Scott+Scott Appointed Co-Lead Counsel in Securities Class Action Against Former CEO of Fintech Platform Linqto Inc.
NEW YORK — We are pleased to announce that Judge Lewis A. Kaplan of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York has appointed Scott+Scott, along with co-counsel, as plaintiffs’ Co-Lead Counsel in a securities class action lawsuit against William Sarris, the founder and former CEO of Linqto Inc., a fintech platform that offered private investment in startups and pre-IPO companies.
According to the complaint, customers could buy stakes in popular private companies for as little as $1,000 – compared with $10,000 or even $100,000 on other platforms with higher minimums. Linqto aggressively engaged social media influencers to entice customers to use its investment tool, many of whom, were not sophisticated and did not meet Accredited Investor status.
The complaint also details, how the demand and sales revenue became too tempting, and Sarris began ignoring U.S. securities laws, as well as FINRA rules on pricing. In his rush to sign up more users, Sarris also pushed other boundaries, buying email lists that contained prospective customers from sanctioned nations such as Iran and North Korea.
Additionally, Sarris capitalized on smaller investors’ desire to own a stake in large companies such as the global crypto exchange Ripple Labs, Inc. While using highly deceptive marketing strategies, investors rushed to purchase Ripple shares under the belief that they were purchasing actual shares of Ripple instead of only an interest in an SPV holding Ripple shares.
The charges outlined in the complaint include unregistered broker-dealer activity, excessive markups, fraudulent offerings and series deficiencies, and non-exempt unregistered securities offerings.
The case is: Maxwell et al. v. William Sarris, No. 1:25-cv-5643 (S.D.N.Y.). Plaintiffs’ Co-Counsel is Dilworth Paxson LLP.