TheQuartering [10/3/2022]
Kim Kardashian has landed in hot water with the feds over an Instagram post promoting a cryptocurrency asset that has been blasted by critics as an alleged “pump and dump” scheme.
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced on Monday that it has charged the reality television star and social media influencer “for touting on social media a crypto asset security … without disclosing the payment she received for the promotion.”
The SEC said Kim K “agreed to settle the charges, pay $1.26 million in penalties, disgorgement, and interest, and cooperate” with the ongoing investigation.
Kardashian paid the penalties “without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings,” according to the agency. She also agreed to refrain from promoting any crypto asset securities for three years, the government said.
A spokesperson for Kardashian told The Post: “Ms. Kardashian is pleased to have resolved this matter with the SEC.”
“Kardashian fully cooperated with the SEC from the very beginning and she remains willing to do whatever she can to assist the SEC in this matter.”
“She wanted to get this matter behind her to avoid a protracted dispute,” the spokesperson said.
“The agreement she reached with the SEC allows her to do that so that she can move forward with her many different business pursuits.”
John Jasnoch, an attorney for Scott & Scott, the firm handling the class-action suit, said: “We see the SEC order as validation of the claims in the EthereumMax litigation, particularly those against Defendant Kardashian. Promoters who mislead investors should be held accountable.”
According to the feds, Kardashian “failed to disclose” that she was paid $250,000 to post an item to her tens of millions of Instagram followers touting EMAX crypto tokens, the digital coin that was offered for sale by EthereumMax.
“Kardashian’s post contained a link to the EthereumMax website, which provided instructions for potential investors to purchase EMAX tokens,” the SEC said in a statement.