New York Attorney General Secures $5 Million Settlement from Uphold HQ Inc.

The New York Attorney General's office has reached a significant settlement with cryptocurrency platform Uphold HQ, Inc., resulting in the company paying over $5 million to harmed investors. The investigation by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) found that Uphold had promoted CredEarn, an investment product offered by Cred, LLC, as a safe and reliable savings option.

However, the OAG's investigation revealed that CredEarn was actually based on risky micro-loans to video game players in China who had low monthly incomes, no credit histories, and limited access to traditional financial institutions. This high-risk strategy ultimately led to significant losses for investors when Cred collapsed in 2020.

As a result of the settlement, Uphold will pay $5 million to customers who suffered losses as a result of investing in CredEarn. Additionally, all payments received by Uphold from Cred's bankruptcy proceedings will be used to compensate harmed investors. The company must also register as a broker with the OAG and improve its due diligence policies for third-party investment products.