LOS ANGELES (AP) — Actress Lindsay Lohan, singer Akon & several other celebrities have agreed to pay tens of thousands of dollars to settle claims they promoted crypto investments to their millions of social media followers without disclosing they were being paid to do so.
Lohan, Akon, recording artists Ne-Yo, Lil Yachty, boxer & internet personality Jake Paul & adult film performer Michele Mason all agreed to pay more than $400,000 combined in disgorgement, interest & penalties to settle the claims, the Securities and Exchange Commission said Wednesday.
None admitted or denied the SEC’s findings as part of the settlement. 2 other celebrities named in the SEC’s complaint, rapper Soulja Boy & pop singer Austin Mahone, did not reach a settlement with the SEC, the agency said.
Lohan’s publicist Leslie Sloane said the actress was contacted in March 2022, was unaware of the disclosure requirement & agreed to pay a fine to resolve the matter. Lohan was called to give up the $10,000 she was paid, plus interest & pay a $30,000 fine.
In the complaint filed by the SEC in federal court in New York, the agency claims the celebrities were paid to promote Tronix (TRX) & BitTorrent (BTT), both crypto asset securities that were offered for sale by 3 companies owned by Justin Sun, a Chinese national.
Starting at around August 2017, Sun allegedly offered to sell billions in the unregistered securities & engaged in manipulative trading, while also creating secondary markets on which Tronix & BitTorrent could be traded.
“Although the celebrities were paid to promote TRX & BTT, their touts on social media did not disclose that they had been paid or the amounts of their payments,” according to the complaint. “Thus, the public was misled into believing that these celebrities had unbiased interest in TRX and BTT & were not merely paid spokespersons.”
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