- Plaintiffs allege it was a “pump and dump” scheme
- The court is dealing with a completely new complaint
- Lawyers must prove the promotions affected the price of the token
Kim Kardashian and fellow celebrities Floyd Mayweather and Paul Pierce will be back in court for a class action lawsuit, in which they stand accused of improperly promoting EthereumMax (EMAX), a crypto token no longer in circulation, Cointelegraph wrote.
Court refuses to throw out claims
The pair was charged in a class action suit in January last year. Plaintiffs allege it was a “pump and dump” scheme. A federal judge dismissed the case in December, but a district judge upheld the claims in a new ruling on June 6. They involve unfair competition regarding the celebrities’ role in promoting the token in 2021.
The judge amended the lengthy complaint alleging that Kardashian, Mayweather, and NBA star Paul Pierce profited off promotions at their fans’ expense by endorsing an “investment” without any real business plan.
An entirely new complaint
In essence, the court is dealing with a completely new complaint, with new claims and new defendants. According to the district judge, promoting cryptocurrency without disclosing that you’ve received payment in exchange is “unfair and unscrupulous.”
“No arguments” in favor of the celebrities
He finds the celebrities provide no arguments in their favor, but the class action lawyers will need to prove the promotions affected the price of the token. According to Sean Masson of Scott+Scott, the attorneys for the plaintiffs, EMAX was built on misleading celebrity endorsements.
In a bout with Logan Paul in June 2021, Mayweather’s boxing trunks bore the EMAX logo. Kim K promoted the token in an Instagram post that same month. She was charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission for illegally promoting a crypto security in 2022 and paid a penalty of $1.26 million.
Nothing to do with Ethereum
The creators of EthereumMax marketed it as a “culture token bridging the gap between the emergence of community tokens and the well-known foundational coins of crypto,” which meant absolutely nothing in hindsight. What’s more, its name was apparently coincidental.
