SEC Charges Lindsay Lohan and Jake Paul Over Crypto Scam

US authorities have charged eight celebrities, including Lindsay Lohan and Jake Paul, with participating in an illegal crypto scam.

The celebrities allegedly used their social media platforms to promote two cryptocurrencies without disclosing that they received compensation for doing so.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced the allegations in a press release on Wednesday.

Without admitting guilt, Lindsay Lohan and Paul have paid to settle the lawsuits against them.

The other celebrities accused are:

“The SEC accuses the group of illegally advertising the TRX and BTT crypto assets “without disclosing that they were compensated for doing so and the amount of the payment.”

Justin Sun, a crypto investor and ambassador for the Caribbean island nation of Grenada, is also accused of fraud for altering the trading activity of two tokens to make it appear that they were actively trading, a practice known as “wash trading.”

Sun, a Chinese-born protégé of Alibaba founder Jack Ma, is said to have once paid $4.6 million to dine with billionaire Warren Buffett.

The SEC said in its press release that he is accused of “orchestrating a promotional campaign in which he and his celebrity promoters concealed the fact that celebrities were paid for their tweets.”

Their companies, Tron Foundation Limited, BitTorrent Foundation Limited and Rainberry Corp (formerly BitTorrent), are all subject to the plan’s charges.

Gary Gensler, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, said this action highlights the considerable risk investors face when cryptoasset securities are issued and sold without sufficient disclosure.

“Sun and its companies not only targeted U.S. investors with their unregistered offers and sales, generating millions of dollars in illegal proceeds at the expense of investors, but they also coordinated laundering operations on an unregistered trading platform to create the deceptive appearance of active operations. .”

Except for Soulja Boy and Mahone, all of the celebrities have paid more than $400,000 to settle the claims.

Lohan, best known for her role in the 2004 film Mean Girls, had 8.4 million followers on Twitter when she sent out a message encouraging her followers to invest.

The 36-year-old actress, who, according to charging records, resides in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, paid $10,000 to the SEC and an additional $30,000 in fines.

Paul, a YouTuber, wrestler and Puerto Rican resident, was forced to pay more than $100,000.

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