The SEC on Monday filed a settled action against fintech RYVYL, Inc., former CEO Fredi Nisan, and former board chairman Benzion Errez over alleged false disclosures in the company’s public filings.
According to the complaint, filed in the Southern District of California, RYVYL described itself from October 2020 onward as a company selling “innovative blockchain-based payment solutions” powered by “proprietary blockchain-based technology.” The SEC alleges RYVYL’s actual business was reselling credit card and ACH processing services from other companies and that it never processed a single transaction through blockchain.
The complaint also alleges that a substantial majority of RYVYL’s transactions involved high-risk merchants, including cannabis dispensaries, and that the company did not disclose this until its May 2025 quarterly filing.
All defendants consented to the entry of final judgments without admitting or denying the allegations, subject to court approval. The proposed remedies include permanent antifraud injunctions, five-year officer-and-director bars for Nisan and Errez, and civil penalties of $230,464 against the two founders.
The SEC alleges the misstatements appeared across multiple filing types, including Forms S-1, 10-K, 10-Q, and 8-K.
