Kim Kardashian, charged with unlawfully touting crypto, to pay $1.26 million
ByTheresa Seiger, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
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ByTheresa Seiger, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
Officials announced Monday that Kim Kardashian has agreed to pay $1.26 million to settle allegations that she promoted a cryptocurrency investment opportunity in violation of federal law.
The Security and Exchange Commission charged Kardashian with touting a crypto asset security on Instagram without disclosing the payment she got. Officials said she was paid $250,000 to publish a post about EMAX tokens from EthereumMax to her hundreds of millions of followers.
“ARE YOU GUYS INTO CRYPTO????” she wrote in June 2021, according to The Washington Post. “THIS IS NOT FINANCIAL ADVICE BUT SHARING WHAT MY FRIENDS JUST TOLD ME ABOUT THE ETHEREUM MAX TOKEN!”
The newspaper reported that Kardashian included a hashtag on the post that indicated it was an advertisement, though the SEC said she failed to disclose the amount she was paid. The post included a link to the EthereumMax website, which had instructions for people interested in purchasing EMAX tokens, officials said.
“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 S. Grewal, director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, said Monday in a statement. “Investors are entitled to know whether the publicity of a security is unbiased, and Ms. Kardashian failed to disclose this information.”
In a statement obtained by The Associated Press, an attorney for Kardashian said that the reality TV star and entrepreneur was “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,” the statement said. “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.”
As part of the settlement, Kardashian agreed not to promote any crypto asset securities for three years, officials said.
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Photos: Kim Kardashian West through the years Reality TV personality Kim Kardashian West was born Oct. 21, 1980. Here are some memorable photos of the "Keeping up With the Kardashians" star through the years. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for ULTA Beauty / KKW Beauty)
Photos: Kim Kardashian West through the years 1995: Khloe Kardashian, Kourtney Kardashian, Bruce Jenner, Kris Kardashian, Robert Kardashian and Kim Kardashian in 1995. (Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
Photos: Kim Kardashian West through the years 2006: Socialites Kimberly Kardashian and Paris Hilton attend the premiere of HBO's "Entourage" at the Cinerama Dome on June 1, 2006, in Hollywood, California. (Stephen Shugerman/Getty Images)
Photos: Kim Kardashian West through the years 2007: Kourtney, Kim and Khloe Kardashian arrive at Kim's Birthday Party at Les Deux on October 21, 2007, in Los Angeles. (Noel Vasquez/Getty Images)
Photos: Kim Kardashian West through the years 2008: TV personality Kim Kardashian arrives at Spike TV's 2008 Video Game Awards held at Sony Pictures' Studios on December 14, 2008, in Culver City, California. (Michael Buckner/Getty Images for Spike TV)
Photos: Kim Kardashian West through the years 2009: TV personality Kim Kardashian arrives at the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards held at the Nokia Theatre on September 20, 2009, in Los Angeles. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Photos: Kim Kardashian West through the years 2010: Kim Kardashian and mother Kris Kardashian visit Oktoberfest 2010 at Hippodrom at Theresienwiese during their Munich Visit on September 22, 2010, in Munich, Germany. (Florian Seefried/Getty Images)
Photos: Kim Kardashian West through the years 2011: Actress/musician Demi Lovato and TV personality Kim Kardashian arrive at the 2011 VH1 Do Something Awards at the Hollywood Palladium on August 14, 2011, in Hollywood, California. (Christopher Polk/Getty Images for VH1)
Photos: Kim Kardashian West through the years 2011: Professional tennis player Serena Williams and TV personality Kim Kardashian attend the Vera Wang Spring 2012 fashion show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at The Stage at Lincoln Center on September 13, 2011, in New York City. (Larry Busacca/Getty Images for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week)
Photos: Kim Kardashian West through the years 2012: Kim Kardashian and rapper Kanye West watch the video board from their courtside seats as the Los Angeles Lakers take on the Denver Nuggets in Game Seven of the Western Conference Quarterfinals in the 2012 NBA Playoffs on May 12, 2012, at Staples Center in Los Angeles. (Harry How/Getty Images)
Photos: Kim Kardashian West through the years 2013: Kim Kardashian and Kanye West attend the Costume Institute Gala for the "PUNK: Chaos to Couture" exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 6, 2013, in New York City. (Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for The Huffington Post)
Photos: Kim Kardashian West through the years 2014: Kanye West and Kim Kardashian attend the "Charles James: Beyond Fashion" Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 5, 2014, in New York City. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)
Photos: Kim Kardashian West through the years 2015: Kanye West and Kim Kardashian attend "China: Through the Looking Glass" Costume Institute Benefit Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 4, 2015, in New York City. (John Lamparski/Getty Images)
Photos: Kim Kardashian West through the years 2016: Kim Kardashian and Kanye West attend the "Manus x Machina: Fashion In an Age of Technology" Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 2, 2016, in New York City. (Mike Coppola/Getty Images for People.com)
Photos: Kim Kardashian West through the years 2017: Kim Kardashian West attends the "Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art of the In-Between" Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 1, 2017, in New York City. (Theo Wargo/Getty Images for US Weekly)
Photos: Kim Kardashian West through the years 2018: Kris Jenner, Kendall Jenner, Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian attend an intimate dinner hosted by the Business of Fashion to celebrate its latest special print edition "The Age of Influence" at Peachy's/Chinese Tuxedo on May 8, 2018, in New York City. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Business of Fashion)
Photos: Kim Kardashian West through the years 2019: Kim Kardashian West and Kanye West attend the 2019 Met Gala Celebrating Camp: Notes on Fashion at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 6, 2019, in New York City. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue)
Photos: Kim Kardashian West through the years 2020: Kim Kardashian attends the 2020 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Radhika Jones at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on February 9, 2020, in Beverly Hills, California. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Photos: Kim Kardashian West through the years 2021: Kim Kardashian attends The 2021 Met Gala Celebrating In America: A Lexicon of Fashion at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on September 13, 2021, in New York City. (Mike Coppola/Getty Images)