Richard Schueler, known as Richard Heart, celebrated the SEC’s decision to drop the fraud case, calling it a win for open-source software, cryptocurrency, and freedom of speech.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has stated it does not plan to refile its securities fraud lawsuit against Richard Schueler, also known as Richard Heart, the founder of Hex.
“The Securities and Exchange Commission hereby gives notice that it does not plan to submit an amended complaint in this case,” SEC attorney Matthew Gulde wrote in an April 21 letter to Judge Carol Bagley Amon of the New York District Court.
The court dismissed the SEC’s initial complaint on February 28 after Judge Amon ruled that the agency had not demonstrated jurisdiction over Heart’s actions, noting that his activities were not explicitly directed at U.S. investors.
Judge Amon initially gave the SEC until March 20 to file an amended complaint, later extending the deadline to April 21.
On April 22, Heart wrote on X that “Richard Heart, PulseChain, PulseX, and HEX have fully defeated the SEC and now enjoy regulatory clarity that few other coins can claim.”
Heart noted that while the SEC has voluntarily withdrawn from other crypto cases, his was the only one where “the SEC lost and crypto won entirely, with the court dismissing every single claim the SEC made.”
Heart described the outcome as a win for open-source software, cryptocurrency, and free speech, emphasizing that the SEC had “actually targeted software code itself in this case.”
SEC Tracks Down Heart in Finland
In July 2023, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Heart, accusing him of conducting unregistered securities offerings for three tokens—HEX, PulseChain (PLS), and PulseX (PSLX)—and alleging he earned over $1 billion by promoting them as a “pathway to grandiose wealth for investors.”
In April 2024, Heart sought to have the lawsuit dismissed, arguing that the SEC “has no authority over him” since he is not a resident of the United States.
The SEC challenged this claim in August, arguing that Heart promoted the tokens during an event in Las Vegas. By December 2024, Interpol had issued a Red Notice for his arrest in Finland, where he was also under investigation for suspected tax evasion.
PulseChain’s native token, HEX, reached an all-time high of $0.031 in December 2024 but has since plummeted 76%, as the majority of altcoins have struggled to keep pace with Bitcoin’s gains this year.
Under the Trump administration, the SEC has either dropped or paused multiple cases against cryptocurrency firms since the beginning of the year.
