BROOKLINE (WBZ-AM) -- Secretary of State Bill Galvin's office charged a Brookline man and his company Wednesday with the unregistered sale of a security called "Caviar Tokens."
Galvin told WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens he took action against Kirill Bensonoff because he was selling the alleged cryptocurrency on the heels of the bitcoin craze.
"Sometimes, people get carried away in the euphoria of these supposed investments, and we're in a time when the daily records on the stock market seem to be something that we all come to expect," Galvin said. "People get lost in this excitement."
So lost, he says, that they may not know what they are buying.
He said Bensonoff's Cayman Islands company, Caviar, has raised more than three million dollars through a combination of cryptocurrencies and cash.
Investors were told the proceeds from the sales of the "Caviar Tokens" would be used to fund house-flipping real estate projects, as well as building a portfolio of other cryptocurrencies, according to a release from Galvin's office.
The complaint seeks a cease and desist order, censure, and an administrative fine.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens reports