Lindsay Lohan, other celebrities accused of crypto campaign
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 10: Lindsay Lohan attends ‘The Drew Barrymore Show’ at CBS Broadcast Center on November 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by James Devaney/GC Images)
By David Goldman | CNN
The Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday accused Lindsay Lohan, Jake Paul and several other celebrities of failing to disclose that they were paid to promote crypto.
The celebrities agreed to pay $400,000, including fines, and return what they were paid for the campaign.
Lohan was paid $10,000 to promote Tronix tokens offered by Justin Sun’s company Tron.
“Exploring #DeFi and already liking $JST, $SUN on $TRX. Super fast and 0 fee. Great job @justinsuntron,” Lohan tweeted on Feb. 11, 2021. The SEC said Lohan failed to disclose that the tweet was a paid endorsement.
A spokesperson for Lohan said the celebrity “was contacted in March 2022 and was unaware of the disclosure requirement. She agreed to pay a fine to settle the matter.”
Likewise, Paul was paid $25,000 for an endorsement by Tronix, which he tweeted a day after Lohan.
Other celebrities who agreed to settle the charges include Michele Mason (aka Kendra Lust), Miles Parks McCollum (Lil Yachty), Shaffer Smith (Ne-Yo) and Aliaune Thiam (Akon).
For their violations, Lohan agreed to pay $30,000 in fines in addition to the $10,000 she earned for the campaign. Paul agreed to pay $75,000 in fines on top of the $25,000 he earned.
A spokesperson for Paul declined to comment.
The SEC also announced that it was suing Sun and three of his companies for failing to properly register crypto securities, manipulating markets and failing to disclose paid relationships with the celebrities. It also sued DeAndre Cortez Way, also known as Soulja Boy, who was allegedly a paid endorser of Tronix and failed to disclose his relationship with the company.
A spokesperson for Soulja Boy could not be reached for comment.
“As alleged in the complaint, Sun and others used an ancient playbook to mislead and harm investors by first offering securities without complying with registration and disclosure requirements and then manipulating the market for those very securities,” said Gurbir Grewal, director of the company. The SEC’s Division of Enforcement, in a statement. “At the same time, Sun paid celebrities with millions of social media followers to showcase the unregistered offers, while specifically asking them not to disclose their compensation.”
