PANews reported on October 11 that according to Bitcoin.com, after more than a year of negotiations, the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) has reached a multi-state settlement agreement with GS Partners. DFI encourages Washington state residents who invested with GS Partners to submit claims through the Gold Standard Bank settlement program. The portal is expected to open in early November 2024 and will accept claims for 90 days. Before submitting a claim, investors are advised to prepare relevant documents, such as cryptocurrency wallet addresses, transaction IDs, and deposit records. GS Partners will verify eligibility for compensation and the compensation will be paid to the investor's crypto wallet in the form of cryptocurrency.
Previously, DFI, together with other state regulators, filed a lawsuit against GS Partners in November 2023, accusing it of violating Washington State securities laws. The charges involved Swiss Valorem Bank Ltd., GSB Gold Standard Bank Ltd., Josip Heit and Stephen McNeal, and the center of the charges was its MetaCertificates product and multi-level marketing plan. The action was coordinated by a multi-state task force, and Canadian securities regulators also participated. Last month, five states, Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia and Texas, reached a settlement agreement with the GSB Group.