On Friday, a federal judge dismissed the Securities and Exchange Commission’s lawsuit against crypto entrepreneur Richard Heart, ruling the agency failed to establish personal jurisdiction over the Finland-based U.S. citizen.
District Judge Carol Bagley Amon found the SEC didn’t demonstrate Heart had sufficient contacts with the U.S. related to his crypto projects Hex, PulseChain, and PulseX.
The court rejected the SEC’s argument that Heart’s virtual appearances at U.S. conferences established jurisdiction, noting that his presence “focused on a different post-offering asset” and doing so was “insufficient to establish personal jurisdiction.”
The court didn’t rule whether Heart and his companies executed sales or offerings of securities under the SEC’s purview, only that they exceeded U.S. authority.
“Here, unlike in PlexCorps, Heart’s website contacts were not ‘active,’” Judge Amon wrote. “The Complaint fails to allege that Heart facilitated transactions, collected credit card information, or entered into contracts with U.S.-based investors through his websites.”
The SEC alleged Heart conducted unregistered crypto offerings, raising over $1 billion through Hex, PulseChain, and PulseX, used deceptive “recycling” transactions to gain more tokens, falsely marketed high staking returns, and tried to evade secu… creator solana token
