FINRA Announces Charges Against Owner of Rocky Mountain Ayre (RMTN) For Hempcoin Sale

FINRA Announces Charges Against Timothy Tilton Ayre For His Unregistered Token Sale for HempCoin

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has made history for their self-regulatory organization (SRO) by taking disciplinary action against a company that involves cryptocurrency. The accused is Timothy Tilton Ayre, and the complaint says that the SRO is “charging him with securities fraud and the unlawful distribution of an unregistered cryptocurrency security called HempCoin,” according to the official website for the FINRA

Based on the information available, it seems that Ayre spent a total of almost four years trying to bring in investments to “his worthless public company,” which is Rocky Mountain Ayre, Inc. The “lure” seemed to be the promise of HempCoin, which he claimed was backed by securities, but it was not. Furthermore, he went on to make claims about the RMTN’s business and finances that were grossly untrue.

The complaint does not end there, which should indicate to consumers how deeply invested in this fraudulent scheme that Ayre truly was. There is also a claim that, in the middle of this scheme in June 2015, Ayre actually purchased the rights to his fictional coin, rebranding it as if it was supported by RMTN common stock. As a result, he was able to accumulate over 81 million in HempCoin security token purchases through the end of last year, and even sold the security on a couple of exchanges. This allowed FINRA to charge Ayre with “the unlawful distribution of an unregistered security because he never registered HempCoin and no exemption to registration applied.”

During the time that Ayre was attempting to bring in these investments, he also “defrauded” them, claiming “materially false statements and omissions regarding the nature of RMTN’s business, failing to disclose his creation and unlawful distribution of HempCoin, and making multiple false and misleading statements in RMTN’s financial statements.”

Now, Ayre will have the opportunity to take his own defense in front of a panel that will decide on the disciplinary action, based on whether he responds. If the evidence and testimonies are enough to find him guilty, he faces fines primarily, though he could be suspended or even banned from the securities industry all together. He would also be responsible for restitution.