Former Celtics star Paul Pierce is making headlines this Friday for the wrong reasons.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has officially announced charges against Pierce for touting EMAX tokens on social media without disclosing the payment he received for the promotion.
Pierce is also being charged for making false and misleading promotional statements about crypto asset securities offered by EthereumMax.
SEC Chair Gary Gensler issued a statement on this decision.
“This case is yet another reminder to celebrities: The law requires you to disclose to the public from whom and how much you are getting paid to promote investment in securities, and you can’t lie to investors when you tout a security,” Gensler said. “When celebrities endorse investment opportunities, including crypto asset securities, investors should be careful to research if the investments are right for them, and they should know why celebrities are making those endorsements.”
Per the SEC’s release, Pierce didn’t disclose that he was paid more than $244,000 worth of EMAX tokens in exchange for promotion on Twitter.
Pierce has agreed to settle the charges. He’ll pay $1.409 million in penalties.