NBA legend Paul Pierce to pay $1.4 mn over crypto promotion

Former NBA player and Boston Celtics star, Paul Pierce, has agreed to pay $1.4 million to settle the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) allegations that he promoted a crypto token without disclosing that he was paid for the promotions. Pierce was accused of making false and misleading statements about the EthereumMax (EMAX) token.

According to the SEC, Pierce failed to disclose that he was paid more than $244,000 to promote the token on Twitter. He also claimed to have made more money with the EMAX token than at ESPN in May 2021, which the SEC said was “materially misleading”. Pierce did not admit or deny the agency’s findings.

As part of the settlement, Pierce also agreed to not promote any crypto asset securities for three years. The EMAX tokens are crypto asset securities offered and sold by EthereumMax, and each token was down over 8% to a fraction of a penny during the afternoon trading.

SEC Chair Gary Gensler said that the case is “yet another reminder to celebrities” that they must disclose their payments for promoting investment in securities and cannot lie to investors.

This is not the first time that a celebrity has faced the SEC for promoting the EMAX token. Kim Kardashian was accused of similar allegations and agreed to pay $1.3 million in October to settle the allegations.

The SEC has repeatedly warned celebrities about promoting crypto tokens without disclosing that they are being paid for it. In 2018, boxer Floyd Mayweather was fined by the SEC for promoting initial coin offerings without disclosing payments he received for the promotion.

(With inputs from agencies)