The US SEC has charged the well-known Hollywood actor Steven Seagal for participating in an unlawful initial coin offering back in 2017-18. According to the SEC, Steven Seagal promoted an ICO conducted by Bitcoiin2Gen(B2G). The actor advertised the token sale on his public social media accounts, encouraging people to invest in the ICO.
The US SEC settles charges with Steven Seagal for $350,000
The US SEC announced on 27th February that they had settled charges with the American actor for $350,000. Bitcoiin2Gen even released a press release saying, “Zen Master Steven Seagal has become the brand ambassador of B2G.” Segal agreed to pay $157,000 in disgorgement and $157,000 in a penalty in addition to an undisclosed amount of prejudgement interest.
SEC charged Seagal under the anti-touting provision
According to the US Securities Exchange Commission, Steven Seagal violated the anti-touting provision of federal security laws. The law states that celebrities have to disclose the nature, scope, and amount of compensation they receive for promoting a particular securities virtual token. For using Seagal’s name in the promotion, B2G had promised to pay him $250,000 in cash and $75,000 in the native cryptocurrency of the company, after the ICO is complete. The SEC has not been aggressive in cracking down companies that conducted ICO without registration.
