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The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Department of Justice (DoJ), and Linqto tied up Ripple [XRP] into another legal fight. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that the Linqto platform was accused of breaking securities laws. The platform allows private investors to buy shares before large startups go public.

Linqto bought private Ripple shares from the secondary market and sold them to investors who weren’t accredited.

Reports say it even sold at higher prices to investors from sanctioned countries. The report also claimed that some investors didn’t realize they only owned “units,” or shares, of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), which was directly responsible for those shares.

Former lawmaker John Deaton called this a “regulatory nightmare,”.About 5,000 SPV Ripple investors are reportedly not accredited.

To clarify Ripple’s stance, CEO Brad Garlinghouse said, “What we know from our records is Linqto owns 4.7 million shares of Ripple, solely purchased on the secondary market from other Ripple shareholders (never directly from Ripple).”

Garlinghouse added that Linqto’s 40.7 million Ripple shares, bought from early investors, had significantly increased in value. However, in 2024, the company was banned from secondary markets for Ripple shares due to “growing skepticism.”

The XRP token is not the same as Ripple’s shares. According to Hiive data, Ripple’s private shares have risen by 320 percent year over year and are now valued at $91 per share.