SEC v. Jon E. Montroll and Bitfunder (unregistered distributions, 2018)

Settled

✓ Checked against the primary document on October 4, 2026. The library's summary, tags and figures for this record were compared with the regulator's own document by an AI model (Claude) following written instructions, with sampled and disputed records read a second time. No lawyer has reviewed them. A checked record can still contain errors, and checked does not mean endorsed. See how we check records or report a correction.

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In February 2018 the SEC charged Jon E. Montroll and the former bitcoin-denominated platform BitFunder with operating an unregistered securities exchange and related fraud. A consent final judgment as to Montroll, filed December 11, 2020, orders disgorgement of $155,572.53, deemed satisfied by a criminal restitution order.

The record

What was ordered

Civil penalty

—

Disgorgement

$156k

Prejudgment interest

—

Total relief

$156k

Alleged gain

—

A dash means the release did not state a figure we could extract, not that the figure is zero. Penalty and disgorgement are stored separately so aggregates across the library do not double-count the same dollars.

What is alleged to have happened

The SEC announced this matter on March 23, 2018 as release LR-24078, in the Southern District of New York, describing a bitcoin-denominated trading platform and its operator. This library tags the matter as unregistered distributions; the conduct is recorded against crypto, and the tagging is ours, not the regulator's.

Outcome: the final judgment as to Montroll, filed December 11, 2020 and posted by the SEC, records that he consented to its entry and waived findings. It permanently enjoins him from violating Section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5 and holds him liable for disgorgement of $155,572.53, deemed satisfied by the order of restitution in United States v. Montroll. The signing date line in the copy we opened is blank, so the filing date is used. The judgment shows no civil penalty or interest. It covers Montroll only; the outcome for BitFunder was not checked.

What technique is this, and how does it work?

This action is tagged with one technique in our taxonomy. The tagging is ours: regulators charge statutory provisions, not technique names, so the mapping is an editorial judgement described in our editorial policy.

• Unregistered distributions — see how it works, what statute it engages, and every other action tagged the same way.

Timeline

1. 2018-03-23 Litigation release published
2. 2020-12-11 Consent final judgment as to Montroll filed (S.D.N.Y.)

Primary documents

Everything on this page derives from the documents below. Where our summary and the primary document disagree, the primary document is right.

• SEC litigation release
• Final judgment as to Jon E. Montroll (S.D.N.Y., filed December 11, 2020)

The linked release is a work of the United States government and is not subject to copyright. Our summary and narrative above are our own writing.

Related actions

Other actions in the library sharing at least one technique tag with this one.

Record added September 10, 2026. submit a correction.