'Unlawfully Touting Crypto Security': Kim Kardashian Ordered To Pay $1.26M Settlement To SEC For Pushing Crypto Currency
Kim Kardashian has agreed to pay more than one million dollars in penalties for what the Securities and Exchange Commission has deemed “unlawfully touting crypto security,” RadarOnline.com can confirm.
The shocking charges were unveiled on Monday against Kim after the SEC found the 41-year-old socialite touted “a crypto asset security offered and sold by EthereumMax without disclosing the payment she received for the promotion.”
According to the SEC’s filing, Kim “failed to disclose that she was paid $250,000 to publish a post on her Instagram account about EMAX tokens, the crypto asset security being offered by EthereumMax.”
Kim agreed to pay a whopping $1.26 million sum in penalties, disgorgement and interest for the findings against her. She has also reportedly agreed to cooperate with the SEC’s still ongoing investigation into the matter.
“Kardashian violated the anti-touting provision of the federal securities laws,” the commission said in a statement released Monday.
“Without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings, Kardashian agreed to pay the aforementioned $1.26 million, including approximately $260,000 in disgorgement, which represents her promotional payment, plus prejudgment interest, and a $1,000,000 penalty,” the SEC added. “Kardashian also agreed to not promote any crypto asset securities for three years.”
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Although Kim neither admitted nor denied the commission’s findings, the SEC has argued the Keeping Up with the Kardashians star unlawfully pushed the cryptocurrency without properly disclosing how much she was allegedly paid to do so.
Gary Gensler, who currently serves as the chair of the SEC, also warned of the potential dangers in trusting “celebrities or influencers” to push particular “investment opportunities.”
“This case is a reminder that, when celebrities or influencers endorse investment opportunities, including crypto asset securities, it doesn’t mean that those investment products are right for all investors,” Gensler said. “We encourage investors to consider an investment’s potential risks and opportunities in light of their own financial goals.”
“Ms. Kardashian’s case also serves as a reminder to celebrities and others that the law requires them to disclose to the public when and how much they are paid to promote investing in securities,” he added.
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Kim’s $1.26 million settlement with the SEC comes as the billionaire businesswoman faces off against her ex-husband, Kanye West, in a $2.1 billion divorce battle.
Kanye has recently hired pitbull attorney Robert Stephan Cohen, his sixth lawyer and who previously represented Melinda Gates in her divorce from Bill Gates, to represent him in the high-stakes divorce proceedings.
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