US Actor Steven Seagal Pays $350k For Illegal ICO Cryptocurrency Promotion

The US Securities and Exchange Commission, known as the SEC, is in the regulation crypto news today for charging the US actor Steven Seagal for unlawfully participating in an ICO cryptocurrency offering. The initial coin offering (ICO) that the popular Hollywood star promoted now faces him with a penalty of $350,000 for violating the anti-touting law.

All of this started when the ICO bubble of 2017 and 2018 bursted and raised many concerns among some world regulators like the SEC. The US watchdog at the time warned that tokens sold as ICO cryptocurrency offerings may be securities. Ever since then, the SEC has been eagerly looking over on the matter and Seagal recently felt this impact.

An official document which was disclosed yesterday informed that the SEC settled charges with the actor. During the ICO bubble, he was promoting an initial coin offering conducted by Bitcoiin2Gen (B2G).
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The US actor advertised the upcoming token on his public social media accounts and encouraged his fans “not to miss out” on the opportunity.

B2G even released a press release at the time, titled “Zen Master Steven Seagal Has Become the Brand Ambassador of Bitcoin2Gen.” For using the US actor’s name and his promotional skills, B2G promised Seagal $250,000 in cash and $750,000 worth of their native cryptocurrency once the sale was completed.

However, the SEC charged the actor for this ICO cryptocurrency promotion – specifically for failing to disclose those payments. After two years, Seagal agreed to pay $157,000 in disgorgement which was the penalty – plus an undisclosed amount of prejudgment interest. He also agreed not to promote any more ICO cryptocurrency projects for three years.

The regulation crypto news show that the actor has violated the anti-touting provisions of the federal securities laws. Speaking on the matter in the altcoin news was Kristina Littman who is the Chief of SEC Enforcement Division’s Cyber Unit. She noted that celebrities should not take advantage of their popularity on social media:

“These investors were entitled to know about payments Seagal received or was promised to endorse this investment so they could decide whether he may be biased. Celebrities are not allowed to use their social media influence to tout securities without appropriately disclosing their compensation.”