The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against Nova Labs, the company behind the Helium
The lawsuit was submitted on January 17, just before SEC Chair Gary Gensler stepped down and Donald Trump assumed the presidency.
Nova Labs, previously known as Helium Inc., has been selling devices called hotspots since 2019. These devices share internet connections and mine cryptocurrency tokens, which the SEC argues were sold as unregistered securities.
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The SEC also highlighted a feature called “Discovery Mapping”, which lets users exchange their personal data for cryptocurrency.
The agency claimed that Nova Labs made false statements to investors, including claims that well-known companies like Lime, Nestlé, and Salesforce were using its network. However, the lawsuit stated these companies were not affiliated with Nova Labs and had even sent cease-and-desist letters over the misleading claims.
According to the SEC, these actions violated federal securities laws by misleading investors. The lawsuit calls for Nova Labs to face financial penalties and be permanently barred from offering unregistered securities.
Amir Haleem, the CEO and co-founder of Nova Labs, rejected the accusations in a post on X, stating, “Naturally, none of the claims hold any water at all”. He criticized the SEC for wasting time and resources over what he described as baseless claims.
On January 14, Gary Gensler shared his views about Bitcoin
