'Above The Law' Actor Steven Seagal Settles With SEC Over ICO Promotion

Actor Steven Seagal is the latest celebrity to be punished by the Securities and Exchange Commission for failing to disclose that he was being paid to promote an initial coin offering launched by Bitcoiin2Gen. 

Seagal, 67, the martial artist and star of films like "Above the Law" and "Hard to Kill," was promised $250,000 in cash and $750,000 worth of Bitcoiin2Gen tokens for promoting the ICO, the agency said in a Thursday press release. 

The actor used social media posts to urge fans not to miss out on the offering, the SEC said. 

The SEC's order finds that Seagal violated the anti-touting provisions of the federal securities laws.

The actor has agreed to pay $157 in disgorgement, representing his promotional payments, as well as prejudgment interest and a $157,000 penalty. 

Seagal settled without admitting or denying the SEC's findings, the regulatory agency said. He has agreed not to promote any securities, digital or otherwise, for three years.

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"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," Kristina Littman, chief of the SEC enforcement division’s cyber unit, said in a statement. 

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

Photo by Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia.