The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged several celebrities, including Lindsay Lohan, Jake Paul, and Soulja Boy, for promoting crypto assets without disclosing that they were paid for their endorsements. The charges were announced in a release, which also named porn actor Kendra Lust and musicians Lil Yachty, Ne-Yo, Austin Mahone, and Akon. The main focus of the SEC charges is Justin Sun, a “crypto asset entrepreneur” who owns Tron Foundation and BitTorrent Foundation.
The celebrities were charged with illegally touting the TRX and/or BTT crypto tokens without disclosing that they were compensated for doing so. Sun has been charged with the unregistered offer and sale of crypto asset securities Tronix (TRX) and BitTorrent (BTT).
The celebrities agreed to pay more than $400,000 to settle the charges, with the exception of Soulja Boy and Mahone. The crypto industry has had a cozy relationship with celebrities, who offer publicity and legitimacy to the financial world. However, the relationship doesn’t always end well, as seen with previous charges brought against Kim Kardashian, Floyd Mayweather Jr., DJ Khaled, and Steven Seagal.
