Three Sued Over Blockchain Firm Trading
Matthew Heller, 12 July 2021
The controlling shareholder of Long Blockchain has been charged with tipping off his broker about the company’s pivot to blockchain technology before it was publicly announced.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said Eric Watson, a New Zealand national, engaged in an insider trading scheme with Oliver Barret-Lindsay, his friend and broker, and stock promoter Gannon Giguiere, that allegedly resulted in Giguiere making a profit of $162,500 on Long Blockchain shares.
According to the SEC, Watson tipped off Lindsay in December 2017 that the company formerly known as Long Island Tea would be switching from making iced tea and lemonade to providing blockchain technology and Lindsay passed the tip on Giguiere. Continue reading “Article: Three Sued Over Blockchain Firm Trading”
In December 2017, at the peak of the era that many refer to as ‘crypto mania’, New York-based beverage maker ‘Long Island Ice Tea’ changed its name to “Long Blockchain Corp. At the time of the rebrand, the beverage maker said they would transition out of manufacturing beverages and focus their efforts on blockchain technology. 