SEC will not refile $1 billion fraud case against Richard Heart

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced it will not refile its securities fraud complaint against Richard Schueler, known as Richard Heart, founder of the cryptocurrency Hex.

“Plaintiff Securities and Exchange Commission provides this notice that it does not intend to file an amended complaint in this matter,” stated SEC attorney Matthew Gulde in a letter dated April 21 to New York District Court Judge Carol Bagley Amon.

The original complaint, filed in July 2023, accused Heart of unregistered securities offerings related to three tokens: Hex (CRYPTO:HEX), PulseChain (CRYPTO:PLS), and PulseX (CRYPTO:PLXS), alleging he profited over $1 billion by promoting them as investment opportunities.

Judge Amon dismissed the SEC’s initial case on February 28, ruling that the regulator failed to prove jurisdiction over Heart’s activities, which were not specifically directed at U.S. investors.

The court had allowed the SEC to submit an amended complaint by April 21 but the regulator chose not to proceed.

“Richard Heart, PulseChain, PulseX, and HEX have defeated the SEC completely and have achieved regulatory clarity that nearly no other coins have,” stated Heart on X following the announcement.

He further described the outcome as a “victory for open-source software, cryptocurrency and free speech,” noting that the SEC “actually sued software code itself in this case.”

The SEC had previously opposed Heart’s motion to dismiss, arguing he promoted the tokens at a Las Vegas event.

In December 2024, Interpol issued a Red Notice seeking Heart’s arrest in Finland on suspicions including tax evasion.

Despite Hex’s all-time high price of $0.031 in December 2024, the token has since declined by 76%, mirroring broader altcoin underperformance against Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) this year.

The SEC has dropped or suspended several cryptocurrency-related cases under the current U.S. administration, reflecting evolving regulatory approaches.