A federal judge dismissed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s civil lawsuit against HEX founder Richard Heart (Richard Schueler) on February 28, 2025, after finding the agency lacked jurisdiction over his cryptocurrency projects HEX, PulseChain and PulseX. The SEC had alleged that Heart conducted more than $1 billion in unregistered crypto securities offerings and misappropriated at least $12 million for luxury goods, but the court held that his online communications were globally available rather than specifically targeted at U.S. investors and that the tokens were not listed on U.S. exchanges, undermining the SEC’s territorial reach. In April 2025, the SEC informed the court it would not amend its complaint, effectively ending the U.S. civil case and marking a rare, complete defeat for the agency in a high‑profile crypto enforcement action. Despite that outcome, Heart remains a fugitive from other law‑enforcement bodies, according to reporting on subsequent developments. Interpol issued a Red Notice at the request of European authorities in late 2024, and Heart is reportedly wanted over alleged large‑scale tax fraud involving hundreds of millions of euros and an assault case linked to Finnish investigations, with his name appearing on Europol’s Most Wanted list. The situation underscores a key distinction between the U.S. securities case—dismissed on jurisdictional grounds—and ongoing criminal inquiries in Europe, illustrating how cross‑border crypto activity can elude one regulator’s reach while still triggering international criminal pursuit and cooperation mechanisms such as Interpol Red Notices.

AI-generated background, compiled from web sources — not editorial content.

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