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the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed charges against Lottery.com, Inc. (Lottery.com) and former senior figures for alleged violations financial fraud regulations.
Those charged include Lawrence Anthony DiMatteo, former CEO of Lottery.com and former company executives Matthew Clemenson and Ryan Dickinson.
Another individual highlighted in the SEC investigation is Vadim Komissarov, CEO of a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC), Trident Acquisitions Corp.
SEC cracks down on Lottery.com
the SEC case brought to the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, and the regulator published a brief outlining the allegations.
According to the complaint, Komissarov allegedly “planned and executed a revenue scam” with DiMatteo, Clemenson, and Dickinson, which allegedly violated Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Sections 10(b) and 14(a) of the Exchange Act of 1933, along with related rules of the SEC4.
Customer data is at the heart of the scam charges and involves what the regulator calls “useless customer data” that is then circulated in several multi-million-dollar transactions.
The first fraud complaint pointed a finger at a “revenue scam in which the Lottery allegedly received $9 million for worthless customer data, booked it as revenue, and then used that $9 million to overpay two businesses in Mexico and, thus, return $9 million to its source.
The second alleged revenue scam involved “a bogus $30 million sale of advertising credits, and, after the merger, executed two additional bogus sales totaling more than $35 million,” the legal suit says.
The $9 million and $35 million transactions, the SEC said, were processed by international companies and had no commercial or legitimate value before and after Trident Acquisitions Corp moved to complete the merger agreement.
Charges have been filed against former Lottery leaders
DiMatteo, Clemenson, and Dickinson were formally charged with aiding and abetting Lottery.com’s reporting and control violations that resulted in damage to the company’s value, misrepresentation to investors, and led to irreparable damage to the company.
The three were also charged with falsifying and altering financial records for personal gain under Section 13(b)(5) of SEC regulations.
Clemenson and Dickinson agreed to the SEC’s proposed judgments, without admitting or denying the allegations, agreeing to permanent injunctions, civil penalties, and officer-and-director bars, subject to court approval.
Komissarov and DiMatteo’s cases are ongoing. The SEC is seeking a permanent injunction, disgorgement with prejudgment interest, civil penalties, and an officer-and-director bar, with no trial date yet set.
Featured image: Lottery.com/SEGG Media
The post The SEC has charged Lottery.com and former executives with alleged financial fraud first appeared in ReadWrite.
