In a recent twist, the U.S. government is grappling to locate Richard Heart, the controversial founder of the cryptocurrency Hex. Heart has been charged with conducting an illegal securities scheme amounting to $1 billion.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has accused Richard Heart, also known as Richard Schueler, of contravening securities laws. His violation involves the sale and promotion of his cryptocurrency, Hex. In July, Heart had made a bold proclamation to Hex holders, asserting that Hex would evolve into “the highest appreciating asset that has ever existed in the history of man”.
SEC lawyers have revealed to a federal judge their inability to serve Heart in this case, which is a mandatory step to kick-start proceedings. The SEC suspects Heart to be residing in Helsinki, Finland. However, their efforts over the past three months to serve him through the Finnish Ministry of Justice have not borne fruit.
The SEC has not clarified whether this issue stems from non-cooperation from the Finnish government or a broader failure to locate Heart. However, the latter appears more likely considering the close ties between the U.S and Finland, both being NATO member countries.
Heart continues to maintain an active presence on social media, with 31 tweets over the past six days. Yet, he has neither disclosed his location nor acknowledged the U.S. government’s attempts to find him.
Although Heart is not facing any criminal charges as of now, his current predicament is reminiscent of other crypto founders like Terra’s Do Kwon and Three Arrows Capital’s Su Zhu. These individuals were eventually apprehended after their respective crypto projects collapsed and they sought to dodge criminal charges.