Celtics Legend Paul Pierce Fined $1.4M by SEC for Violations of Crypto Promotion

Basketball Hall of Famer Paul Pierce has reached a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission after it charged him with unlawfully touting crypto securities.

The SEC announced Friday that Pierce agreed to pay $1.4 million in fines. The commission alleged he promoted EthereumMax tokens on Twitter without disclosing he was paid more than $244,000 in EMAX tokens for the promotion.

Pierce did not admit or deny any wrongdoing as part of the settlement.

David Yaffe-Bellany of the New York Times reported in May that Pierce, as well as boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. and celebrity Kim Kardashian, was named in a lawsuit related to his endorsement of EthereumMax.

"This year, nine traders who had bought EthereumMax sued Ms. Kardashian, the project's founders, and other promoters, including Mr. Mayweather and the former basketball star Paul Pierce, accusing them of disguising their control over EthereumMax tokens and circulating 'misleading' advertisements," Yaffe-Bellany wrote.

According to Yaffe-Bellany, few crypto insiders had even heard of EthereumMax before a number of celebrities began promoting it. Their promotion "led to a surge of trading" before its price "soon collapsed."

The lawsuit claimed Pierce "received more than 15 trillion EthereumMax tokens in exchange for tweets endorsing the coin," per Yaffe-Bellany. Soon after he promoted it, he "sold his tokens—an apparent 'pump and dump' operation in which he profited by encouraging fans to buy the tokens, before selling his own holdings at a higher price."

Pierce posted a tweet about EthereumMax on May 26, 2021, six weeks after ESPN fired him after he posted a video on Instagram Live that showed him smoking and drinking while surrounded by women in bikinis dancing and rubbing his shoulders. He wrote he didn't need ESPN because he was making more money with EthereumMax and posted a link to purchase the crypto.

The $1.4 million fine includes a $1.1 million penalty and "approximately $240,000" he received for promoting EthereumMax.

The SEC also barred Pierce from promoting any crypto asset securities for three years.

Pierce was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021. He played 19 NBA seasons, including 15 with the Boston Celtics, was a 10-time All-Star and won MVP honors in the 2008 NBA Finals after leading the Celtics to a victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.