Floyd Mayweather Jr. is among the influencers being sued for hyping a failed cryptocurrency investment.
An investor named Ryan Huegerich filed a class action lawsuit on January 7 in which he alleged that Mayweather and other celebrities promoted a cryptocurrency called “EthereumMax” in a pump-and-dump scheme.
The suit alleges that Mayweather, along with Kim Kardashian and Paul Pierce, were paid to hype up EthereumMax. EthereumMax has no connection to the widely known cryptocurrency and internet platform, Ethereum.
Mayweather made EthereumMax the official cryptocurrency for his fight with Logan Paul last year.
The suit argues that thanks to the hype generated by these celebrities, including Mayweather, the price of EthereumMax spiked 1,370 percent at its peak, while trading volume increased by over 600 percent. The price of EthereumMax then crashed 98 percent, leaving those who purchased the asset amid the hype and did not sell, holding worthless assets. You can see the EthereumMax chart here.
The celebrities who promoted the digital tokens, as well as the EthereumMax founders, are accused of selling their assets after the price was pumped up.
Mayweather was fined in 2018 by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for hyping up cryptocurrency without disclosing he had been paid to do so.
You can read the entire lawsuit here.
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