An investor filed in the Central District of California a lawsuit against boxer Floyd Mayweather, model and actress Kim Kardashian, and former NBA star Paul Pierce. The suit centers on their involvement in promoting the EthereumMax altcoin (EMAX), Law360 reports.
According to the plaintiff, the celebrities conspired with project organizers Steve Gentile and Giovanni Perone to push up the token price.
“The defendants touted the company’s prospects and investors’ ability to earn substantial returns thanks to the favorable ‘tokenomics’ of EMAX. In reality, they promoted the tokens to sell their stake for profit,” the complaint states.
The altcoin became widely known in late spring 2021. On May 26, Pierce posted on his Twitter — within a few days the price of EMAX reached a peak, after which it fell by more than 80% in 11 days.
.@espn I don’t need you. I got @ethereum_max I made more money with this crypto in the past month then I did with y’all in a year. TRUTH shall set u Free 🤪🤪 my own Bosshttps://t.co/3irnuWYve3 check it out for yourself
— Paul Pierce (@paulpierce34) May 26, 2021
In June Mayweather appeared in a T-shirt bearing the EthereumMax logo at weigh-ins and a stare-down with blogger Logan Paul. Earlier the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission fined the boxer $614,000 for promoting the Centra Tech ICO.
Advertising for the token was also placed on Times Square in New York. At the time it traded on DEX Uniswap and 1inch, and was ranked 2,575th on CoinMarketCap.
In mid-June EMAX rose again — this coincided with a publication of Kardashian’s Instagram Stories. After that the coin headed downward and has fallen more than 97% since hitting its peak.
In September, the head of the FCA Charles Randell expressed concern about influencer promotions of cryptocurrency startups. In particular, he cited the EthereumMax promotion featuring Kardashian.
According to the plaintiff, he purchased EMAX from May 14 to June 17. The investor urged other token holders to join the proceedings.
Earlier, Oscar-winning actor Matt Damon became an ambassador for the Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency platform Crypto.com.
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