Reality star Kim Kardashian and boxer Floyd Mayweather are being accused of an alleged “pump and dump” cryptocurrency scheme in a new lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Federal Court on Jan. 7.
The plaintiff in the case is a New York resident who purchased EMAX tokens and lost money. The filing is suggesting the case as a class-action suit in which anyone who bought tokens between mid-May and late July is included, and seeks restitution and disgorgement of profits by the defendants. Initial claims state that two celebrities used their notoriety to promote tokens sold by EthereumMax, otherwise known as EMAX, in turn boosting its price in an effort to collect profits “at the expense of their followers and investors.”
“The company’s executives, collaborating with several celebrity promoters … made false or
misleading statements about EthereumMax through social media advertisements and other
promotional activities,” according to the lawsuit documents.
Both Kardashian and Mayweather promoted EMAX in June, with the former making a post on Instagram to her 250 million followers and the latter wearing EMAX branding on his boxing shorts during a fight with Logan Paul.
“Are you guys into crypto????” Kardashian exclaimed in her story. ”This is not financial advice but sharing what my friends told me about the Ethereum Max token!”
Since both celebrity endorsements, the EMAX token has lost 98 percent of its value.
EMAX—directly named in the lawsuit—has since released a statement denying the
accusations against them. “The deceptive narrative associated with the recent allegations is riddled with misinformation about the EthereumMax project,” EthereumMax stated. “We dispute the allegations and look forward to the truth coming out.”
EMAX—directly named in the lawsuit—has since released a statement denying the
accusations against them. “The deceptive narrative associated with the recent allegations is riddled with misinformation about the EthereumMax project,” EthereumMax stated. “We dispute the allegations and look forward to the truth coming out.”
Representatives for both Kardashian and Mayweather have not yet responded to press inquiries for comment on the lawsuit.
This is not Mayweather’s first legal encounter involving cryptocurrency. In 2018 he paid
more than $600,000 to The Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) as a settlement
on action taken against him for his failure to disclose payments received for the
promotion of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs).
more than $600,000 to The Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) as a settlement
on action taken against him for his failure to disclose payments received for the
promotion of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs).
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