XRP Army Rides Again 🚀

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The languid world of high finance has been shaken to its core, dear reader, by the revelation that a certain William Sarris, erstwhile chief executive of Linqto, has been accused of fleecing investors with mark-ups of up to 60 percent on pre-IPO Ripple shares and other desirable private-company equity. The XRP Army, that most indefatigable of investor groups, has once again found itself at the centre of a securities-fraud class action, and their champion, the indefatigable John E. Deaton, is leading the charge.

The 61-page complaint, Maxwell v. Sarris, filed on 9 July 2025 in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, makes for thrilling reading, replete as it is with allegations of unregistered broker-dealers, misleading offering exemptions, and a failure to deliver legal title to any of the underlying shares. It’s a veritable smorgasbord of financial malfeasance, and one can hardly wait to see how it all plays out.

According to the filing, would-be purchasers were told that the special-purpose vehicles “held the same equity that insiders owned,” yet Linqto neither transferred the stock nor disclosed the hefty mark-ups baked into the purchase price. Conduct, one might add, that is alleged to violate Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act and FINRA Rule 2040. Linqto’s own bankruptcy papers, lodged a day earlier in the Southern District of Texas, concede “historical failures to follow US laws governing the sale and marketing of private-company interests.” Ah, the plot thickens!

Deaton, that doughty champion of the XRP Army, contends that Sarris “damaged the mission of democratising access to Silicon Valley” and misled ordinary investors: “People believed they were buying shares of Ripple, shares of SpaceX, but that’s not what they were buying.” One can almost hear the sound of investors’ jaws dropping in shock and dismay.

Because Sarris is sued in his personal capacity, Deaton argues that the litigation is not stayed by Linqto’s Chapter 11 petition of 8 July 2025. The company, now led by chief executive Dan Siciliano, has secured up to $60 million in debtor-in-possession financing and says court oversight is “the only way forward” to emerge as “a profitable, law-abiding organisation” while it cooperates with SEC and FINRA investigations. Ah, the thrill of the chase!

Investor outreach, however, has proved a challenge. Deaton scheduled an X Spaces session for 7:30 p.m. EST on 9 July, but abandoned the effort after repeated crashes, posting instead: “The spaces keeps crashing. We will set up a conference call early next week via phone line. I won’t do a Zoom link again because it got bombed last time.” He also reassured international users: “Anything I do includes ALL Linqto customers, regardless of where you live.” One can only imagine the frustration of those investors, stuck in a digital limbo, unable to connect with their champion.

Meanwhile, restructuring jockeying has begun. Shareholder Sapien Group says it has marshalled a majority bloc of equity and may seek to dismiss the Chapter 11 case, while Deaton has signalled plans to engage the creditors’ committee—a move endorsed by forensic accountant Rob Loh, who wrote that the panel “will have real power in the bankruptcy process.” Deaton confirmed: “Rob is correct. We will have a real say in what happens in the bankruptcy.” Ah, the thrill of the negotiating table!

Regulatory pressure is mounting on multiple fronts: Linqto disclosed parallel probes by the SEC and FINRA, and former chief revenue officer Gene Zawrotny is pursuing a wrongful-termination claim in California state court, alleging retaliation for flagging compliance failures. Deaton is now also turning up the pressure on behalf of the XRP community—particularly those who believed they were purchasing legitimate pre-IPO shares of Ripple. One can only imagine the fireworks that will ensue.

At press time, XRP traded at $2.42. 📈

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2025-07-10 18:33