Failed ‘$175M’ real estate scam draws ire of Texas regulators
The Texas State Securities Board has accused a network of companies under the “GS” brand and operating out of Germany of fraudulently “inverting investments linked to digital assets.” The network of companies is controlled by Josip Dortmund Heit.
As disclosed by regulators on November 16, respondents GS Partners, GS Smart Finance and GS Wealth have conducted three rounds of distressed asset sales since September 2021. At the time, investors were told they could buy XLT vouchers or BNB Chain tokens, which represent ownership rights. One square inch unit in the company's G999 Tower metaverse, at 9.63 Tether (USDT) per voucher. However, the token quickly lost its value, below 0.0000049 USDT on decentralized exchange PancakeSwap, as backers failed to reach their $175 million raising goal.
“Respondents have not at any time been registered with the Securities Commissioner as a dealer or agent.”
Regulators noted that other investment products created by GSB, such as Lydian World Metaverse tokens, gold tokens, G999 coins and elemental certificates, were also unregistered security offerings. The Texas State Securities Board has filed an emergency enforcement action against GSB Group companies to cease and desist from such activities in the state.
In the year On August 15, the Ontario Securities Commission issued a warning that GS Partners is not registered for business in the Canadian province of Ontario. Previous warnings against the firm have been issued by securities regulators in Canada's Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec.
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