Richard James Schueler · crypto projects, litigation and the public record
HEX, PulseChain and PulseX; the dismissed US civil case; Finnish criminal allegations; and the October 2026 detention in Türkiye. Separate proceedings, separate standards of proof.
United States · Finland · Türkiye · Sources reviewed
Update to the supplied 14 October compilation: on 17 October 2026, Türkiye’s Justice Ministry announced that Schueler had been detained on 14 October. The US SEC action was dismissed in 2025. No final Finnish criminal judgment or completed extradition has been established in this review.
Latest update: detention confirmed by official announcement
The newer source changes the status of the original media reports. It does not resolve the allegations.
Official announcement, corroborated by reporting ·
14–17 October 2026 · Istanbul
Türkiye’s Justice Ministry published a statement on 17 October saying Richard James Schueler had been detained in Beşiktaş on 14 October. The Block separately reported Justice Minister Akın Gürlek’s confirmation. The original dossier’s statement that no official confirmation had been located is therefore superseded. The ministry page was search-indexed during this review but redirected to its homepage when opened; the corroborating report is linked alongside it.
The ministry announced seizures across 15 addresses, including US$7.15 million, six cold wallets and 28 watches. These are the authorities’ reported inventory figures, not independently audited valuations or findings that the assets were criminal proceeds. Earlier media totals differ and should not be added together.
The Block notes a discrepancy: the minister described crypto-fraud allegations in the US and Finland, while the Finnish-requested Red Notice concerned suspected tax evasion and assault, and the US SEC lawsuit had already ended. Its report does not establish whether Türkiye received an extradition request. An announcement of detention must not be read as a revived SEC case or a criminal conviction.
What the projects are, how they were described, and what those descriptions do not prove.
Public identity
Richard Heart / Richard James Schueler
Richard Heart is the name used by Richard Schueler, founder of HEX, PulseChain and PulseX. The SEC’s 2023 release identifies the three projects and his involvement. This profile follows the legal and institutional record rather than attempting to certify claims about his wealth, intelligence, early business career or investment performance.
The dismissal order describes HEX as an Ethereum token, offered from December 2019, with a lock-up mechanism marketed as staking. PulseChain is an Ethereum fork with the PLS token; PulseX is its exchange project with PLSX. The order records fundraising labelled “sacrifices” in 2021–22 and token launches in May 2023. Its background recounts the complaint: that is not a trial finding or an investment endorsement.
SENS Research Foundation’s 2022 annual report credits the PulseChain Airdrop initiative with raising approximately US$27 million in summer 2021 and thanks Heart for encouraging followers to donate. This is the recipient’s account of a community fundraiser—not evidence that the entire sum was his personal donation, and not a resolution of any unrelated legal allegation.
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Schueler, 1:23-cv-05749 (CBA)(PK), Eastern District of New York.
Regulator’s allegations ·
31 July 2023 · civil allegations filed
The SEC alleged unregistered crypto-asset securities offerings raising more than US$1 billion across the projects. It separately alleged that Heart and PulseChain diverted at least US$12 million to luxury purchases, including cars, watches and the Enigma black diamond. These were civil allegations, not established losses or a criminal verdict. The dismissal below is essential to any account of this complaint.
Judge Carol Bagley Amon granted the motion to dismiss. The order found insufficient suit-related US contacts for personal jurisdiction. It also held, independently, that the complaint did not adequately plead domestic transactions or conduct within the territorial scope of federal securities law. Describing the ruling as jurisdictional only misses that second ground.
This was a dismissal of a civil pleading, not a criminal acquittal or a trial determination that the alleged conduct occurred. The court allowed an amended complaint if the SEC could remedy the deficiencies in good faith.
Defence counsel’s account and contemporaneous reporting ·
21 April 2025 · SEC declines to amend
Heart’s co-counsel, Clark Smith Villazor, reported that the SEC notified the court on 21 April that it would not amend its complaint; the firm links the filing and describes the outcome as a complete victory for its client. Contemporary reporting likewise records the decision not to continue. That closes this civil action; it does not decide separate Finnish allegations.
A separate criminal investigation. Suspicion, a remand order, a notice and a conviction are different procedural stages.
Reporting on police and court records ·
13 September 2024 · remand in absentia
Yle reported that Schueler was remanded in absentia on suspicion of gross tax evasion and assault. It dates the suspected tax conduct to 2 June 2020–2 April 2024 and the suspected assault to 16–17 February 2021. Quoting the investigating officer, Yle describes discrepancies between tax returns and the Tax Administration’s income assessment. This page has not independently obtained the Finnish remand order or a subsequent indictment; it does not present those suspicions as convictions.
October 2026 reporting records a Red Notice issued at Finland’s request in December 2024. INTERPOL explains that a Red Notice asks police to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender or similar action. It is not an international arrest warrant; each country determines its legal effect. A notice is not a finding of guilt.
Do your own research: follow the documents, check dates and identify who is making each claim.
Coverage limitation
What remains unverified here
No final Finnish criminal judgment, completed extradition, Turkish charging document or subsequent custody order has been established in this review. The next useful records would be an official Finnish update, a Turkish judicial order, any extradition decision and a response from Schueler or his current criminal counsel. The US counsel’s 2025 statement is not a response to the 2026 detention.
The supplied JSON was a starting point, not a source of verified facts. This edition omits uncorroborated personal biography, graphic details of an alleged victim’s experience, unsupported exact tax totals and speculative asset ownership. It is selected coverage, not a complete criminal record or a live custody tracker. AI-generated summaries and repeated headlines do not replace the underlying evidence.
Source register
Sources are numbered in order of first citation; repeated citations keep their number. Source links open in a new tab. A source’s type matters: a campaign statement or personal account is not a judgment. The review date records this page’s source check, not a guarantee of completeness.