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Home » Crypto News » SEC Sues John McAfee for Fraudulently Promoting ICOs

SEC Sues John McAfee for Fraudulently Promoting ICOs

Author: George Georgiev

Last Updated Oct 6, 2020 @ 06:19

The US Securities and Exchange Commission alleges that John McAfee has been illegally promoting initial coin offerings, among other things.

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  • The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed fraud charges against the popular cryptocurrency proponent and well-known tech entrepreneur, John McAfee.

 

  • According to the documents, McAfee has taken advantage of his massive Twitter following and has “leveraged his fame to make more than $23.1million in undisclosed compensation by recommending at least seven initial coin offerings (ICOs).”

 

  • The charges outline that the entrepreneur has failed to disclose that he was being paid to promote said ICOs by their issuers.

 

  • This, according to the SEC, constitutes an “unlawful touting and violates the federal securities laws.”

 

  • The charges further allegate that McAfee has fraudulently claimed that he is an investor or a technical advisor for the ICOs in question, thus “creating the impression that he had vetted these companies … and that he was willing to invest his own money in the ventures.” However, the truth, according to the securities watchdog, was that he had received a payment for the tweets, which were disguised as impartial investment advice.

 

  • Another allegation is that McAfee had been exposed by a “blogger,” and this resulted in him holding virtually worthless cryptocurrency. He then used his Twitter profile to increase their value without disclosing an intent to sell.

 

  • What’s described as “scalping” by the SEC is a process that “allows promoters to sell their securities holdings quickly and profitable through market interest that they deceptively generate, and violates the federal securities laws.”

 

  • For his activities, McAfee has allegedly received $11.6 million in BTC and ETH and an additional $11.5 million worth of promoted tokens.

UPDATE: John McAfee has been arrested in Spain and is pending extradition to the US. He was indicted on charges of tax evasion.

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Tags: John McAfee SEC United States
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About The Author

George Georgiev
More posts by this author

Georgi Georgiev is CryptoPotato's editor-in-chief and a seasoned writer with over four years of experience writing about blockchain and cryptocurrencies. Georgi's passion for Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies bloomed in late 2016 and he hasn't looked back since. Crypto’s technological and economic implications are what interest him most, and he has one eye turned to the market whenever he’s not sleeping. Contact George: LinkedIn

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