NEW YORK, March 23 — The US Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday charged Chinese cryptocurrency entrepreneur Justin Sun with fraud, and accused eight celebrities including actress Lindsay Lohan and rapper Soulja Boy with illegally promoting his crypto assets.
The SEC said Sun’s activity generated tens of millions of dollars of illegal profit at other investors’ expense. The other celebrities charged included the singers Akon, Austin Mahone and Ne-Yo, social media personality and boxer Jake Paul, rapper Lil Yachty and porn actress Kendra Lust. “From the outset, she cooperated with the SEC’s investigation and ultimately agreed to disgorge the small amount of money she received and paid a fine to resolve this matter,” her attorney Andrew Brettler said in an emailed statement.
In its complaint filed in Manhattan federal court, the SEC said Sun sold TRX and BTT as securities, and thus their sale needed to be registered with the agency.