-
New
York
Attorney
General
Letitia
James
now
says
Digital
Currency
Group
and
Gemini
are
responsible
for
$3
billion
in
investor
losses,
boosting
the
size
of
her
fraud
lawsuit
tied
to
the
defunct
Gemini
Earn
program. -
The
companies
are
accused
of
misleading
investors
by
assuring
them
their
money
was
safe,
when
that,
according
to
New
York,
was
not
the
case.
New
York
Attorney
General
Letitia
James
has
amplified
its
civil
fraud
case
against
Digital
Currency
Group
(DCG),
now
saying
the
company
is
responsible
for
$3
billion
in
investor
losses
tied
to
the
Gemini
Earn
product
and
to
direct
investments
with
Genesis,
according
to
a
new
court
filing.
As
stated
in
an
initial
$1
billion
fraud
lawsuit
against
DCG,
its
defunct
lending
platform
Genesis
and
Gemini
Trust
Co.
in
October,
the
companies
are
accused
of
misleading
investors
and
assuring
them
of
the
safety
of
their
money
even
as
the
companies’
managements
were
aware
that
doom
fast
approached
them.
The
fraud
case
focused
at
first
on
the
Gemini
Earn
investment
program
that
Genesis
and
Gemini
ran
together,
but
after
the
lawsuit,
James’
office
said
many
more
investors
raised
complaints
of
being
swindled
by
Genesis
more
directly.
As
many
as
230,000
people
lost
as
much
as
$3
billion,
according
to
the
attorney
general,
spurring
Friday’s
expansion
of
the
lawsuit
in
the
New
York
Supreme
Court.
“The
fraud
and
deceit
were
so
expansive
that
many
additional
people
have
come
forward
to
report
similar
harm,”
James
said
in
a
statement.
“This
illegal
cryptocurrency
scheme,
and
the
horrific
financial
losses
that
real
people
have
suffered,
are
yet
another
reminder
of
why
stronger
cryptocurrency
regulations
are
needed
to
protect
all
investors.”
The
company
responded
Friday
by
accusing
the
attorney
general
of
playing
for
headlines.
“There
is
nothing
new
here,”
a
DCG
spokesperson
said
in
an
emailed
statement,
accusing
the
attorney
general
of
making
a
“baseless
complaint”
to
seek
more
press
attention.
“We
will
fight
the
claims
aggressively
and
we
will
win.
DCG
has
always
conducted
its
business
lawfully
and
with
integrity,
and
DCG
and
Barry
Silbert
will
be
fully
vindicated.”
UPDATE
(February
9,
2024,
18:21
UTC):
Adds
DCG
response.