New York AG Secures $5 Million Restitution Order Against Uphold for CredEarn Promotion

New York Attorney General Letitia James said crypto platform Uphold has been ordered to pay $5 million in restitution to users affected by its promotion of CredEarn, an allegedly fraudulent crypto investment product. According to the investigation, Uphold did not disclose that CredEarn's advertised returns were generated from high-risk microloans to low-income gamers in China, and it presented insurance-like protections that investigators found did not exist. The AG's office also said Uphold lacked required registrations as a broker-dealer or commodity broker-dealer. After Cred filed for bankruptcy in 2020, many customers incurred losses. Under the settlement, Uphold will pay $5 million and return an additional $545,000 recovered through Cred's bankruptcy proceedings. (ny.gov)