According to online reports, according to encryption journalist Eleanor Terrett, lawyer John E Deaton filed a securities fraud class action lawsuit against Linqto founder and former CEO William Sarris on behalf of thousands of retail investors. The lawsuit alleges that Sarris implemented a multi-year fraud scheme by selling shares in private companies such as Ripple, Uphold and Kraken via SPV (special purpose vehicle) on the Linqto platform through undisclosed mark-ups of up to 60%, misleading exemption statements and unlicensed sales. According to the complaint, Sarris received internal company legal memorandums in 2023 and 2024 that clearly warned that the offerings violated multiple SEC and FINRA regulations, including acting as an unregistered broker and operating an unregistered investment company, but he chose to ignore them. Deaton said the lawsuit was against Sarris herself and was not subject to bankruptcy protection.