Kim Kardashian and other celebrities were named as defendants in a lawsuit alleging they took advantage of victims through a cryptocurrency “pump and dump” scheme.
Kardashian, boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr., and NBA champion Paul Pierce are accused of collaborating with the creators of EthereumMax to mislead and promote the sale of a cryptocurrency, according to the lawsuit.
EthereumMax, which has no relation to the Ethereum cryptocurrency, maintained a “pump and dump” scheme, in which it inflated the price of its cryptocurrency by misleading marketing and then peddled the coin to unknowing investors for a profit, according to a report.
Executives “collaborating with several celebrity promotors” drove “false or misleading statements to investors about EthereumMax, through social-media advertisements and other promotional activities,” the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District Court of California said.
CANNABIS COMPOUNDS BLOCK THE VIRUS RESPONSIBLE FOR COVID-19: STUDY
Kardashian and other defendants allegedly “touted” investors’ ability to make “significant returns,” which resulted in a manufactured increase in the price of the asset, the report said.
Investors ended up purchasing “losing investments at inflated prices,” and executives of EthereumMax sold their EthereumMax tokens “to investors for a profit,” according to the lawsuit.
“In plain terms, EthereumMax’s entire business model relies on using constant marketing and promotional activities, often from ‘trusted’ celebrities, to dupe potential investors into trusting the financial opportunities,” the filing claimed.
Pierce, a 2008 NBA champion with the Boston Celtics, promoted the cryptocurrency on Twitter, “praising EthereumMax’s ability to make money for him,” the filing added.
Mayweather allegedly promoted the asset during his exhibition boxing match with YouTuber Logan Paul, according to the filing.
Kardashian, however, had perhaps the largest audience to mislead, according to a report.
The reality TV personality took to Instagram and shared a message with her massive following, according to the complaint.
“This is not financial advice but sharing what my friends tell me about the EthereumMax token,” she allegedly wrote.
Kardashian “asked her 250 million followers to speculate on crypto tokens,” and the post may have been “financial promotion with the single biggest audience reach in history,” said Charles Randell, the head of the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority.
People who invested between May and June 2021 are named as plaintiffs who were “damaged thereby,” according to the complaint.
EthereumMax has categorically denied the claims.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“The deceptive narrative associated with the recent allegations is riddled with misinformation about the EthereumMax project,” said Steve Gentile, identified in the filing as the co-founder and creator of EthereumMax. “We dispute the allegations and look forward to the truth coming out.”
Original Location: Kim Kardashian among celebrities named in cryptocurrency ‘pump and dump’ scheme
Washington Examiner Videos