NY attorney general triples her accusations against Gemini, DCG, seeks $3B

James’ office initially sued Gemini, DCG, CEO Barry Silbert and subsidiary Genesis in October

article-image

New York Attorney General Letitia James | lev radin/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

New York Attorney General Letitia James is now seeking $3 billion – triple the amount initially suggested – in restitution from Gemini Trust and Digital Currency Group for alleged fraud involving the companies’ Gemini Earn product. 

James’ office initially sued Gemini, DCG and related parties, including DCG CEO Barry Silbert and subsidiary Genesis, in October, alleging investors had been swindled out of $1.1 billion. The figure has now increased to $3 billion, according to an amended complaint filed Friday, to reflect losses from additional investors that have come forward, James’ office said. 

According to the complaint, Gemini falsely advertised Earn as “a highly liquid investment” and misled investors to believe that “Genesis Capital was creditworthy based on Gemini’s ongoing risk monitoring.”

The total number of impacted investors is now 230,000, James said in a statement Friday. 

“The fraud and deceit were so expansive that many additional people have come forward to report similar harm,” James added. “This illegal cryptocurrency scheme, and the horrific financial losses that real people have suffered, are yet another reminder of why stronger cryptocurrency regulations are needed to protect all investors.”

The amended lawsuit comes as Genesis continues what have become contentious bankruptcy proceedings. Genesis on Wednesday won a court ruling against Gemini confirming its ownership of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust shares worth roughly $1.2 billion. Gemini had sued Genesis in October over rights to the shares. 

Read more: DCG objects to Genesis bankruptcy plan, claims it ‘favors’ some creditors

A month after the New York attorney general’s office sued both companies, Genesis sued Gemini in an effort to recover over half a billion dollars. Genesis claims Gemini received more than $689 million in withdrawals in the three months before the crypto lender filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Gemini has until Feb. 21 to respond to the complaint.  

“As a result of these withdrawals, [Gemini] benefitted at the expense of [Genesis’s] other creditors, and continues to benefit to this day through their retention of the property [Genesis] seeks to avoid and recover here,” the complaint, filed in November, reads. 

In the New York attorney general’s lawsuit, parties are due to appear for a preliminary conference on March 4.As their own legal battles heat up, NY Attorney General Letitia James amends her lawsuit against DCG and Gemini


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research

article-image

Crypto is still on a mission — and still needs users

article-image

After its first phone drew jeers from a popular tech YouTuber, Solana Mobile delivered on its newest device

article-image

Markets strongly suspect that committee members will make the first interest rate cut of 2025

article-image

After four days of deliberation, the jury found Roman Storm guilty on Wednesday of one federal count

article-image

Pendle’s new platform transforms perp funding into tradable yield units — paving the way for a full-stack onchain fixed-income ecosystem

article-image

9.6% of crypto industry employees were paid in crypto, and most opted for USDC and USDT