U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Litigation Release No. 25811 / August 18, 2023
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Keith Crews, No. 1:23-cv-03658-SEG (N.D. Ga. filed August 17, 2023)
SEC Charges Georgia Resident in Crypto-Related Affinity Fraud
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against Keith Crews of Kennesaw, Georgia for conducting an affinity fraud through two entities which he owned and controlled, Stem Biotech LLC and Four (4) Square Biz LLC.
According to the SEC's complaint, between October 2019 and May 2021, Crews raised at least $800,000 from as many as 200 investors through the sale of "Stemy Coin," a purported crypto asset. Many of the Stemy Coin investors were solicited through relationships in the African-American and church communities. The complaint alleges that Crews made several misrepresentations to investors, including that Stemy Coin was backed by Stem Biotech's stem cell technology and other assets, that Stem Biotech had existing operations, products, and partnerships with entities involved in the stem cell industry, and that investment in Stemy Coin would provide substantial dividend returns. None of these statements were true, according to the SEC, and any possible returns on a Stemy Coin investment were highly speculative at best.
The SEC's complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, charges Crews with violating the registration provisions of Sections 5(a) and 5(c) of the Securities Act of 1933, and the antifraud provisions of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. The SEC seeks permanent injunctions, including a conduct-based injunction; disgorgement with prejudgment interest; a civil penalty; and an officer-and-director bar against Crews.
The SEC's investigation was conducted by Erin East and Krysta Cannon, and supervised by Natalie Brunson, Stephen Donahue, and Justin Jeffries, all of the Atlanta Regional Office. The litigation will be led by Paul Kim and supervised by M. Graham Loomis.