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Cryptocurrency, Enforcement

Getting Paid to Promote Securities? You Need to Disclose That Fact!

Former NBA player Paul Pierce was paid more than $244,000 worth of EMAX tokens in order to promote them on Twitter. He failed to disclose the payment and ultimately agreed to settle an SEC case by disgorging the $244,000 payment, plus interest and $1,115,000 million in penalties.

That is a hefty penalty for a violation, but the SEC’s order also found that Pierce tweeted misleading statements related to EMAX, including tweeting a screenshot of an account showing large holdings and profits without disclosing that his own personal holdings were in fact much lower than those in the screenshot. In addition, one of Pierce’s tweets contained a link to the EthereumMax website, which provided instructions for potential investors to purchase EMAX tokens.

“The federal securities laws are clear that any celebrity or other individual who promotes a crypto asset security must disclose the nature, source, and amount of compensation they received in exchange for the promotion,” said Gurbir S. Grewal, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “Investors are entitled to know whether a promotor of a security is unbiased, and Mr. Pierce failed to disclose this information.”

The SEC’s order finds that Pierce violated the anti-touting and antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws. Without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings, Pierce agreed to pay a $1,115,000 penalty and approximately $240,000 in disgorgement and prejudgment interest. Pierce also agreed to not promote any crypto asset securities for three years.

The SEC’s statement urging caution regarding potentially unlawful celebrity-backed crypto asset offerings can be found here. SEC Chair Gensler’s video warning investors not to make investment decisions based solely on the recommendations of a celebrity or influencer can be found her


Defending a securities investigation? New York Securities Lawyer and his partners have over 100 years of combined experience in defending such matters. Give them a call at 212-509-6544.

Securities Attorney at Sallah Astarita & Cox | 212-509-6544 | mja@sallahlaw.com | Website | + posts

Mark Astarita is a nationally recognized securities attorney, who represents investors, financial professionals and firms in securities litigation, arbitration and regulatory matters, including SEC and FINRA investigations and enforcement proceedings.

He is a partner in the national securities law firm Sallah Astarita & Cox, LLC, and the founder of The Securities Law Home Page - SECLaw.com, which was one of the first legal topic sites on the Internet. It went online in 1995 and is updated daily with news, commentary and securities law related links.

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