Paul Pierce, NBA Hall of Famer, is charged by the SEC for promoting EMAX Tokens

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Paul Pierce, a Basketball Hall of Famer, was charged by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for promoting EMAX tokens and making misleading statements about unregistered cryptocurrency securities. The charges were settled by the former Boston Celtics small forward who agreed to pay $1.409 million to the SEC.
Gary Gensler, SEC Chair, Wants to Remind Celebrities About Disclosure Laws
Former Boston Celtics forward Paul Pierce was charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission with illegally promoting the Ethereummax cryptocurrency project and the token EMAX. The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Pierce with illegally promoting the Ethereummax cryptocurrency project and the token EMAX. This follows a series of enforcement actions by U.S. regulators. According to the SEC complaint Pierce “failed” to disclose that he was paid more $244,000 in EMAX tokens to promote tokens on Twitter.
Pierce settled the charges with SEC for $1.409 Million in penalties, disgorgement and interest. Further, the complaint states that Pierce shared a screenshot showing profits that were lower than his personal holdings in one tweet. Another tweet shared the Ethereummax website, which allowed users to purchase EMAX tokens. The SEC has also fined Pierce for illegally promoting and misleading investors about the Ethereummax project.
Kim Kardashian, a socialite, was charged in October 2022 with illegally promoting crypto asset EMAX. Kardashian also agreed to $1.26 million in fines with the SEC at that time. In a statement regarding Pierce’s charges Gary Gensler, SEC chair, stated that the case is “yet again reminder to celebrities”. He also said, “The law requires to disclose to public from whom and how many you are getting paid to encourage investment in securities, and investors can’t believe you promote a security.”
The regulator added:
Investors should research whether the investment opportunities, which include crypto asset securities, are right for them. Celebrities often endorse investments.
The SEC charges that the Basketball Hall of Famer had violated anti-touting, antifraud provisions of federal securities law. The SEC settled the case against the basketball star on a non-admit/deny basis and said that he would not promote crypto assets for three consecutive years. Investors were reminded by the SEC to view Gensler’s video on not investing “solely on celebrity recommendations or influencers.”
What are your thoughts about the SEC’s recent enforcement actions against celebrities who promote crypto assets and the alleged need to fully disclose the public? Please leave your comments below.