Boxer Floyd Mayweather and music producer DJ Khaled were accused of failing to disclose payments they received for hyping initial coin offerings, making them the biggest names sanctioned in U.S. regulators’ months long crackdown on misconduct tied to digital tokens.
Mayweather, one of his sport’s most recognizable personalities, agreed to pay more than $600,000 to settle with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the agency said in a Thursday statement. Khaled will pay more than $150,000, the regulator said.
The SEC said Mayweather violated securities laws by touting ICOs in tweets without disclosing that the coins’ backers had paid him to promote the tokens. Khaled was accused of similar allegations.
'These cases highlight the importance of full disclosure to investors,' Stephanie Avakian, the SEC co-enforcement director, said in the statement. “With no disclosure about the payments, Mayweather and Khaled’s ICO promotions may have appeared to be unbiased, rather than paid endorsements.”
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