US SEC FINES KIM KARDASHIAN $1.26 MILLION FOR CRYPTO TOUTING

Mon 03 October 2022:

Kim Kardashian has agreed to pay $1.26 million to settle charges brought by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that she promoted a cryptocurrency on Instagram while being paid $250,000 to do so.

The reality TV star and entrepreneur has agreed to help the SEC’s ongoing investigation, the agency announced on Monday.

The SEC said Kardashian failed to disclose that she was paid to publish a post on her Instagram account about EMAX tokens, a crypto asset security being offered by EthereumMax.

Kardashian’s post contained a link to the EthereumMax website, which provided instructions for potential investors to purchase EMAX tokens.

“The federal securities laws are clear that any celebrity or other individual who promotes a crypto asset security must disclose the nature, source, and amount of compensation they received in exchange for the promotion,” Gurbir Grewal, director of the SEC’s division of enforcement, said in a prepared statement.

Kardashian has agreed to not promote any crypto asset securities for three years.

“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 agreement she reached with the SEC allows her to do that so that she can move forward with her many different business pursuits,” a lawyer for Kardashian said in a statement.