Litigation Releases (RYVYL, Inc.; Fredi Nisan; Benzion Errez)

U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Litigation Release No. 26541 / April 28, 2026

Securities and Exchange Commission v. RYVYL, Inc., et al. No. 3:26-cv-02672 (S.D. Cal. filed Apr. 27, 2026)

SEC Files Settled Action Against Financial Technology Company and its Founders for Alleged Fraudulent Disclosures

On April 27, 2026, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a settled action against RYVYL, Inc., and its two founders, former CEO, Fredi Nisan, and former chairman of the board Benzion Errez, for their respective roles in making alleged false disclosures in RYVYL's public filings.

According to the SEC's complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, beginning in October 2020, RYVYL, Nisan, and Errez defrauded the investing public by falsely depicting RYVYL in its public filings with the SEC as a cutting edge financial technology company that developed, marketed and sold "innovative blockchain-based payment solutions" and that its "proprietary blockchain-based technology" served as the settlement engine for all transactions within its ecosystem. The complaint alleges that, in reality, RYVYL's actual business was reselling credit card or ACH processing services of other companies and RYVYL never processed any transactions through a blockchain technology, as it claimed in its public filings, nor did it possess any proprietary blockchain technology. The complaint further alleges that, until May 2025, RYVYL never told the public that a substantial majority of its transactions involved high-risk merchants, such as cannabis dispensaries.

Without admitting or denying the allegations in the SEC's complaint, RYVYL, Nisan, and Errez consented to the entry of final judgments, subject to court approval, that would permanently enjoin each defendant from violating the antifraud provisions of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, and Section 10(b) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, as well as permanently enjoin RYVYL from violating Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act and Rules 12b-20, 13a-1, 13a-11, 13a-13 thereunder and Nisan and Errez from aiding and abetting such violations; impose civil penalties of $230,464 against Nisan and Errez; and prohibit Nisan and Errez for five years from serving as an officer or director of a public company.

The SEC's investigation was handled by Marc J. Blau with the assistance of trial counsel Donald W. Searles, under the supervision of Stephen Kam of the SEC's Los Angeles Regional Office.