Titanium CEO – Michael Stollery Pleads Guilty to 21 Million USD Securities Fraud -

Michael Stollery – Fraudster or a Mastermind

Back in the year 2017-18 a complaint was filed against Michael Alan Stollery – CEO of Titanium Blockchain Infrastructure Services, Inc. and EHI Internetwork and Systems Management, Inc. The matter of the complaint explains a fraud involving 221 Million USD in cash and digital assets under the initial coin offering (ICO) of a digital asset – BAR.

Further, the file stated that TBIC deployed a ‘create and inflate’ scheme which helped them make dual profits, one at the outset of the scheme while raising funds via ICO and later while selling their own digital asset BAR, at inflated values.

According to the reports, the defendants at TBIS, raised an humongous amount of 21 Million USD from various sources. The raise was in the form of digital assets, considerably Bitcoin and Ether, and fiat currencies. These fiat currencies were collected from at least 18 different geographies including California, and abroad.

A Perfect Move – Hanging on to The Sharks

Titanium CEO Michael Stollery was also accused of making misleading claims in the name of thirty renowned companies globally. These names included some of the biggest sharks on the planet like Apple, IBM, WaltDisney, Intel, and so on. TBIS also added a few names on their website as their ‘ would-be-customers’ such as Verizon, Cisco, HP, Acxiom, SAP, Mcdonald’s and Pfizer.

After a long run of claims and case filings SEC stepped in issuing a Report of Investigation against the defendants – Michael Stollery, Titanium Inc. and EHI Inc. under section 21(a) of the Exchange Act. This was a notice to every entity dealing in the Cryptocurrency market that digital assets and currencies are subject to the federal security laws.

The defendants, according to the US District Court, left no gaps in the market to generate the investor demand. From Price-Offs to various offerings like free T-Shirts or TBIS gearbox things kept going until the demand was certainly enhanced.

The Prosecutors Move

The US District Court claimed Titanium CEO for several acts including Fraud in Connection with the Purchase or Sale of Securities. The defendants violated Section 10B of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5(b) thereunder. Also they violated Section 17(a)(1) and 17(a)(3) of the Securities Act.

End of the Titanium Era

Now, in the present scenario, Michael Alan Stollery, 54, of Reseda, California, was accused guilty in the cryptocurrency fraud scheme for raising 21 Million USD in June this year. Now, in plea of the case filings Stollery’s lawyer Mr. Homes said, “ He’s very remorseful and he wants to get as much money as possible back to those that put their money in”.

Originally charged in 2018, the defendants – Michael Stollery,TBIC Inc.and EHI Inc. were accused back in 2018. Titanium was one of several ICO projects that were claimed to draw illegal funds via coin-fundraising. With the surge in the cryptocurrency market these frauds are coming up in new ways and on every step. Whether it’s NFT projects or coins, things have surely turned out to be dangerous in the last few years. The court ordered Stollery’s sentence on Nov. 18th, followed by 20 years of imprisonment in jail.

Andrew is a blockchain developer who developed his interest in cryptocurrencies while his post-graduation. He is a keen observer of details and shares his passion for writing along with being a developer. His backend knowledge about blockchain helps him give a unique perspective to his writing