Richard Heart’s $26 Million Tornado Cash Transactions Raise SEC Suspicions

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a complaint against Richard Schueler, also known as Richard Heart, alleging that he raised over $1 billion in unregistered securities offerings from retail investors in the United States and abroad. 

The SEC claims that Heart operated through three unincorporated alter-ego entities, Hex, PulseChain, and PulseX, and engaged in three separate offerings since December 2019. 

Per the complaint, each offering was a crypto asset security, and PulseChain and PulseX were platforms designed, created, and maintained by Heart.

Between December 2019 and November 2020, Heart accepted more than 2.3 million ether from investors, worth over $678 million at the time of deposits, and issued Hex tokens to investors. 

However, the SEC claims that 94-97% of these deposits were “recycling” transactions directed by Heart or other insiders, which enabled them to gain control of a large number of Hex tokens while creating the false impression of significant trading volume and organic demand for Hex tokens.

The SEC seeks permanent injunctive relief, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, plus prejudgment interest, and civil penalties to protect the public from further harm and fraudulent activity.

Tracing Millions Of Dollars Through Tornado Cash

The cryptocurrency community has been abuzz with news regarding Richard Heart and his alleged involvement in the ownership of a significant portion of DAI, a stablecoin issued by MakerDAO. Recently, Conor Grogan, the Director of Institutional Sales at Coinbase, took to Twitter to shed further light on the matter.

According to Grogan, Richard Heart-connected wallets, including those associated with PulseX/Pulsechain, currently own at least $703M of DAI, which represents 15.5% of all DAI outstanding. 

Furthermore, the Securities and Exchange Commission has made allegations that a wallet connected to Richard Heart holds $35M in DAI and has sent $26.9M through Tornado Cash, a privacy-focused tool for Ethereum transactions.

Although the SEC did not explicitly name the wallet in question, Grogan believes that it is the same wallet that he has been tracking. He notes that the wallet is the only one that matches with the allegations and sizing of positions.

The news has sparked discussions about the potential impact of such a large stake in DAI on the stability of the token and the broader Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ecosystem.

Given that DAI is a stablecoin that is intended to maintain a 1:1 peg with the US dollar, any significant fluctuations in its price could have far-reaching consequences. It remains to be seen how this situation will unfold and what actions, if any, regulators will take in response. 

The news of Richard Heart’s alleged ownership of a significant portion of DAI has raised concerns within the cryptocurrency community, particularly given his history of controversial statements and actions.

Richard Heart Movie Trailer Released Amidst Ongoing SEC Allegations

In a surprising turn of events, a movie trailer featuring Richard Heart has been released amidst the ongoing SEC allegations surrounding his alleged ownership of a significant portion of DAI. 

The trailer appears to provide a biographical account of Heart’s life and his involvement in the cryptocurrency industry, highlighting his impact as a controversial figure within the space.

The movie appears to provide a biographical account of Heart’s life and career, highlighting his impact on the cryptocurrency industry. 

The trailer features clips of Heart making bold claims about his projects and expressing his desire to make people millionaires like himself. It also touches on the controversies surrounding his involvement in the HEX token and alleged Ponzi schemes.

Despite the polarizing nature of Heart’s character, he has undoubtedly garnered a significant following within the cryptocurrency community. 

However, these recent allegations have sparked debates about the potential impact of his involvement in DAI and the broader DeFi ecosystem.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView.com