rewrite this title Finnish Police Seize Luxury Watches Worth $2.6 Million From Hex Founder Richard Heart – Decrypt

Finnish police seized over $2.6 million worth of luxury watches from Hex founder Richard Shueler (also known as Richard Heart.)

Finland’s national broadcaster Yleisradio Oy (Yle) reported yesterday that local law enforcement seized 20 luxury watches (most of which were Rolexes) from Shueler, who is wanted for tax evasion nationwide. The goods—worth a total of $2.68 million—were left in a residence in Espoo, according to a translated copy of the report.

Schueler founded Hex, a cryptocurrency marketed as a high-yield “blockchain certificate of deposit.” The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is investigating his token as potential unregistered securities. Schueler is also accused of misusing $12 million on luxury goods and promoting unrealistic returns.

The watch seizure news follows late December reports that Interpol, the world’s largest international law enforcement organization, issued an arrest request for Schueler over tax fraud and assault accusations. The man reportedly “physically assaulted a 16-year-old victim by grabbing their hair, dragging them into the stairwell, and knocking them to the ground.”

Many of the watches were purchased in Finland, while others were acquired in the United States. Harri Saaristola, the detective in charge of investigating Shueler, said that the police were able to track the goods through intelligence services.

The U.S. SEC alleges that Hex fails the Howey Test, qualifying it as a security. It notes that its token value has plummeted 98.4% from its peak. The regulator charged Schueler and three unincorporated entities, PulseChain, PulseX, and Hex, in the summer of 2023.

“Heart began marketing Hex in 2018, claiming it was the first high-yield ‘blockchain certificate of deposit,’ and began promoting Hex tokens as an investment designed to make people ‘rich,'” reads the SEC’s complaint. This summer, he filed a motion to dismiss the case, alleging that he raised over $1 billion through unregistered securities sales linked to his Hex startup.

Edited by Stacy Elliott.