United States SEC Fined Former NBA Boston Celtics Star Paul Pierce $1.4 Million for Making False & Misleading Promotion of Crypto Assets Sold by EthereumMax, Received Income of $244,000 & Tweeted False Profits & Holdings that are Much Higher
25th February 2023 | Hong Kong
The United States Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) has fined former NBA basketball Boston Celtics star Paul Pierce $1.4 million for making false & misleading promotion of crypto assets sold by EthereumMax, receiving income of $244,000 and tweeted false profits & holdings that are much higher than actual profit & holdings. In October 2022, Hollywood celebrity Kim Kardashian had been fined $1.26 million by United States SEC for promoting crypto asset security by EthereumMax on social media, without disclosing $250,000 payment received for her to publish a post on her Instagram with 331 million followers. United States SEC: “The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against former NBA player Paul Pierce for touting EMAX tokens, crypto asset securities offered and sold by EthereumMax, on social media without disclosing the payment he received for the promotion and for making false and misleading promotional statements about the same crypto asset. Pierce agreed to settle the charges and pay $1.409 million in penalties, disgorgement, and interest. The SEC’s order finds that Pierce failed to disclose that he was paid more than $244,000 worth of EMAX tokens to promote the tokens on Twitter. The SEC’s order also finds that Pierce tweeted misleading statements related to EMAX, including tweeting a screenshot of an account showing large holdings and profits without disclosing that his own personal holdings were in fact much lower than those in the screenshot. In addition, one of Pierce’s tweets contained a link to the EthereumMax website, which provided instructions for potential investors to purchase EMAX tokens.” See below for more info on fine on Paul Pierce & Kim Kardashian.
“ United States SEC Fined Former NBA Boston Celtics Star Paul Pierce $1.4 Million for Making False & Misleading Promotion of Crypto Assets Sold by EthereumMax, Received Income of $244,000 & Tweeted False Profits & Holdings that are Much Higher “
United States SEC Fined Former NBA Boston Celtics Star Paul Pierce $1.4 Million for Making False & Misleading Promotion of Crypto Assets Sold by EthereumMax
17th Feb 2023 – The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against former NBA player Paul Pierce for touting EMAX tokens, crypto asset securities offered and sold by EthereumMax, on social media without disclosing the payment he received for the promotion and for making false and misleading promotional statements about the same crypto asset. Pierce agreed to settle the charges and pay $1.409 million in penalties, disgorgement, and interest.
The SEC’s order finds that Pierce failed to disclose that he was paid more than $244,000 worth of EMAX tokens to promote the tokens on Twitter. The SEC’s order also finds that Pierce tweeted misleading statements related to EMAX, including tweeting a screenshot of an account showing large holdings and profits without disclosing that his own personal holdings were in fact much lower than those in the screenshot. In addition, one of Pierce’s tweets contained a link to the EthereumMax website, which provided instructions for potential investors to purchase EMAX tokens.
“This case is yet another reminder to celebrities: The law requires you to disclose to the public from whom and how much you are getting paid to promote investment in securities, and you can’t lie to investors when you tout a security,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler. “When celebrities endorse investment opportunities, including crypto asset securities, investors should be careful to research if the investments are right for them, and they should know why celebrities are making those endorsements.”
“The federal securities laws are clear that any celebrity or other individual who promotes a crypto asset security must disclose the nature, source, and amount of compensation they received in exchange for the promotion,” said Gurbir S. Grewal, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “Investors are entitled to know whether a promotor of a security is unbiased, and Mr. Pierce failed to disclose this information.”
The SEC’s order finds that Pierce violated the anti-touting and antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws. Without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings, Pierce agreed to pay a $1,115,000 penalty and approximately $240,000 in disgorgement and prejudgment interest. Pierce also agreed to not promote any crypto asset securities for three years.
The SEC’s investigation, which is continuing, is being conducted by Pamela Sawhney, Jon A. Daniels, and Amanda Rios of the Enforcement Division’s Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit and Alison R. Levine, Victor Suthammanont, Kerri Palen, and Lisa Knoop of the New York Regional Office. The case is being supervised by Mark R. Sylvester, Jorge G. Tenreiro, and David Hirsch of the Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit.
