Finance

Kim Kardashian, Floyd Mayweather, And Paul Pierce Sued For Ties To Crypto Scam

According to the complaint, after Kardashian urged her 251 million Instagram followers to get involved in the cryptocurrency play, the price of the token shot up more than 1,370%. Then, it crashed.

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(Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)

Kim Kardashian, Floyd Mayweather, and Paul Pierce have been named defendants in a lawsuit filed on behalf of all investors who purchased EthereumMax tokens between May 14, 2021, and June 27, 2021. The complaint alleges that these influencers with a substantial number of fans and followers caused others to buy-in to a worthless cryptocurrency platform and that they exited with major financial gains as soon as the tokens increased in value.

Thereafter, those who were convinced to purchase the tokens by Kardashian, et al. were left holding the proverbial bag.

According to the complaint, after Kardashian urged her 251 million Instagram followers to get involved in the cryptocurrency play, the price of the token shot up more than 1,370%. Then, it crashed. Hard. It dropped 98% and has never been able to recover.

The plaintiff says Kardashian, Mayweather, and Pierce made false/misleading statements as part of an organized pump-and-dump scheme, particularly because there was no lock-up period to restrict the aforesaid individuals from selling the tokens they had been granted in exchange for their promotional activities. Basically, they were able to promote the token and sell their allotment as soon as the artificial spike set in, as a byproduct of their own advertisements.

“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 available with EMAX Tokens,” states the complaint. It also cites to the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority chair, Charles Randall, who previously took issue with Kardashian’s EthereumMax social media post noting that, “social media influencers [like the Promoter Defendants] are routinely paid by scammers to help them pump and dump new tokens on the back of pure speculation.”

Causes of action in the lawsuit include violation of California’s Unfair Competition Law, Consumers Legal Remedies Act, aiding and abetting, and unjust enrichment/restitution.

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Darren Heitner is the founder of Heitner Legal. He is the author of How to Play the Game: What Every Sports Attorney Needs to Know, published by the American Bar Association, and is an adjunct professor at the University of Florida Levin College of Law. You can reach him by email at heitner@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter at @DarrenHeitner.

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