“Substitute Service” is used to deliver court documents that describe the SEC’s case against Richard Heart.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) accused Richard Heart of using his Hex, PulseChain, and PulseX blockchains to conduct unregistered securities offers. According to reports, Heart managed to avoid being served with the lawsuit. However, a recent court filing by the SEC verified that he was finally served in Finland.
Despite the SEC’s July court lawsuit, serving Heart with legal documents has been a challenge, as there have been several rumors that he had intentionally tried to avoid the securities agency.
Nevertheless, the SEC filed an addendum on December 11 stating that Heart had received “Substitute Service” on October 31 in accordance with Finnish law and the Hague Convention’s procedures governing civil and commercial disputes.
If “personal service” cannot be effected, the defendant might be “substitute served” by receiving a copy of the complaint. A copy of the complaint might be sent to the defendant’s property or sent via email as part of this process. Even if the defendant willfully avoids personal service, the judicial procedure may nonetheless proceed in this way.
There were several failed efforts to personally serve the court papers, as shown in an SEC exhibit to the file from December 11. These included leaving a contact request form twice and receiving no answer to phone calls or texts. The court papers were placed at a local police station under replacement service, and Heart was alerted to their whereabouts.
Now that the court documents have been filed, the SEC may go on with its case against Heart. Heart is facing charges from the SEC for allegedly defrauding investors out of over $1 billion by advertising Hex, PulseChain, and PulseX as profitable investments without registering them as securities or providing the necessary disclosures.
The accusation brought up a number of other points, such as the assertion that Hex could make investors 10,000 times their investment, the use of investor money to inflate volume, and the theft of $12 million to purchase high-priced watches and automobiles.
The SEC is pursuing legal action against Heart and his firms, including civil fines, disgorgement of ill-gotten riches, and permanent injunctions to prevent future breaches of securities laws.
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