Actress Lindsay Lohan, YouTuber and boxer Jake Paul, singer Ne-Yo and rapper Lil Yachty are among a list of eight personalities indicted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for violating securities laws by extolling the merits of cryptocurrencies. These stars allegedly "illegally promoted TRX and/or BTT without mentioning the financial compensation they obtained for doing so, nor its amount" according to the SEC.



The list also includes rapper Soulja Boy, singers Austin Mahone and Akon, and adult movie star Kendra Lust. All but Mahone and Soulja Boy (aka DeAndre Cortez Way) have reached settlements with the SEC that involve "more than $400,000 in relief, interest and penalties to settle the charges, without admitting or denying the SEC's findings," according to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Not aware

The SEC accuses entrepreneur Jason Sun of asking the eight celebrities not to reveal that they were paid to tout TRX and BTT on social media. But according to a representative of Lindsay Lohan who just announced her pregnancy, the actress "was contacted in March 2022 and was not aware of the disclosure obligation" Leslie Sloane continues in Variety: "She agreed to pay a fine to resolve the dispute."

Jason Sun is accused of manipulating the market for these currencies through "wash trading", a technique that "involves the simultaneous or near-simultaneous buying and selling of a security to make it appear actively traded without change in beneficial ownership". It allegedly generated $31 million in proceeds through illegal and unregistered sales of the token on the secondary market, according to the SEC.

Lindsay Lohan has already been in trouble with the law. YouTuber Jake Paul had to answer for the presence of weapons at home in 2020.

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