TechFlow news — On September 26, according to Bloomberg Law, U.S. District Judge Ann Marie McIff Allen for the District of Utah stated: "The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has adequately alleged that the combination of Green Boxes (computer hardware) and hosting agreements constitutes a security used to operate the Green Boxes." This inquiry differs from whether digital assets themselves and their transactions meet the U.S. Supreme Court's standard for investment contracts. Green United LLC failed to convince the federal court to dismiss the SEC’s civil fraud lawsuit, arguing that its customers who purchased cryptocurrency mining machines, called "Boxes" or hardware, did not engage in securities transactions with the company.
According to the SEC's March 2023 lawsuit, Wright Thurston, founder of Green United, and key promoters offered an investment plan for "$3,000 'Green Boxes.'" These "Green Boxes" were specialized crypto mining rigs allegedly capable of mining GREEN tokens on the Green blockchain. Investors were told that the mined GREEN tokens would support a "global public decentralized power grid," while promising monthly returns of 40% to 50%. Investors were also informed that the success of their investments depended on Green United’s control over the "Green Boxes," which would be remotely hosted in data centers controlled by Green United. The GREEN tokens generated by these machines were to be distributed to investors.
However, the SEC pointed out that Green United’s mining machines never actually mined any GREEN tokens because GREEN was not a mineable crypto asset, and the so-called Green blockchain did not exist. The SEC alleges that Green United’s true purpose was to deceive investors into purchasing S9 Antminers disguised as "Green Boxes." While investors’ payments were processed successfully, the machines actually mined Bitcoin instead. Investors never received the promised GREEN tokens.
