The United States Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun and three
of his companies with engaging in wash trades with the Tronix (TRX)
token. The securities regulator also accused both parties of unregistered
offer and sales of TRX and BitTorrent (BTT) tokens.
In a press statement released on
Wednesday, SEC disclosed that it also brought charges against eight American
celebrities for promoting TRX and/or BTT without disclosing that they were paid
to do so. They also failed to reveal how much they were paid, the regulator
said.
The celebrities include actress
and singer Lindsay Lohan, social media influencer and professional boxer, Jake
Paul, rapper and record producer, DeAndre ‘Soulja Boy’ Way, singer Austin
Mahone, and porn star Michele Mason, popularly known as ‘Kendra Lust’. Other
celebrities include rapper and record producer Miles ‘Lil Yachty’ McCollum,
singer Shaffer ‘Ne-Yo’ Smith, and singer and entrepreneur, Aliaune ‘Akon’
Thiam.
However, SEC noted that all the
celebrities with the exception of ‘Soulja Boy,’ and Mahone, have agreed to pay
a total of over $400,000 to settle the charges without admitting or denying the
findings.
The United States Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun and three
of his companies with engaging in wash trades with the Tronix (TRX)
token. The securities regulator also accused both parties of unregistered
offer and sales of TRX and BitTorrent (BTT) tokens.
In a press statement released on
Wednesday, SEC disclosed that it also brought charges against eight American
celebrities for promoting TRX and/or BTT without disclosing that they were paid
to do so. They also failed to reveal how much they were paid, the regulator
said.
The celebrities include actress
and singer Lindsay Lohan, social media influencer and professional boxer, Jake
Paul, rapper and record producer, DeAndre ‘Soulja Boy’ Way, singer Austin
Mahone, and porn star Michele Mason, popularly known as ‘Kendra Lust’. Other
celebrities include rapper and record producer Miles ‘Lil Yachty’ McCollum,
singer Shaffer ‘Ne-Yo’ Smith, and singer and entrepreneur, Aliaune ‘Akon’
Thiam.
However, SEC noted that all the
celebrities with the exception of ‘Soulja Boy,’ and Mahone, have agreed to pay
a total of over $400,000 to settle the charges without admitting or denying the
findings.
