SEC Charges Former NBA Player Paul Pierce With Violating Federal Securities Laws on Touting Crypto Asset Securities

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has brought charges against former NBA player Paul Pierce for promoting the EMAX tokens, a cryptocurrency asset, on social media without disclosing how much he was being paid or making false and misleading statements. The SEC’s order finds that Pierce failed to disclose he had been paid more than $244,000 in EMAX tokens for his promotional tweets and also misled investors by tweeting a screenshot of an account with large holdings and profits, while Pierce's own personal holdings were much lower. In addition, he included a link to the EthereumMax website, without providing instructions to potential investors. As a result, Pierce agreed to settle the charges brought forth against him and pay $1.409 million in penalties, disgorgment, and interest. Moreover, as part of the settlement, he is barred from promoting any cryptocurrency securities for three years. The SEC’s investigation into the matter is still ongoing.