Thor Technologies, Inc. and David Chin
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Litigation Release No. 25884 / October 19, 2023
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Thor Technologies, Inc. and David Chin, No. 3:22-cv-09043 (N.D. Cal. filed Dec. 21, 2022)
SEC Obtains Judgment Against Issuer and CEO for Unregistered Crypto Asset Securities Offering
On October 18, 2023, the Honorable Charles R. Breyer of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California entered default judgment against Thor Technologies, Inc. and its CEO and co-founder David Chin for conducting a $2.6 million unregistered offering of crypto asset securities.
The SEC’s complaint, filed on December 21, 2022, against Thor and Chin, alleges that between March and May 2018, the defendants offered and sold crypto assets designated as “Thor Tokens” to the general public for the purpose of funding Thor’s business, which was to develop a software platform for “gig” economy workers and companies. As alleged, Thor and Chin marketed the Thor Tokens as an investment opportunity by promoting the potential increase in value of the tokens and claiming that the tokens would be made available on crypto asset trading platforms. According to the complaint, at the time of the offering, no development work had yet occurred on the Thor platform, and there was no other place to use Thor Tokens. The complaint further alleges that the offers and sales of Thor Tokens, which raised approximately $2.6 million in cash and crypto assets from investors, were not registered with the SEC and did not qualify for any exemption from registration.
The court granted default judgment for the SEC on all charges. The court permanently enjoined Thor and Chin from violating the securities registration provisions of Sections 5(a) and 5(c) of the Securities Act of 1933 and from participating in any crypto asset securities offering. The court also ordered Thor to pay disgorgement of $744,555 with prejudgment interest of $158,638.06 and ordered Thor and Chin to each pay penalties of $150,000.
The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Ruth L. Hawley and Erin E. Wilk and supervised by Jeremy E. Pendrey and Monique C. Winkler of the SEC’s San Francisco Regional Office. The SEC’s litigation was conducted by Marc Katz, Ms. Hawley, and Ms. Wilk.
Last Reviewed or Updated: Oct. 19, 2023