NBA star Paul Pierce to pay $1.4 million for EthereumMax promotion

Former Boston Celtics star Paul Pierce settled charges brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), pleading guilty to illegal promotion of the EthereumMax altcoin (EMAX).

He agreed to pay a fine of $1.115 million and about $240,000 in interest and disgorgement of illegally obtained profits. The NBA star will also be barred from promoting any securities or crypto assets for three years.

According to the SEC, Pierce failed to disclose earnings of more than $244,000 in EMAX for promoting the tokens on Twitter. He also posted a screenshot showing large assets and profits, without noting that his balance was far lower.

The regulator noted that one of the NBA star’s tweets contained a link to the EthereumMax website with instructions for buying EMAX for potential investors.

The Ethereum-based altcoin gained wide attention in late spring 2021. On May 26, Pierce posted a promotional tweet — within days the price of EMAX reached a peak, then fell more than 80% in 11 days.

In June, professional boxer Floyd Mayweather appeared in a shirt bearing the EthereumMax logo at a weigh-in and a staredown against blogger Logan Paul. In mid-June EMAX rose again, which coincided with a Kim Kardashian photo post on Instagram. After that, the coin tumbled — from its peak the price lost 99.7% (CoinGecko).

In October 2022, the SEC announced that it settled with Kardashian over securities-law violations in promoting EMAX. The star agreed to pay $1.26 million in fines, interest and disgorgement of illegally obtained profits.

Earlier in December, a U.S. court dismissed the lawsuit brought by EthereumMax investors against Kardashian, Mayweather and Pierce. According to the judge, the plaintiffs failed to prove malice on the part of the promoters and did not specify when they saw the advertisement.