The SEC has been granted permission to serve EmpiresX fugitives Emerson Pires and Flavio Goncalves via email.

The latest development follows a failed attempt to serve Pires and Goncalves via the Hague Convention. Brazilian authorities claim they were unable to find either fugitive.

On March 28th, the SEC filed a motion requesting permission to serve Pires and Goncalves at “the … addresses Pires and Goncalves used to conduct” EmpiresX.

Citing previously granted permission to serve Pires at the same email address in parallel Mining Capital Coin proceedings.

As in MCC, a high likelihood exists that Pires and Goncalves will receive emails at these addresses.

First, Pires and Goncalves engaged in their securities fraud scheme and solicited investors primarily over the Internet.

Similarly, Pires and Goncalves regularly used email while conducting their scheme.

To that end, during the SEC investigation, Pires completed a questionnaire in which he identified the proposed email addresses as ones he “regularly used at any time from January 1, 2018 to September 28, 2021.”

Likewise, while their scheme was ongoing, Goncalves identified the above email address as his while communicating with his co-defendant Joshua Nicholas.

Moreover, on March 27, 2023, the SEC sent a draft of this brief to each of these email addresses.

The emails were not returned as undeliverable, indicating Pires and Goncalves received them.

Finally, it is likely Pires and Goncalves already know about this litigation, which further favors alternate service.

The court granted the SEC to serve Pires and Goncalves via email on March 29th. Summons for both fugitives were issued later that same day.

Looking forward, if neither Pires or Goncalves file an answer within thirty days, the SEC will request the court clerk record an Entry of Default.

Once recorded, the SEC is then free to file for default judgment.