Retired Celtics star Paul Pierce settles with SEC over misleading promotion of EthereumMax crypto

Published , by TJ Denzer

Retired Celtics forward and NBA Champion Paul Pierce is the latest major celebrity or athlete to be penalized for their part in the cryptocurrency and NFT craze. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Pierce with unlawfully touting EthereumMax crypto security product and failing disclose that he was paid for his promotion of the product. In a settlement from the charges, the SEC has ordered Pierce to pay a $1.1 million USD fine. He will also be forced to disgorge $240,000 from his profits for the promotion.

This settlement was reported via the SEC and Chairman Gary Gensler, as reported by CNBC. Particularly, the SEC seems to have taken umbrage with tweets Pierce made in 2021, promoting EthereumMax.

“@espn I don’t need you,” Pierce wrote in the May 2021 Tweet. “I got @ethereum_max I made more money with this crypto in the past month then I did with y’all in a year.”

The tweet which saw Paul Pierce investigated by the SEC for touting EthereumMax without disclosure of payments was posted in May 2021.
Source: Paul Pierce

In addition to the fine and disgorgement Pierce will be forced to pay, the SEC has banned Pierce from promoting any further crypto asset securities for the next three years.

“This case is yet another reminder to celebrities,” Gensler wrote. “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.”

Pierce is far from the only celebrity to find themselves in legal trouble regarding cryptocurrency. Other stars including Stephen Curry and Tom Brady found themselves in court for promoting the now bankrupt FTX platform in what was alleged to be a ponzi scheme. Jimmy Fallon and Paris Hilton were also sued for schilling NFTs without disclosure of being paid for the promotion, as reported by PC Gamer.

While cryptocurrency was a craze for the last few years, quite a few big names like Paul Pierce have found themselves in hot water for going about dealing with it in legally inappropriate ways. Stay tuned as we continue to follow cryptocurrency and other related topics for further updates.