Lindsay Lohan, Ne-Yo, and Lil Yachty have been hit with SEC charges for promoting cryptocurrency on social media.
Representatives for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on Wednesday that they had charged eight celebrities as part of their investigation into crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun and three of his companies, which marketed crypto asset securities under the brand names Tronix (TRX) and BitTorrent (BTT).
The celebrities were charged with violating securities laws by "illegally touting" the TRX and/or BTT crypto tokens without disclosing that they were paid to promote them.
In addition to Lohan, Ne-Yo, and Lil Yachty, the other celebrities include music stars Soulja Boy, Akon, and Austin Mahone, social media personality and boxer Jake Paul, and adult film star Kendra Lust.
SEC chair Gary Gensler said in a statement, "Sun further induced investors to purchase TRX and BTT by orchestrating a promotional campaign in which he and his celebrity promoters hid the fact that the celebrities were paid for their tweets."
According to the SEC, with the exception of Soulja Boy and Mahone, the celebrities have "agreed to pay a total of more than $400,000 in disgorgement, interest, and penalties to settle the charges, without admitting or denying the SEC's findings."
Lohan's spokeswoman, Leslie Sloane, told Variety that the Mean Girls star was unaware of any disclosure obligations.
"Lindsay was contacted in March 2022 and was unaware of the disclosure requirement. She agreed to pay a fine to resolve the matter," she stated.
The SEC's complaint was filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Wednesday.
