Gemini, Winklevoss twins, sued for fraud over interest accounts

GEMINI Trust and its founders, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, were sued by investors who claim the crypto asset exchange sold interest-bearing accounts which it failed to register as securities.

The investors accused the company and its founders of fraud and violations of the Exchange Act in a proposed class-action complaint filed on Tuesday (Nov 27) in Manhattan federal court.

Gemini Trust Earn products attracted investors with the potential for generating as much as 8 per cent in interest on their holdings. In mid-November, though, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss suddenly halted redemptions after a key partner, Genesis Global, became ensnared in the crypto contagion caused by the implosion of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX.

Gemini “refused to honour any further investor redemptions, effectively wiping out all investors who still had holdings in the programme”, the investors said in the complaint. Had the products been registered, the investors said they would’ve received disclosures that would have let them assess the risks better.

Gemini didn’t immediately respond to an emailed request for comment, sent after regular business hours.

In a Dec 23 posting on its website, the company said it’s operating with the “utmost urgency” to resolve the liquidity issues at Genesis and “we will continue to work on your behalf around the clock through the holidays”. BLOOMBERG