Steven Seagal Hit With £240,000 Fine for Cryptocurrency Promotion Scheme

David Paul

28 February 2020, 03.07pm

The 67-year-old actor was paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to be the face of bitcoin organisation, Bitcoiin2Gen, in 2018.

Hollywood actor Steven Seagal has been fined $314,000 (£243,000) for his endorsement of a cryptocurrency organisation which dubbed him a “Zen Master”.

Seagal settled the case with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) after he failed to disclose payments of $250,000 (£194,000) in cash and $750,000 (£582,000) to promote the company on his social media accounts. The actor, who now lives in Moscow, has also agreed not to promote any securities for at least three years.

The promotions included posts encouraging members of the public not to “miss out” on the Bitcoiin2Gen initial coin offering (ICO), and a press release titled “Zen Master Steven Seagal Has Become the Brand Ambassador of Bitcoiin2Gen”.

Seagal was quoted as saying he “wholeheartedly” endorsed the offering.

The press release said that Seagal had “become a believer of Bitcoiin2Gen” and that the actor would be representing the cryptocurrency organisation as brand ambassador.

Seagal made the promotions six months after the SEC released its DAO Report warning that cryptocurrency sold in ICO’s may be securities, and that whoever promotes a virtual token or coin that is a security must “disclose the nature, scope, and amount of compensation received in exchange for the promotion”.

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Commenting on the fine, Kristina Littman, Chief of the SEC Enforcement Division’s Cyber Unit, said: “These investors were entitled to know about payments Seagal received or was promised to endorse this investment so they could decide whether he may be biased.

“Celebrities are not allowed to use their social media influence to tout securities without appropriately disclosing their compensation.”

The SEC warned of the promotion of cryptocurrency after a spate of celebrity endorsements. A-list stars such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Snoop Dog and Johnny Depp have all previously advocated the currency, with some potentially owning millions of dollars’ worth.