The Securities and Exchange Commission said Friday that it has fined NBA Hall of Famer Paul Pierce, who won a championship with the Boston Celtics, for touting EMAX tokens, crypto asset securities offered and sold by EthereumMax, on social media without disclosing the payment he received.
The SEC also charged Pierce with making false and misleading promotional statements about the same crypto asset.
Pierce agreed to settle the charges and pay $1.409 million in penalties, disgorgement and interest, the SEC said.
According to the SEC's order, Pierce failed to disclose that he was paid more than $244,000 worth of EMAX tokens to promote the tokens on Twitter.
The SEC's order also finds that between May 26, 2021, and June 5, 2021, Pierce — a former professional basketball player and sports analyst — touted on Twitter a crypto asset security that was being offered and sold.
Pierce "tweeted misleading statements related to EMAX, including tweeting a screenshot of an account showing large holdings and profits without disclosing that his own personal holdings were in fact much lower than those in the screenshot," the SEC said.
In addition, one of Pierce's tweets contained a link to the EthereumMax website, which provided instructions for potential investors to purchase EMAX tokens, the SEC explained.
"This case is yet another reminder to celebrities: The law requires you to disclose to the public from whom and how much you are getting paid to promote investment in securities, and you can't lie to investors when you tout a security," said SEC Chairman Gary Gensler in a statement.
