4 entries tagged “celebrity”.
A 2018 ICO that billed its B2G token as 'the next generation of Bitcoin.' New Jersey issued a cease-and-desist calling it a fraudulent unregistered securities offering, and the SEC charged actor Steven Seagal for touting it without disclosing he was promised $250K cash plus $750K in tokens.
An NFT 'play-to-earn' game promoted by Logan Paul in 2021 that never fully launched after raising millions. A Coffeezilla exposé called it a 'rug pull'; Paul apologized and offered refunds. An investor class action against Paul was dismissed; a defamation suit over the 'scam' label was ongoing.
A Solana memecoin tied to viral personality Haliey Welch, launched Dec 4, 2024. Its market cap reached ~$490M before falling 95%+ within hours, prompting rug-pull/pump-and-dump allegations and a securities lawsuit against the operators (not Welch).
A 2021 Ethereum token (unrelated to Ethereum) promoted by celebrities. The SEC charged Kim Kardashian for touting it without disclosing a $250,000 payment; she settled for $1.26M. A private 'pump-and-dump' class action was later dismissed.