SEC Obtains Judgment Against Issuer and CEO for Unregistered Crypto Asset Securities Offering

On October 18, 2023, the Honorable Charles R. Breyer, presiding over the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, issued a default judgment against Thor Technologies, Inc. and its CEO and co-founder, David Chin. This judgment was related to their involvement in an unregistered offering of crypto asset securities totaling $2.6 million.

The SEC’s complaint, which was initially filed on December 21, 2022, against Thor and Chin, alleges that during the period between March and May 2018, the defendants conducted a public offering of crypto assets referred to as “Thor Tokens.” The purpose of this offering was to secure funding for Thor’s business, which was focused on developing a software platform tailored for “gig” economy workers and businesses. According to the allegations, Thor and Chin marketed these Thor Tokens as an investment opportunity, highlighting the potential for their value to increase and asserting that the tokens would eventually become available on crypto asset trading platforms. However, at the time of the offering, no substantial development work had been undertaken on the Thor platform, and there was no practical use for Thor Tokens. Additionally, the complaint contends that the offers and sales of Thor Tokens, which amassed approximately $2.6 million in cash and crypto assets from investors, were not registered with the SEC and did not qualify for any registration exemption.

The court ruled in favor of the SEC with a default judgment on all charges. Consequently, the court issued a permanent injunction, barring Thor and Chin from violating the securities registration provisions outlined in Sections 5(a) and 5(c) of the Securities Act of 1933. Furthermore, they were prohibited from participating in any future crypto asset securities offerings. As part of the judgment, Thor was ordered to disgorge $744,555 in ill-gotten gains, accompanied by prejudgment interest amounting to $158,638.06. Both Thor and Chin were also instructed to pay penalties of $150,000 each.