Jake Paul, one of the most famous YouTubers in the world, is being hit with SEC charges on a crypto scheme. He is just one of eight people the US regulators are accusing of this illegal crypto scheme. Moreover, one of the other eight people whose name is known in the industry is Lil Yachty. The celebrities are accused of using social media platforms to promote two crypto tokens without proper disclosure. While it is legal to promote projects and products, one must inform the public that the post is a paid promotion.
According to the news release by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the celebrities charged are:
- Jake Paul
- Soulja Boy (DeAndre Cortez Way)
- Austin Mahone
- Lil Yachty (Mile Parks McCollum)
- Kendra Lust (Michele Mason)
- Ne – Yo (Shaffer Smith)
- Akon (Aliaune Thiam)
- Lindsay Lohan
The two crypto tokens the group is accused of illegally promoting are Tron (TRX) and BitTorrent (BTT). While these two crypto projects are credible projects, the individuals are accused of illegally promoting them. According to the SEC, the group promoted the tokens “without proper disclosure that they were compensated for doing so.”
The founder of the Tron ecosystem, Justin Sun, is also accused of fraud. According to sources, Sun partook in manipulating the trading activity of Tron and BitTorrent. Moreover, Sun wanted to make the charts appear as if the tokens were being traded actively through manipulation. This leads to a crime known as “wash trading.”
Justin Sun’s Past In Investing And Crypto
Sun is a known investor throughout the world. Additionally, Sun is known for being a diplomat for the Caribbean island nation of Grenada. Mr. Sun has close links to Alibaba founder Jack Ma. Not only that, but Sun also had dinner with investor Warren Buffet, a dinner for which he paid over $4.6 million to have.
Through a release, the SEC stated that Sun is accused of “orchestrating a promotional campaign” in which he did not declare paying the promoters. So, the accusations of Mr. Sun and the eight celebrities above are interlinked with one another. To add to this, his three companies, Tron Foundation Limited, Rainberry Inc, and BitTorrent Foundation Limited are also included in the charges.
Sun and his companies not only targeted US investors in their unregistered offers and sales, but they also coordinated wash trading…
US Securities and Exchange Commission
Over $400,000 To Settle The Charges For 6 of the Accused Celebs
According to the SEC, six of the accused celebrities have a combined total of over $400,000 to settle the charges. However, Soulja Boy and Mahone are not included in this calculation. Only Jake Paul was ordered to pay over $100,000 for his promotions, followed by Lindsay Lohan, who paid over $40,000 to the SEC.
