BitHarvest securities fraud D&R from California

BitHarvest has received a securities fraud desist and refrain order from California’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI).

DFPI’s August 20th, 2024 order cites the following respondents:

• BitHarvest Ltd
• the website domain “bitharvest.io”
• Logan Lee
• Lenni Herlin and
• Jan Gregory Cerato

As per the DFPI’s BitHarvest fraud order;

Beginning at least as early as May 2024, BitHarvest offered and sold securities in the form of investment contracts in California through general solicitations on its website.

BitHarvest referred to these investment contracts as “BitBoosters.”

BitHarvest facilitated investor deposits and withdrawals using crypto assets.

The BitBoosters offered by BitHarvest were securities that were neither qualified nor exempt from the qualification requirement under the CSL.

The Department has not issued a permit or other form of qualification authorizing BitHarvest to sell these securities in California.

Pursuant to Corporations Code section 25532, BitHarvest Ltd, Logan Lee, Lenni Herlin, and Jan Gregory Cerato are hereby ordered to desist and refrain from the further offer or sale of securities in California, including but not limited to investment contracts known as BitBoosters, unless and until the qualification requirements of the CSL have been met.

DFPI also published an accompanying BitHarvest fraud awareness video on its official YouTube channel.

BitHarvest is an MLM crypto Ponzi that launched earlier this year.

Heading up BitHarvest is CEO “Logan Lee”:

Lee is played by Steve Ng, a professional Poker player from Singapore.

Lenni Herlin appears to be a recent addition. The BitHarvest CFO is apparently played by a random actor with a non-native English speaking accent.

DFPI cites Jan Gregory Cerato, a non-executive BitHarvest insider (at least officially), as “a serial promoter of scams.”

At all relevant times, Jan Gregory Cerato (Cerato) is and was a BitHarvest promoter.

Cerato is a serial promoter of scams and was the subject of multiple enforcement actions issued by the Commissioner and other regulators: Cerato was the subject of three separate desist and refrain
orders issued by the Commissioner in August 2023 for violations of the qualification and antifraud
provisions of the CSL.

These actions arose from Cerato’s involvement in three different crypto asset scams called CloudFi, CoinMarketBull, and Vortic United.

Cerato was also sanctioned by the Alberta Securities Commission in September 2022 for illegally distributing securities.

At all relevant times, Cerato operated a YouTube channel called “Jan Gregory.”

Cerato controlled and induced or knowingly provided substantial assistance to BitHarvest within the meaning of Corporations Code section 25403, subdivisions (a) and (b).

CloudFi, CoinMarketBull and Vortic United have of course all collapsed. Maxpread Technologies is another collapsed MLM crypto Ponzi Cerato fronted.

In fining Cerato $40,000 plus $125,000 in costs for securities fraud in 2022, the ASC noted;

The panel considered that Cerato poses a significant risk to investors and the capital market, and stated in its decision that he “accepted little or no responsibility or regret and instead blamed others and exhibited contempt towards those who were harmed by his actions.”

Seeking to discredit BehindMLM’s May 2024 BitHarvest review, which correctly identified securities fraud, Cerato teamed up with serial Ponzi promoter Marcus Caleb.

In a May 18th video titled “BitHarvest | BehindMLM EXPOSED! And DEBUNKED!“, Cerato and Caleb accused BehindMLM of “bad research.”

Gregory and Caleb double down and publish a followup video whether accusing DFPI of “bad research” remains to be seen.

To promote BitHarvest and continue to defraud consumers, Cerato relocated from Dubai to Malaysia earlier this year.

Between July and August 2024, SimilarWeb tracked a 70.4% plunge in BitHarvest website traffic.

Based on August 2024 traffic data, BitHarvest victims-in-the-making are primarily being recruited across Vietnam and Bangladesh.