The SEC has charged crypto founder Justin Sun and his company Tron Foundation Limited with fraud and the sale of unregistered securities.

 

The SEC has charged crypto founder Justin Sun and his company Tron Foundation Limited with fraud and the sale of unregistered securities.  The SEC also charged celebrities who backed and promoted the crypto assets that Sun’s company offered: TRX and BTT. The SEC alleges that Sun engaged in fraud by manipulating the trading activity of the two tokens, creating the appearance of active trading when it did not exist. Tron is alleged to have engaged in at least 609,790 fake trades, or about 2,449 a day, over an eight-month period. Eight celebrities and influencers promoted the tokens, including actress Lindsay Lohan, boxer Jake Paul, musicians Akon, Austin Mahone, and Soulja Boy. All the celebrities except Soulja Boy and Mahone agreed to pay a collective $400,000 in disgorgement, interest, and penalties to settle the charges. The group did not admit or deny any wrongdoing.