positions in various Asian currencies, particularly the Hong Kong dollar–also arguably far from GTV’s media business in which most of the investors were sold to for their investment.
“By late July 2020, Hedge Fund A had invested $30 million of Saraca’s $100 million transfer and, to date, that $30 million investment in Hedge Fund A has lost approximately $29.2 million in value,” the decision read.
A school of thought might describe investment as learned gambling, but having a supposed freehand on utilizing funds that were invested in a specific company operating within a specific industry should at least raise some red flags.
This is what I don’t get. In an election year, Bannon & his pro-Trump pals along w Guo, all sophisticated investors, raise $487M in a four-month span, knowing the scheme was illegal & then return it all a year later minus a $30M loss on a bet on the Chinese economy…
Completing the US$487 million investment raised by Guo’s media companies is an additional US$34 million collected from its coin offering–giving investors so-called digital assets G-Coins and G-Dollars in exchange. Most of the investors in this coin offering “invested no more than $10,000” each and the companies “never inquired as to the financial or investment background of these investors.”
As part of promoting G-Coin, GTV and Saraca launched promotional materials on its platforms, touting G-Coin’s promise to be merged into G-Dollars that would soon “be usable to purchase goods or services or exchange for gold or fiat currency.” But, apparently, it was all a smoke show.
“As part of its solicitation of G-Coin and G-Dollar investors, the G Entities did not provide investors with financial information about the plan to develop any digital asset or platform, or any written offering materials, including, for example, a white paper or private placement memorandum,” read the decision.
On top of that, investments from the coin offering–effectively tied to a more volatile digital currency–were commingled with proceeds from the stock offering, all pooled in GTV’s bank accounts.
Unregistered yet invested
What could be the most glaring slip up in this investment scheme is the fact that both securities were unregistered. Voice of Guo, which was tasked to offer stocks to investors, is also not registered with the SEC “in any capacity,” let alone a registered broker.
The commission underscored that “no registration statements were filed or in effect for the G Entities’ offers and sales of securities,” in both the stock and coin offering–a clear violation of the Section 5(a) of the Securities Act.
How they were able to offer and successfully sell unregistered securities is still a mystery, and yet not an uncommon conundrum in the investing space. An investor would be smart to avoid any unregistered offerings unsecured by protection laws; if these illegal securities were misrepresented as registered, it could represent a more sinister violation than just failing to register.
If only there was a way to warn investors about unregistered securities being offered to them…
Information for this briefing was found via the SEC. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was down more than 200 points in late-morning trading, weighed down by losses in the technology, base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets also fell.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 239.24 points at 22,749.04.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 312.36 points at 40,443.39. The S&P 500 index was down 80.94 points at 5,422.47, while the Nasdaq composite was down 380.17 points at 16,747.49.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.80 cents US compared with 74.00 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down US$1.07 at US$68.08 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.26 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$2.10 at US$2,541.00 an ounce and the December copper contract was down four cents at US$4.10 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in technology, financial and energy stocks, while U.S. stock markets also pushed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 171.41 points at 23,298.39.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 278.37 points at 41,369.79. The S&P 500 index was up 38.17 points at 5,630.35, while the Nasdaq composite was up 177.15 points at 17,733.18.
The Canadian dollar traded for 74.19 cents US compared with 74.23 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up US$1.75 at US$76.27 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.10 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$18.70 at US$2,556.50 an ounce and the December copper contract was down less than a penny at US$4.22 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 29, 2024.
The crypto market has recently experienced a significant downturn, mirroring broader risk asset sell-offs. Over the past week, Bitcoin’s price dropped by 24%, reaching $53,000, while Ethereum plummeted nearly a third to $2,340. Major altcoins also suffered, with Cardano down 27.7%, Solana 36.2%, Dogecoin 34.6%, XRP 23.1%, Shiba Inu 30.1%, and BNB 25.7%.
The severe downturn in the crypto market appears to be part of a broader flight to safety, triggered by disappointing economic data. A worse-than-expected unemployment report on Friday marked the beginning of a technical recession, as defined by the Sahm Rule. This rule identifies a recession when the three-month average unemployment rate rises by at least half a percentage point from its lowest point in the past year.
Friday’s figures met this threshold, signaling an abrupt economic downshift. Consequently, investors sought safer assets, leading to declines in major stock indices: the S&P 500 dropped 2%, the Nasdaq 2.5%, and the Dow 1.5%. This trend continued into Monday with further sell-offs overseas.
The crypto market’s rapid decline raises questions about its role as either a speculative asset or a hedge against inflation and recession. Despite hopes that crypto could act as a risk hedge, the recent crash suggests it remains a speculative investment.
Since the downturn, the crypto market has seen its largest three-day sell-off in nearly a year, losing over $500 billion in market value. According to CoinGlass data, this bloodbath wiped out more than $1 billion in leveraged positions within the last 24 hours, including $365 million in Bitcoin and $348 million in Ether.
Khushboo Khullar of Lightning Ventures, speaking to Bloomberg, argued that the crypto sell-off is part of a broader liquidity panic as traders rush to cover margin calls. Khullar views this as a temporary sell-off, presenting a potential buying opportunity.
Josh Gilbert, an eToro market analyst, supports Khullar’s perspective, suggesting that the expected Federal Reserve rate cuts could benefit crypto assets. “Crypto assets have sold off, but many investors will see an opportunity. We see Federal Reserve rate cuts, which are now likely to come sharper than expected, as hugely positive for crypto assets,” Gilbert told Coindesk.
Despite the recent volatility, crypto continues to make strides toward mainstream acceptance. Notably, Morgan Stanley will allow its advisors to offer Bitcoin ETFs starting Wednesday. This follows more than half a year after the introduction of the first Bitcoin ETF. The investment bank will enable over 15,000 of its financial advisors to sell BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC. This move is seen as a significant step toward the “mainstreamization” of crypto, given the lengthy regulatory and company processes in major investment banks.
The recent crypto market downturn highlights its volatility and the broader economic concerns affecting all risk assets. While some analysts see the current situation as a temporary sell-off and a buying opportunity, others caution against the speculative nature of crypto. As the market evolves, its role as a mainstream alternative asset continues to grow, marked by increasing institutional acceptance and new investment opportunities.
