Vadim Komissarov, the former CEO of Trident Acquisitions Corp (TDAC), a special purpose acquisition company that merged with Lottery.com, has been indicted by United States federal authorities.
Komissarov faces multiple charges, including securities fraud, conspiracy, obstruction of justice and perjury.
The former CEO was arrested on Tuesday evening and is set to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn in Manhattan federal court. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein.
SEC Charges: Fabricated Transactions and False Filings
According to Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky, Komissarov manipulated financial reports and fabricated transactions to mislead investors into supporting TDAC’s merger with AutoLotto, Inc., operating as Lottery.com.
It is alleged that there were multiple false revenue filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) between November 2020 and May 2020. “
“Vadim Komissarov, the former CEO of Trident Acquisitions Corp., engineered sham transactions and reported false and misleading revenue, all to ensure his SPAC merger went through and to make himself wealthy,” said Podolsky. “To make matters worse, he tried to cover up his crimes by lying to the SEC under oath.”
Komissarov sought investment by convincing prospective financiers that AutoLotto and later Lottery.com were generating significantly more revenue than was the reality. This was done through a series of ‘sham transactions,’ most notably a $9 million roundtrip transaction engineered using the alias “Vlad.”
Months before Lottery.com disclosed to investors that it had identified significant errors in the company’s reported revenue and available cash, Komissarov is found to have sold almost 300,000 Lottery.com shares, pocketing $600,000 in the process.
By June 2023, the SEC enforcement division had investigated TDAC and Lottery.com’s financial disclosures. After receiving a subpoena from the SEC for documents and testimony concerning the investigation, Komissarov attempted to obstruct it.
According to the indictment, Komissarov took deliberate steps to obstruct justice when confronted with an SEC subpoena for documents and testimony. He allegedly:
- Encouraged Lottery.com executives to lie to investigators about his involvement.
- Stated in a recorded conversation that admitting his involvement in fraudulent transactions would put him in “deep, deep, deep, deep water.”
- Provided false testimony under oath to the SEC on November 20, 2024, denying his role in the $9 million roundtrip transaction.
“Komissarov allegedly tried to secure a winning ticket by developing an elaborate scheme comprised of inflated profits, falsified transactions, and perjurious statements to sell company shares,” FBI Assistant Director in Charge James E. Dennehy said. “The FBI will never permit any individual who attempts to unlawfully cash out at the expense of their investors’ money and trust.”
The Future of Crypto Regulation: State vs. Federal Oversight
The Securities and Exchange Commission has taken a keen interest in cryptocurrency exchanges. Recently, it was announced that the SEC had concluded its investigation into Gemini and would not recommend an enforcement action.
This was after the company was accused of offering unregistered securities through Gemini’s “Earn” program at the start of 2023.
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission has closed its investigation into the crypto exchange Gemini, adding to a growing list of firms that have escaped the regulator’s scrutiny.
Should digital currencies receive widespread adoption as accepted payment, it would currently fall on individual state regulators to monitor crypto iGaming and sportsbook.
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