New York Attorney General Letitia James has opened the doors for investors who may have witnessed misconduct at a crypto firm amid the extreme market volatility to file a complaint as a whistleblower.
In a Monday notice, James called on New York-based crypto users who had been locked out of accounts at exchanges or lending platforms, unable to access funds, or “have been deceived about their cryptocurrency investments” to contact the Office of the Attorney General. As a whistleblower, an individual filing a complaint with authorities could be kept anonymous — the New York Attorney General’s website already includes the option to submit relevant documents and information through a Tor Browser.
“Investors were promised large returns on cryptocurrencies, but instead lost their hard-earned money,” said James. “I urge any New Yorker who believes they were deceived by crypto platforms to contact my office, and I encourage workers in crypto companies who may have witnessed misconduct to file a whistleblower complaint.”
The AG specifically called for investors whose funds may have been affected by the Terra crash, as well as those with withdrawals paused or accounts frozen on staking or yield generation platforms including Celsius, Voyager, Anchor, and Stablegains. The New York AG’s Investor Protection Bureau will process any complaints received.
The cryptocurrency market is extremely unpredictable. Just last month, the market reached record lows and investors lost hundreds of billions.
New Yorkers should be cautious and think twice before putting their hard-earned money into this unstable market.
— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) June 2, 2022
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In terms of enforcement among crypto firms, the New York Attorney General’s office has seemingly been at the forefront among state and federal authorities in the United States. In October 2021, the AG cracked down on two crypto lending platforms it alleged had been operating in the state illegally by selling and offering securities and commodities. So James’ office warned crypto users in June — amid the price of major tokens falling — of the risks of the market, with investors losing “hundreds of billions.”
