The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged eight celebrities, including Lindsay Lohan and Jake Paul. They are in hot water for not disclosing that they were paid to promote cryptocurrency.
The celebs agreed to pay a whopping USD$400,000 in fines. They also had to return the money they received for their promotion. Justin Sun’s company Tron paid Lohan $15,000 to promote their Tronix tokens.
Justin Sun and his companies — Tron Foundation, BitTorrent Foundation, and Rainberry — are accused of distributing billions of crypto assets while artificially inflating trading volume since August 2017. He was also accused of concealing payments to celebrities to promote TRX and BTT on social media accounts.
On February 11, 2021, Lindsay Lohan posted a tweet that the SEC claims was a paid endorsement. However, she reportedly did not reveal that the tweet was a sponsored post.
“Exploring #DeFi and already liking $JST, $SUN on $TRX. Super fast and 0 fee. Good job @justinsuntron,” the tweet read.
A rep for Lohan said the celebrity “was contacted in March 2022 and was unaware of the disclosure requirement. She agreed to pay a fine to resolve the matter.”
To settle their alleged violations, Lohan agreed to pay $45,000 in fines. As well as the $15,000 she received for the promotion. Meanwhile, Jake Paul agreed to pay $112,000 in fines, in addition to the $37,000 he earned.
Other Celebs Were Charged for Violating Disclosure Rules
The other celebs that agreed to settle their charges include Kendra Lust, Lil Yachty, Ne-Yo and Akon.
All but Soulja Boy and Mahone agreed to settle, without admitting wrongdoing.
“Sun paid celebrities with millions of social media followers to tout the unregistered offerings, while specifically directing that they not disclose their compensation,” Gurbir Grewal, director of the SEC’s division of enforcement, said in a statement.
Related: ‘Blessed and Excited’: Lindsay Lohan Is Expecting Her First Child
