Scandalous Crypto Crash: Cere’s $157M Lawsuit Drama Unfolds!

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It seems the crypto world is a haven for scandal these days! Federal racketeering lawsuits have now turned their gaze on Brad Bao, the chairman of Lime, who is accused of helping Cere Network cover up a truly audacious insider sell-off, all while insiders allegedly dumped $41.78 million in CERE tokens, leaving investors with a stunning 99.8% price collapse. A rather merry tale, wouldn’t you say?

  • Two federal lawsuits in California are seeking a hefty $157 million in damages, with claims that Cere CEO Fred Jin hired convicted market maker Gotbit to engage in wash trading and send funds off to DeFi gambles and family accounts. How very… creative.
  • Cere raised approximately $42.96 million from over 5,000 investors. At its peak, CERE token soared to $0.47, but now it trades at a miserable $0.00061, according to the most trustworthy price data. A fall from grace, indeed.
  • Bao, meanwhile, is portrayed as an “enabler,” using his Lime pedigree to attract capital. One complaint even goes as far as to add control-person claims under U.S. securities law, perhaps implying that he knew more than he let on.

In yet another delightful twist, the years-long pursuit of a crypto wash-trading ring has spilled right into Silicon Valley, with Lime executive chairman Brad Bao now facing two federal racketeering lawsuits that add up to $157 million in alleged fraud at Cere Network. This all comes on the heels of a larger crackdown that has already ensnared Gotbit Ltd. founder Aleksei Andryunin, who pled guilty to wire fraud conspiracy, served an admirable eight months in prison, and forfeited a cool $23 million in cryptocurrency after admitting to faking trading volume to artificially inflate token prices. What a fascinating world they must live in.

RICO suits say Cere insiders dumped $41.78m in CERE

According to filings that were reviewed by no less than International Business Times, two separate RICO complaints have been filed in the Northern District of California, targeting Bao, Cere CEO Fred Jin, and other insiders. One case, brought by Hong Kong-based investor group Goopal Digital Limited, is seeking $100 million in damages, while a second suit by San Francisco investor Josef Qu is demanding $57 million. Combine the two, and you’ve got a grand total of $157 million. You do have to hand it to them for their persistence, don’t you?

The complaints claim that CEO Jin used market-maker Gotbit to orchestrate wash trades on the November 2021 launch day of Cere’s CERE token, thereby creating a fake volume bubble to hide a huge insider sell-off. Cere had raised about $42.96 million from over 5,000 investors, many through token sales on Republic under Regulation D. The kicker? Jin and his associates allegedly dumped approximately $41.78 million worth of CERE tokens on exchanges, all the while promising investors that insider holdings were securely locked under vesting schedules. Oh, the audacity!

As price data from CoinMarketCap and CryptoRank reveals, CERE token spiked to around $0.47 in early November 2021, only to plummet to a staggering $0.00061-a more than 99.8% drop. As if that wasn’t enough to make you chuckle in disbelief, Josef Qu, who invested through a Simple Agreement for Future Tokens (SAFT) back in 2019, was entitled to 27,777,778 CERE tokens. But alas, he never received a single one, while insiders rushed to move their tokens to exchanges “within hours” of launch. How very fair and equitable.

Bao’s alleged role and DeFi losses under scrutiny

Brad Bao, who co-founded the scooter company Lime in 2017 and helped it expand to over 280 cities worldwide, has also made his way onto Cere’s board. According to the complaints, Bao’s Silicon Valley credentials were instrumental in raising capital. The suits claim he received director’s fees and an early allocation of CERE tokens, approved financial transfers into Jin’s accounts, and generally used his reputation to reassure investors that Cere was a legitimate Web3 project. A little too much trust in his shiny credentials, perhaps?

The Qu complaint even goes so far as to add “control person” claims under Section 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act, attempting to hold Bao liable as someone who had authority over an entity accused of violating federal securities laws, even if he didn’t personally execute every little detail of the scheme. Both lawsuits also discuss how $16.6 million of Cere’s treasury funds were lost in high-risk DeFi bets, including around $6.51 million on Mochi Protocol, $3.27 million in a CVX/ETH liquidity pool, $780,000 on Maple Finance, and $345,000 on the ill-fated Neutrino USDN system-none of which were done with investor consent. Who needs consent when you’re having so much fun?

The filings paint Jin as a serial founder, one who has allegedly “established a pattern” of launching ventures, raising capital “under false pretenses,” and then vanishing with the loot. His ventures have included everything from mobile gaming firm Funler in 2016 to education-blockchain company Bitlearn in 2018, and now, Cere in 2019. And guess what? He’s already launched a new AI company, CEF AI Inc., allegedly funded with proceeds from the Cere scheme. The regulators seem to be keeping a close eye on that one, as asset-freeze requests are rolling in. A most industrious fellow!

For regulators, the Cere cases represent a curious crossroads between securities enforcement and criminal market manipulation, a path already familiar from the Gotbit prosecutions. With arrests, extraditions, and firm shutdowns aplenty, the saga is far from over. It’s no wonder that a token that’s lost more than 99.8% of its value and spawned such a riveting mix of civil and criminal narratives continues to be a hot topic for the SEC and DOJ. Get your popcorn ready, this is one for the history books!

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2026-04-10 17:47