Eight American celebrities including actor Lindsay Lohan and adult performer Kendra Lust have been charged by the US (SEC) for promoting cryptocurrencies without disclosing that they were paid to do so or the amount they were compensated.
The SEC’s charges are part of a larger probe into cryptocurrency entrepreneur Justin Sun and his companies behind Tronix and BitTorrent. Sun and his firms are accused of market manipulation and paying celebrities to promote their cryptocurrencies without disclosing the payments.
The other celebrities who have been named in the release include Akon, Ne-Yo, Lil Yachty, Austin Mahone, Soulja Boy, and influencer Jake Paul. The SEC stated that all the celebrities except Soulja Boy and Mahone, have agreed to pay more than $400,000 in total to settle the charges without admitting guilt or innocence, reported Hindustan Times.
Lohan boasts over 8 million followers on Twitter and she is known to be an early adopter of cryptocurrencies, promoting Bitcoin and NFTs on her social media.
In 2022, Lohan’s name appeared on a spreadsheet of influencers paid to promote cryptocurrencies, with Lohan reportedly commanding $25,000 for a single tweet. However, as per the SEC charging document, Lohan was paid only $10,000 to promote TRX on Twitter in February 2021.
When asked for comment, Lohan’s publicist said that Lohan was unaware of the disclosure requirement and agreed to pay a fine to resolve the matter.
Former nurse who began her career in the adult entertainment industry at the age of 33, Kendra Lust is regarded as a performer specializing in the MILF genre. Recently, the SEC filed a charging document claiming that Lust was compensated $955 to endorse TRX on her Twitter account in February 2021.
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