A group of celebrities, including Lindsay Lohan, Ne-Yo, and Jake Paul, are facing charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for breaking laws related to promoting cryptocurrencies.
SEC has filed charges against several celebrities, along with Tron Foundation Ltd, BitTorrent Foundation Ltd, and Rainberry Inc, for unlawfully selling the cryptocurrency assets Tronix (TRX) and BitTorrent (BTT).
These charges were filed on Wednesday as part of the SEC’s wider legal action against crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun and his companies.
In addition to Lindsay Lohan, the SEC has charged eight other high-profile individuals, including rappers Soulja Boy and Lil Yachty, singers Austin Mahone and Akon, and adult film star Kendra Lust, for promoting TRX and/or BTT without proper disclosure of their compensation for doing so.
The SEC has stated that Justin Sun and his companies unlawfully marketed crypto asset securities as investment opportunities through unregistered “bounty programs”.
These programs encouraged individuals to promote the tokens on social media, recruit others to Tron-affiliated Telegram and Discord channels, and create BitTorrent accounts in exchange for distributions of TRX and BTT.
“This case demonstrates again the high risk investors face when crypto asset securities are offered and sold without proper disclosure,”
Said SEC Chair Gary Gensler in a statement.
With the exception of Soulja Boy and Austin Mahone, all the celebrities mentioned have agreed to pay a combined amount of over $400,000 in disgorgement, interest, and penalties to resolve the charges. They have neither admitted nor denied the SEC’s findings.
