Promoting “private” cryptocurrency for personal gain, these hotshot celebrities come under legal fire.

A class-action lawsuit is filed in California, the US, reality TV personality Kim Kardashian, American boxer Floyd Mayweather, and NBA player Paul Pierce, among others, are being investigated for cryptocurrency fraud. These celebrities have been accused of participating in a coordinated pump-and-dump operation centered on EthereumMax (EMAX). According to the complaint, all investors who put money into the cryptocurrency eventually lost money. Also, have a look at the Instagram story. Likes allow you to comment on an article without sending a direct message leading to visibility of scam information.

Violations of state consumer protection legislation, common law, aiding and abetting, and unjust enrichment are among the allegations. The lawsuit’s inquiry will track these celebrities’ involvement in promoting worthless cryptocurrency tokens. 

To recall, in June of last year, Kim Kardashian wrote about EMAX on her Instagram in a Story style, which was visible to her over 270 million followers for 24 hours. A swipe-up button on the post directed them to the EMAX community. The cryptocurrency increased by nearly 1,370 percent as a result of this publication.

Following this, EthereumMax announced “the only cryptocurrency accepted for online ticket buying for the highly anticipated Floyd Mayweather vs. Logan Paul Pay-Per-View event.”

The complaint reads, “The Company’s executives, collaborating with several celebrity promoters, (a) made false or misleading statements to investors about EthereumMax through social media advertisements and other promotional activities and (b) disguised their control over EthereumMax and a significant percent of the EMAX tokens that were available for public trading during the relevant period.”

After all of this, EMAX lost 98 percent of its value on July 15, 2021. It’s presently worth around $0.000000016.

Kim Kardashian and social media money: charging millions for Instagram posts?

Kardashian was demanding $720,000 for each Instagram post in 2018, according to Business Insider. Even though engagement data suggests her posts are worth significantly less, she consistently makes news, allowing her to demand a higher payment than any estimated Instagram-sponsored post pricing. On June 8, 2018, Kardashian had a cameo appearance in the heist film Ocean’s 8, which was released. Kardashian attended the Met Gala in 2019 wearing a figure-hugging Thierry Mugler gown with a corset. In October 2021, she hosted Saturday Night Live, mocking her estranged husband Kanye West, her mother’s ex-husband Caitlyn Jenner, her sisters, O.J Simpson, and others in her monologue.

Mayweather and Tax Fraud: Refusing to pay taxes for coin gifts of high value

Mayweather agreed to a $750,000 settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in November 2018 and DJ Khaled for failing to disclose payments accepted from issuers of initial coin offerings. This included a personal $100,000 promotional payment from a cryptocurrency firm Centra Tech Inc. The co-founders of this company were indicted for fraud in May 2018. “They are the SEC’s first cases involving claims of breaking restrictions on advertising investments in so-called initial coin offerings, or ICOs,” according to the SEC. Mayweather agreed to forego any endorsement or promotional deal with a securities participant for three years as part of the settlement.