The US Securities and Exchange Commission has fined Kim Kardashian and 11 other celebrities promoting crypto for breaching the law. According to the SEC, these crypto celebrities were supposed to inform the public that they were paid to promote a crypto project before doing so. So far, the SEC has managed to get $3.8 million from these celebrities.
SEC regulations are becoming a reality for those living in the United States, and celebrities are not left out of the regulations. Crypto firms have been hunted down by this regulatory commission, as they were made to pay millions of dollars. This also applies to celebrities who promote crypto the wrong way. According to the SEC, any influential person promoting a crypto project should inform the public that they were paid to do so.
A whopping $3.8 million in penalties, disgorgement, and prejudgment interest have been paid by 12 crypto celebrities so far. In addition to warning celebrities about promoting fraudulent crypto projects, SEC also told the public to be wary of crypto projects recommended by celebrities. The commission revealed that most of these celebrities are paid for the promotion of fraudulent projects.
Among the celebrities who were fined for illegally promoting crypto, Kim Kardashian and ex-NBA star Paul Pierce paid the most fines. Each of them paid $1.26 million and $1.40 million, respectively. Most of these celebrities are caught promoting crypto projects based on three categories. Justin Sun in 2023, EthereumMax (EMAX) in 2022, and Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) in 2018.
Ex-NBA star Paul Pierce as well as reality star Kim Kardashian, were caught and fined under the EthereumMax case, and they agreed with SEC not to promote any crypto asset for three years.
Former professional boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. received the third-highest fine among the twelve celebrities. He was fined a whopping $0.61 million for illegally promoting initial coin offerings. Disk hockey and music producer DJ Khaled was charged $150,000 for the same crime. In 2018, Floyd Mayweather and DJ Khaled were banned from promoting anything within the crypto industry for 3 and 2 years, respectively.
In the Justin Sun case, singer Akon received the highest fine at $170,814. The next list of celebrities fined by the Securities and Exchange Commission were boxer Jake Paul at $101,887, Lindsay Lohan, Ne-Yo, and Lil Yachtywwre fined $40,000 each. The person that received the least fine, in this case, was adult film star Kendra Lust at $3,884.
How Much Were These Celebrities Paid for the Crypto Promotions?
Almost all the celebrities who were busted by the SEC were paid less compared to what they had to pay in fines. The Securities and Exchange Commission charged these celebrities depending on what they received to promote crypto projects.
In the Justin Sun case, all six celebrities caught were mandated to pay 4.07 times whatever they received for the promotion. In the EthereumMax case, some of the celebrities involved were made to pay 5.77 times what they were paid for promotions. An exception was Kim Kardashian, who was made to pay 5.07 of what she received for the promotion. Lastly, in the ICO case, Floyd Mayweather was made to pay 2.05 times what he received, while DJ Khaled was made to pay 3.05 times what he received.