Kim Kardashian, one of the most prominent American socialites, escaped legal trouble today along with several other celebrities who endorsed the crypto pump and dump scheme EthereumMax (EMAX).
Previously, it was alleged that reality show superstar Kardashian and boxing legend Floyd Mayweather had been in cahoots with EthereumMax’s (EMAX) founders to ‘dupe’ their social media audience into investing in the crypto Ponzi scheme. The Californian federal judge dismissed the case because of “heightened pleading standards.” Ultimately, this means that the investors who filed for a class-action lawsuit couldn’t provide enough evidence for the case to be tried in court.
BREAKING: A Federal judge just DISMISSED the Crypto scam lawsuit against Kim Kardashian an Floyd Mayweather Jr. 👀
— MASON VERSLUIS 🏆🔮 (@MasonVersluis) December 7, 2022
Very interesting... Ethereum Max is TRASH. $EMAX
A Bunch of Celebrities Acquitted on All Counts
The story first surfaced in October, when the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) took a shot at Kim Kardashian by indicating that the superstar failed to disclose that she had received a whopping $250,000 in a promotional deal for EMAX cryptocurrency.
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According to the SEC, the Armenian-American socialite lured her 331 million Instagram followers into investing in the scam coin, breaking federal securities laws and anti-touting provisions. In response, Kardashian agreed to pay $1.26 million and pledged not to endorse any cryptocurrencies for at least three years.
However, many other celebrities are involved in the EMAX case, including the eight-time boxing champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Paul Pierce from the Boston Celtics. All of the aforementioned were acquitted on all counts, with the United States District Judge Michael Fitzgerald even marking that “the investors were expected to act reasonably before basing their bets on the zeitgeist of the moment.”
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The incident serves as a great example of how easily celebrities on social media can influence millions of people, raising the question of responsibility and reminding audiences interested in cryptocurrencies to DYOR (Do Your Own Research).
A US judge throws out a lawsuit against Kim Kardashian and Floyd Mayweather that charged the two with backing a "pump and pump" crypto scam https://t.co/rZ34f1cGJm
— Bloomberg Crypto (@crypto) December 8, 2022
On the Flipside
- The plaintiffs in the EMAX lawsuit can still appeal the case until December 22, 2022.
- Following the news, EMAX gained 2.9% in the last 24 hours, according to CoinGecko.
- However, the Ponzi crypto is unlisted and usually has a daily trading volume of less than $1,000.
Why You Should Care
The outcome of this incident could help prevent celebrities from endorsing pump-and-dump schemes in the future.
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