Judge Dismisses SEC Lawsuit Against Crypto Founder Richard Heart

A U.S. district court judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against Richard Heart, the founder of Hex, a cryptocurrency platform. The SEC had accused Heart of raising over $1 billion through unregistered crypto offerings and defrauding investors of $12.1 million.

Judge Carol Bagley Amon ruled that the SEC failed to establish that the U.S. had jurisdiction over Heart's crypto activities, which she described as global in scope and not specifically targeted at U.S. investors. Amon noted that the alleged misappropriation of funds occurred entirely outside of the U.S. through digital wallets and crypto asset platforms with no connection to the country.

The crypto tokens in question, PulseChain (PLS), PulseX (PLSX), and HEX (HEX), have seen significant increases in value since the ruling, with gains of around 36%, 67%, and 78% respectively. Heart acknowledged the rarity of winning a securities-related court case against the SEC and expressed relief at the decision, stating that HEX has operated flawlessly for over five years.

However, Amon gave the SEC 20 days to amend the deficiencies found in its complaint and refile. The SEC had accused Heart of spending investor funds on luxury items, including the world's largest black diamond, McLaren and Ferrari sports cars, and four Rolex watches costing $3.02 million.

Despite the dismissal of the SEC's lawsuit, Heart remains in legal trouble. Finnish authorities remanded him into custody in September 2024 on allegations of tax fraud and assault, and Interpol issued a Red Notice for him in December of the same year. Finnish authorities were able to seize around $2.6 million worth of watches believed to have been abandoned by Heart.

Heart, a U.S. citizen believed to be living in Finland, continues to promote his cryptocurrencies on social media platforms and upload videos to his YouTube channel, despite authorities' ongoing efforts to locate him.