TechFlow, July 9 — According to journalist Eleanor Terrett, prominent attorney John E. Deaton has filed a securities fraud class-action lawsuit on behalf of thousands of retail investors against William Sarris, founder and former CEO of Linqto. The lawsuit alleges that Sarris orchestrated a years-long fraud scheme by selling shares in private companies such as Ripple, Uphold, and Kraken through SPVs (special purpose vehicles) on the Linqto platform, using undisclosed markups as high as 60%, misleading exemptions, and unlicensed sales practices.
The complaint states that Sarris ignored internal legal memoranda from 2023 and 2024 warning that these activities violated multiple SEC and FINRA regulations, including operating as an unregistered broker-dealer and running an unregistered investment company.
Deaton emphasized that this lawsuit targets Sarris personally, is not subject to bankruptcy protection, and any recovery obtained through liability insurance or settlement will be directed toward compensating affected investors.
