After Kim Kardashian, it’s the turn of former NBA basketball player Paul Pierce to be punished by the SEC for promoting the cryptocurrency Ethereum Max (EMAX).
As a reminder, Kim Kardashian was ordered to pay a fine of $ 1.26 million to the US regulator SEC. For the same reason, former NBA basketball player Paul Pierce will have to pay a fine of $1.4 million.
The former NBA star was prosecuted for similar facts to those accused of the influencer Kim Kardashian, having promoted a bogus cryptocurrency without revealing that he was paid by the crypto project behind the token EMAX.
In a statement released Friday, the SEC said Paul Pierce received $244,000 in EMAX tokens, but did not disclose the payments while promoting the project on Twitter. He also allegedly implied that he held a large amount of EMAX tokens through screenshots, despite the fact that his holdings were “much smaller” than what he posted. Pierce will have to pay $1.409 million in penalties and reparations.
SEC Chairman Gary Gensler said:
This case is another reminder to celebrities: the law requires you to disclose to the public who and how much you are being paid to promote investment in securities, and you cannot lie to investors when you tout a security.
When celebrities endorse investment opportunities, including crypto asset securities, investors should be careful to research whether the investments are right for them, and they should know why celebrities are making these endorsements.”
Pierce neither admitted nor denied the SEC’s findings, and also agreed not to promote any “crypto asset securities” for three years.
