Lindsay Lohan, Akon and Ne-Yo fined for illegal crypto promotion

Actress Lindsay Lohan, rapper Akon and singer Ne-Yo have been hit with sizable fines after promoting crypto schemes without disclosing to their followers that it was a paid promotion.

Many celebrities including Tom Brady and Matt Damon have promoted crypto in the past, however it is illegal to promote crypto without informing your audience that you are being paid to do so.

The celebrities in question agreed to pay a collective total of over $400,000 to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The celebrities were paid to promote crypto companies Tronix and BitTorrent to their followers on social media.

A spokesperson for Lindsay Lohan said he had been contacted in March 2022 about her crypto promotion.  The spokesperson said Lohan was unaware that she had to disclose to her followers she was being paid to promote the companies.

Lohan paid a fine to the SEC and also returned the $10,000 she was paid by the crypto companies along with interest.

The other celebrities have declined to comment on the fines.

Other household names have found themselves in trouble for similar promotions in the past.

Kim Kardashian agreed to pay a fine of $1 million last year to settle federal charges after she promoted Ethereum Max tokens without disclosing that it was a paid promotion.

Actor Steven Seagal was banned from promoting investments for three years and forced to pay a $300,000 fine as part of his settlement in 2020.