Former NBA player Paul Pierce agreed to pay $1.409 million to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as penalties for his undisclosed promotion of the unregistered securities token EthereumMax (EMAX), according to a Feb. 17 statement.
The SEC said the NBA star received over $244,000 worth of EMAX tokens to promote the tokens on Twitter. The financial regulator added that the NBA star made false and misleading promotional statements about the crypto asset.
“Investors are entitled to know whether the publicity of security is unbiased, and Mr. Pierce failed to disclose this information.” said SEC Director Gurbir Grewal
According to the financial watchdog, Pierce violated the anti-touting and antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws.
The former NBA star did not admit or deny the SEC findings.
Per the statement, Pierce agreed not to promote any crypto asset securities for three years.
Speaking on the charges, SEC chair Gary Gensler said:
“When celebrities endorse investment opportunities, including crypto asset securities, investors should be careful to research if the investments are right for them, and they should know why celebrities are making those endorsements.”
The SEC previously charged American celebrity Kim Kardashian for promoting the same token. Kardashian paid a fine of $1.26 million to settle the charges.
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