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More details about Hinman’s alleged conflict of interest surface.
John Deaton, the attorney representing over 72,000 XRP holders in a lawsuit against the SEC, has revealed more about Bill Hinman, a former high-ranking SEC official’s conflicts of interest regarding the oversight of cryptocurrency.
According to attorney Deaton, despite being the head of SEC’s Corporate Finance, Hinman still received over $9 million in profit sharing from Simpson Thacher, a partner of Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA).
Attorney Deaton shared documents showing how much Hinman received in profit sharing between 2017 and 2018, the period when he made the controversial Ethereum free pass speech.
Deaton: Hinman Flouted SEC’s Orders After Receiving Payment
In 2017, Hinman received $7.8 million in profit sharing and another $1.8 million the following year. Attorney Deaton, who has been at loggerheads with the SEC since the beginning of the lawsuit, added that the funds paid to Hinman in profit sharing prompted the agency’s Ethics Office to bar him from meeting with Simpson Thacher while he was at the SEC.
The decision was to prevent the former high-ranking SEC official from having a conflict of interest while at the agency. This is because Simpson Thacher had ties to the EEA, an organization established to market Ethereum as an enterprise solution. Receiving any form of payment from the company could prompt Hinman to work in the law firm’s favor.
Despite the warnings, Hinman still met with staff at Simpson Thatcher on multiple occasions, as revealed by Empower Oversight.
“This is why there was a complete criminal bar against him having any contact with Simpson Thacher. Yet, he disobeyed the SEC Ethics Office again and again,” attorney Deaton said.
2017 Hinman got $7.8M in profit sharing and 2018 he got $1.8M in profit sharing – in addition to “retirement” money. This is why there was a complete 💯 criminal bar against him having any contact with Simpson Thacher. Yet, he disobeyed the SEC Ethics Office again and again. https://t.co/eVpwojpwkU pic.twitter.com/3LGc2ZYLoR
— John E Deaton (213K Followers Beware Imposters) (@JohnEDeaton1) September 2, 2022
Hinman’s Involvement in Ripple vs. SEC Lawsuit
Hinman is considered an integral part of the ongoing lawsuit between the Securities and Exchange Commission and Ripple. For months, Ripple has sought internal documents to Hinman’s 2018 speech, where he declared Ethereum a non-security.
Ripple believes that during the drafting of Hinman’s 2018 speech, some SEC officials discussed the Silicon Valley tech company given its popularity at the time.
However, all efforts to get the draft of Hinman’s speech have not yielded any positive results. The SEC has continuously objected to direct orders to surrender the documents to Ripple. Attorney Deaton stated that the agency would rather settle with Ripple than surrender the Hinman documents to the blockchain company.