The SEC has charged Renwick Haddow, the founder of Bitcoin Stores Inc and Bar Works Inc, with cheating investors and hiding information from them.
Who is Renwick Haddow?
Renwick Haddow is a UK-originated businessman, living in the US, who started companies like Bitcoin Stores Inc and Bar Works. Bar Works claimed to be a flexible workspaces firm which provided workspaces in old bars and restaurants.
Bitcoin Stores Inc claimed to be an easy-to-use and secure way of holding/trading Bitcoin. Renwick Haddow was the CEO of Capital Alternatives, a firm which is facing action by the UK Financial Conduct Authority, for operating a collective investment firm without authorization.
Non-existent Bitcoin Store
While Bitcoin Store investors were given material that claimed it was an easy-to-use and secure way of holding/trading Bitcoin, the SEC states that the Bitcoin Store never had any operations. Investors were told that it generated several million dollars in gross sales, while the bank accounts of the company received less than $250,000 in incoming transfers in 2015.
Haddow is also alleged to have touted the backgrounds of senior executives, who did not exist.
Moreover, the corporate address used for Bitcoin Store matched Haddow’s residential address. The SEC has charged Haddow with fraud and not registering his broker-dealer firm with the SEC as required under federal securities laws.
Bitcoin claims
The only link between Renwick Haddow and Bitcoin is that his store was claimed to be a convenient way to hold/trade Bitcoin.
Bar Works claimed to be the firm which offered flexible workspaces in bars.
Haddow has charges of fraud against him in two different continents. The fact that his latest venture was called Bitcoin Stores Inc is only incidental.