The SEC’s statement urging caution regarding potentially unlawful celebrity-backed crypto asset offerings can be found here. SEC Chair Gensler’s video warning investors not to make investment decisions based solely on the recommendations of a celebrity or influencer can be found here.
United States SEC Fines Kim Kardashian $1.26 Million for Promoting Crypto Asset EthereumMax on Social Media, Without Disclosing $250,000 Payment to Publish Post on Instagram with 331 Million Followers
6th October 2022 – The United States Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) has fined Hollywood celebrity Kim Kardashian $1.26 million for promoting crypto asset security by EthereumMax on social media, without disclosing $250,000 payment received for her to publish a post on her Instagram with 331 million followers. Kardashian’s post contained a link to the EthereumMax website, which provided instructions for potential investors to purchase EMAX tokens. SEC Chair Gary Gensler: “This case is a reminder that, when celebrities or influencers endorse investment opportunities, including crypto asset securities, it doesn’t mean that those investment products are right for all investors. We encourage investors to consider an investment’s potential risks and opportunities in light of their own financial goals. Ms. Kardashian’s case also serves as a reminder to celebrities and others that the law requires them to disclose to the public when and how much they are paid to promote investing in securities.” Gurbir S. Grewal, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement: “The federal securities laws are clear that any celebrity or other individual who promotes a crypto asset security must disclose the nature, source, and amount of compensation they received in exchange for the promotion. Investors are entitled to know whether the publicity of a security is unbiased, and Ms. Kardashian failed to disclose this information.” See United States SEC statement below.
United States SEC statement on Kim Kardashian
SEC Charges Kim Kardashian for Unlawfully Touting Crypto Security
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against Kim Kardashian for touting on social media a crypto asset security offered and sold by EthereumMax without disclosing the payment she received for the promotion. Kardashian agreed to settle the charges, pay $1.26 million in penalties, disgorgement, and interest, and cooperate with the Commission’s ongoing investigation.
The SEC’s order finds that Kardashian failed to disclose that she was paid $250,000 to publish a post on her Instagram account about EMAX tokens, the crypto asset security being offered by EthereumMax. Kardashian’s post contained a link to the EthereumMax website, which provided instructions for potential investors to purchase EMAX tokens.
“This case is a reminder that, when celebrities or influencers endorse investment opportunities, including crypto asset securities, it doesn’t mean that those investment products are right for all investors,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler. “We encourage investors to consider an investment’s potential risks and opportunities in light of their own financial goals.”
“Ms. Kardashian’s case also serves as a reminder to celebrities and others that the law requires them to disclose to the public when and how much they are paid to promote investing in securities,” Chair Gensler added.
“The federal securities laws are clear that any celebrity or other individual who promotes a crypto asset security must disclose the nature, source, and amount of compensation they received in exchange for the promotion,” said Gurbir S. Grewal, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “Investors are entitled to know whether the publicity of a security is unbiased, and Ms. Kardashian failed to disclose this information.”
The SEC’s order finds that Kardashian violated the anti-touting provision of the federal securities laws. Without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings, Kardashian agreed to pay the aforementioned $1.26 million, including approximately $260,000 in disgorgement, which represents her promotional payment, plus prejudgment interest, and a $1,000,000 penalty. Kardashian also agreed to not promote any crypto asset securities for three years.
The SEC’s investigation, which is continuing, is being conducted by Jon A. Daniels, Alison R. Levine, and Pamela Sawhney of the Enforcement Division’s Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit, and Kerri Palen, Lisa Knoop and Victor Suthammanont of the New York Regional Office. The case was supervised by Mark R. Sylvester of the Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit and Carolyn Welshhans.
The SEC’s statement urging caution regarding potentially unlawful celebrity-backed crypto asset offerings can be found here. SEC Chair Gensler today published a video warning investors not to make investment decisions based solely on the recommendations of a celebrity or influencer.
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