New York, February 17 Former NBA player Paul Pierce was fined $1.4 million by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday for illegally promoting cryptocurrency. EMAX currency, a sentence similar to the one he imposed last year for the same reason on celebrity Kim Kardashian.
The SEC has accused the basketball star of promoting EMAX tokens – a crypto-asset security product offered by the EthereumMax company – on social media without disclosing how much he was paid for it, and of making “misleading” statements about this cryptocurrency. statement.
The athlete reportedly received $244,000 in EMAX tokens for encouraging his Twitter followers to buy the crypto asset, including posting a screenshot of an investment account showing a large portfolio with profits, but his “was really very inferior”.
Pierce, who neither admits nor denies the charges, agreed to settle them by paying a multimillion-dollar fine, making him the latest celebrity to be injured for jumping on the seemingly lucrative bandwagon of the market. cryptography, which has recently been rocked by malpractice scandals.
The former player has also promised not to promote any cryptoassets in the next 3 years, a measure to which Kim Kardashian is also subject, also accused by the SEC of illegally promoting EMAX on social networks and sentenced to 1.26 million euros. fine last October.
“This case is another reminder to celebrities that they are required by law to disclose to the public who and how much they are paid” for promotions, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler said in the memo, which is taking action to strengthen control in the sector, especially after the fall of the FTX platform.