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Business ProfileforAbra
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On or about July 28, 2020, and continuing to on or about October 3, 2022, Abra offered and sold in California, via general solicitation to the public, interest-bearing cryptocurrency accounts called Abra Earn (Earn) to California residents. On or about October 3, 2022, Abra voluntarily ceased offering Earn or accepting new deposits from existing California Earn customers. Since the inception of Earn, at least 3,800 California investors deposited various virtual currencies into their Earn accounts. The total value of these deposits was approximately $254,227,689. There is currently about $19 million remaining on deposit from California customers. California Earn customers, like all Earn customers, have been and continue to be able to withdraw their virtual currencies consistent with Earn’s Terms of Service.
The Commissioner is of the opinion that the Earn accounts offered and sold by Abra between July 28, 2020 and October 3, 2022 were securities in the form of investment contracts subject to qualification under the CSL. These securities were being offered or sold in this state in issuer transactions. The Department has not issued a permit or other form of qualification authorizing any person to offer or sell these securities in this state. The offer or sale of these securities to the general public on or before October 3, 2022, was not excepted or exempted from qualification.
Under California Corporations Code section 25532, Abra is hereby ORDERED to desist and refrain from the further offer or sale of Earn accounts or any security that is not registered, qualified, or exempt in California and to desist and refrain from the violations of Corporations Code section 25401 set forth herein.
Penalty. Abra agrees to pay to the Commissioner penalties in the amount of $1,000,000.
Additional business information
Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown’s Securities Division announced that it has filed an action against various companies, known collectively as “Abra,” and against William John “Bill” Barhydt, the founder and CEO of Abra, ordering them to cease and desist violating Maryland law in connection with the offer and sale of investments in two interest-bearing crypto depository accounts: Abra Earn (“Earn Offerings”) and Abra Boost (“Boost Offerings”). The Securities Division alleges that Abra and Barhydt committed fraud in connection with these Offerings. The Division further alleges that Abra failed to register their Earn Offerings.
“Marylanders are entitled to honesty and integrity when dealing with investment entities so that they can make informed decisions about where to entrust their hard-earned money,” said Attorney General Brown. “Misleading customers while promising high returns cheats investors and undermines public confidence in financial services. We will seek justice for those impacted by the harmful and far-reaching consequences of Abra’s alleged wrongdoing.”
Abra’s Earn and Boost Offerings enabled investors to deposit crypto assets, which are virtual currencies, into accounts with Abra. In exchange, customers automatically earned interest on those deposits. Abra offered investors interest rates of up to 13% annually on their deposited crypto assets, significantly higher than rates offered for short-term, investment grade, fixedincome securities, or bank savings accounts. Unlike these traditional investments, Abra’s unregistered accounts are not insured and not subject to regulatory oversight designed to ensure the organization’s safety and soundness.
The Division alleges that Abra and Barhydt misrepresented and failed to disclose important information about the Earn and Boost Offerings to its investors; most fundamentally, they failed to disclose and in fact misrepresented Abra’s own solvency (or lack thereof). In addition, Abra and Barhydt misrepresented the actual custodian in possession of certain Earn and Boost assets and failed to disclose that it instead transferred many of these assets to an entity currently subject to multiple government regulatory lawsuits and to a requested asset freeze. Finally, Abra and Barhydt failed to disclose basic information about: the identities, responsibilities, and histories of Abra, its subsidiaries, and officers and directors; the specific types of profit-generating activities that Abra engaged in; the identities, creditworthiness, solvency, and risks associated with institutional investors that borrowed from Abra Earn and Boost; the Earn Offerings’ lack of registration; the lack of registration of Abra’s custodians of Earn and Boost assets; and numerous government orders and investigations.
Abra and Barhydt initially offered Abra Earn to accredited and unaccredited investors residing throughout the United States, including Maryland. After being notified by regulators that Abra Earn was an unregistered securities offering, Abra and Barhydt supposedly voluntarily stopped making Earn Offerings available, but they did not return all assets to investors as required. Abra and Barhydt then began making the Boost Offerings available to accredited investors. As recently as August 2022, Abra Earn had over 20,000 investors nationally with investments over $1.3 billion, including 370 Maryland investors with $4.8 million invested. Investments have since declined. As a result, as of May 2023,Abra Earn and Boost investments combined totaled over $116 million from over 9,000 investors, with over $700,000 from 162 Marylanders.
At-a-glance
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Overview
Products & Services
Business Details
- Location of This Business
- PO Box 390004, Mountain View, CA 94039-0004
- BBB File Opened:
- 6/12/2017
- Years in Business:
- 7
- Business Started:
- 1/15/2017
- Business Started Locally:
- 1/15/2017
- Business Incorporated:
- 7/8/2014
- Licensing Information:
- This business is in an industry that may require professional licensing, bonding or registration. BBB encourages you to check with the appropriate agency to be certain any requirements are currently being met.BBB records show a license number of C3693226 for this business, issued by Secretary of State-Corporations
These agencies may include:
Secretary of State-Corporations
1500 11th Street
Sacramento CA 95814
- Type of Entity:
- Corporation
- Alternate Business Name
- Plutus Financial, Inc.
- Business Management
- Mr. Bill Barhydt, CEO
- Ms. Adelaida Nobles, Customer Support Manager
- Ms. Caroline Finch, Vice President of Marketing
- Contact Information
Principal
- Mr. Bill Barhydt, CEO
Customer Contact
- Mr. Bill Barhydt, CEO
- Ms. Adelaida Nobles, Customer Support Manager
- Ms. Caroline Finch, Vice President of Marketing
Customer Complaints
109 Customer Complaints
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03/29/2024
- Complaint Type:
- Product Issues
- Status:
- Unanswered
Customer Reviews
12 Customer Reviews
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Most Recent Customer Review
Joe P
08/24/2023
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