SEC indicts Helium’s Nova Labs for fraud and false Salesforce, Lime, Nestlé claims

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Nova Labs, the firm behind the open-source Helium Network, with defrauding investors just days before SEC chair Gary Gensler steps down on January 20.

The SEC claims that Helium’s Nova Labs broke several statutes and intends to hold it responsible for violating Sections 5(a), 5(c), and 17(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The SEC seeks permanent and conduct-based injunctions, ejection of ill-gotten gains, pre-judgment interest, and civil penalties.

The Nova Labs trial will begin after Gary Gensler’s tenure

The SEC has alleged that since April 2019, Nova Labs has defrauded the public in several ways by making unregistered offers and securities sales. The firm offered and sold electronic devices called “Hotspots” that mined Nova Labs’ crypto assets. Moreover, Nova Labs sold “Discovery Mapping,” a program where users can exchange their private data for Nova Labs’ crypto assets.

Investors are vulnerable to unregistered securities since they can lose layers of protection while transacting. It is very difficult to identify clear money trails or even track an investment if it’s failing. The SEC had previously brought many such lawsuits under Gary’s leadership.

Nova Labs was also charged with issuing materially false and deceptive statements to lure prospective investors. According to the SEC, Nova Labs lied that prominent companies like Lime, Nestlé, and Salesforce are using its wireless network for their operations. However, upon investigation, it was clear that these firms were not relying on this network.

SEC’s new team may close several cases in 2025

Paul Atkins, Trump’s crypto-friendly pick for SEC chair and former agency commissioner, is widely expected to end a crypto crackdown led by President Biden’s Democratic SEC chair, Gary Gensler. However, it is unclear when the Senate will confirm him.

The Security and Exchange Committee leadership is bound to change as Gary Gensler steps down on January 20. With the new pro-crypto chair, discussions are underway about freezing cases that are not fraud-related.

Steps to freeze these actions are expected through policy adjustments that may be more favorable compared to the outgoing regime. Trump, a vocal pro-crypto president, has maintained his support for digital assets and is considering the idea of a Bitcoin reserve.

According to Reuters, the SEC may review its court cases and proceed with only fraud-related cases in the first few days after President-elect Donald Trump assumes office on January 20. It is unclear if the Nova Lab case will continue or will be among the few that will be nixed.

The report suggests that SEC Commissioners Hester Peirce and Mark Uyeda — both Republicans, like Trump — could review the regulator’s rules on the definition of securities and ongoing court cases with crypto firms.

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