Floyd Mayweather, DJ Khaled, accused of illegal bribery at ICO



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Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. and music producer DJ Khaled have been fined more than $ 1 million for encrypting encrypted currencies.

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced Thursday that it has settled the charges against the pair for failing to disclose payments received for promoting what is known as the "Original Parts Bids" last year.

"Centra's OIC starts in a few hours," Mayweather wrote to his nearly eight million Twitter followers in September. "Get yours before they sell, I have mine."

A message on his Instagram account, where he has 21 million followers, predicts that he would earn a lot of money with another ICO. Another message on Twitter was saying, "You can now call me Floyd Crypto Mayweather."

Centra (CTR) ICO starts in a few hours. Get yours before they sell, have mine https://t.co/nSiCaZ274l pic.twitter.com/dB6wV0EROJ

– Floyd Mayweather (@FloydMayweather) September 18, 2017

I just received my Centra titanium debit card. The Centra Card & Centra Wallet app is … https://t.co/iIbQwQCwD1

– DJ KHALED (@djkhaled) September 27, 2017

According to the SEC, Mayweather has received approximately $ 300,000 to promote three ICOs on its social media networks, including Centra Tech's $ 100,000 USD.

Earlier this year, the SEC filed a civil suit against the founders of Centra Tech, alleging that the ICO was fraudulent. The US Attorney's Office in the Southern District of New York has filed parallel criminal charges.

DJ Khaled, whose real name is Khaled Khaled, would have been paid $ 50,000 by Centra Tech for promotional publications on his 12.4 million Instagram and 3.9 million followers of Twitter, himself a holder of "Centra Card".

"I just got my Centra titanium debit card," he wrote. "The Centra Card & Centra Wallet app is the ultimate winner of Cryptocurrency debit cards powered by CTR tokens! Use your bitcoins, your ethereum and many other crypto-currencies in real time around the world. This is a game changer here. Get your CTR chips now! "

According to the SEC, without admitting or denying the finding, Mayweather and Khaled agreed to pay $ 614,775 ($ 840,000) and a fine of $ 152,725 ($ 210,000).

In addition, Mayweather agreed to not promote any securities, digital or otherwise, for three years, and Khaled agreed to a similar ban for two years. Mayweather also agreed to continue to cooperate with the investigation.

"These cases highlight the importance of full disclosure to investors," said Stephanie Avakian, co-director of the SEC's SEC Implementation Division.

"In the absence of disclosure of payments, Mayweather and Khaled's promotions appeared to be unbiased, rather than paid endorsements."

Steven Peikin, co-director of the Law Enforcement Division, added: "Investors should be skeptical about investment notices posted on social media platforms and should not make decisions based on celebrity endorsements .

"Social media influencers are often paid promoters, not investment professionals, and the titles they boast about, whether they're issued through traditional certificates or blockchain, can be fraudulent."

Initial coin offerings, a form of capital increase often used by cryptocurrency start-ups, have been subject to extensive scrutiny by regulators, including the SEC and the US. Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

Regulators have warned that "parts" sold in ICO may be securities. Therefore, those who propose and sell them must comply with securities laws.

Last month, an Australian start-up in the field of crypto, promoted by cricketer Michael Clarke, is widely left to spin online after abandoning the project of an OIC of 50 million dollars as a result of ASIC requests.

In February, a 2017 ICO badysis revealed that 531 projects out of 902 had either failed or "semi-failed" or a rate of 59%. In March, an even more scathing report from the Satis Group concluded that 81% of OICs were frauds.

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