The SEC has charged Blox Lending, LLC, its principal Jason R. Anderson, and their joint venture partners behind the DEBT Box crypto enterprise with an offering fraud that raised at least $200 million from more than 100,000 retail investors worldwide. The complaint, filed October 28 in Salt Lake City, also names Digital Licensing, Inc. and its principals Schad Brannon and Roydon Nelson.
What happened
The SEC filed the action in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah under case number 26-civ-01066. According to the complaint, the scheme ran from November 2021 through August 2023 and centered on license agreements marketed as investment contracts. Those agreements gave investors rights to DEBT Box crypto assets that were supposedly tied to real-world projects, including oil, natural gas, agriculture, beverage distribution, and real estate.
The alleged scheme in numbers
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Amount raised | At least $200 million |
| Investors | More than 100,000 worldwide |
| Scheme period | November 2021 through August 2023 |
| Court | U.S. District Court, District of Utah (Salt Lake City) |
| Case number | 26-civ-01066, filed October 28, 2026 |
| Investor funds used for buy-and-burn purchases | More than $101 million |
How the fraud worked
Investors were told the real-world projects generated royalty revenue, according to the SEC. DEBT Box promised to use that revenue to buy and remove its crypto assets from the market. That practice, known as buy and burn, was supposed to lift the value of investor holdings and provide a way to redeem their value.
The complaint tells a different story. DEBT Box never received any revenue from the real-world projects. To hide that absence, Anderson and Blox used more than $101 million in investor funds to buy and burn the crypto assets themselves. The SEC describes those payments as having the purpose and effect of Ponzi payments.
Brannon, Nelson, and Digital Licensing also spent investor money on third-party businesses, most of which owed no royalty obligations to DEBT Box at all. A related Anderson company, Business Funding Solutions, LLC, was named as a relief defendant after receiving investor funds for no known goods or services.
Charges and proposed settlements
Anderson and Blox Lending face charges under the antifraud provisions of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act and Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act, and the SEC will litigate against them. Brannon, Nelson, and Digital Licensing each consented to proposed final judgments without admitting the allegations.
| Defendant | Charges | Proposed judgment |
|---|---|---|
| Jason R. Anderson and Blox Lending, LLC | Securities Act Section 17(a); Exchange Act Section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5 | Contested; SEC seeks injunctions, disgorgement, and penalties |
| Schad Brannon | Securities Act Sections 17(a)(2) and (3) | $85,000 disgorgement, $10,998 interest, $118,225 penalty, two-year offering bar |
| Roydon Nelson | Securities Act Sections 17(a)(2) and (3) | $100,025 disgorgement, $12,942 interest, $118,225 penalty, two-year offering bar |
| Digital Licensing, Inc. | Securities Act Sections 17(a)(2) and (3) | $591,127 civil penalty |
The proposed judgments would bar Brannon and Nelson from participating in the issuance, purchase, offer, or sale of any security for two years, except for trades in their own personal accounts. Each settlement remains subject to court approval.
Red flags investors should recognize
- Crypto programs that promise income from hard assets, such as oil royalties or real estate, that no one can independently verify.
- Buy-and-burn promises that depend on the operator’s own purchases rather than external revenue.
- License agreements or memberships marketed as investments with an expectation of profit.
- Distributions to early participants that are quietly funded by money from new participants.
What affected investors can do now
The SEC’s case against Anderson and Blox Lending continues, and any recovery for investors will depend on the court’s final judgments. Investors can verify whether a seller is registered through the agency’s Investor.gov tool, and anyone with information about the scheme can submit a tip to the SEC. Affected investors should also gather their purchase records and consider speaking with a securities attorney about their options.
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Haselkorn & Thibaut is a securities law firm founded by former Wall Street defense attorneys who shifted their practice to represent investors. The firm has recovered over $520 million for clients in securities matters and maintains a 98 percent success rate in resolved nontraded REIT cases. Attorneys are AV Preeminent rated through Martindale-Hubbell, designated as Super Lawyers, and hold a 5.0-star client review average. The firm operates on a contingency basis — no recovery, no fee.
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This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Case details are drawn from public SEC litigation documents.
