Los Angeles judge refuses to dismiss lawsuit accusing Kim Kardashian, Floyd Mayweather and NBA Hall of Famer Paul Pierce of touting now worthless crypto token in ‘pump and dump scam’
- Los Angeles Judge Michael Fitzgerald had dismissed claims by Kardashian lawyers that he should dismiss the false advertising claims
- Kardashian reportedly shared messages in which she said EMAX would be accepted at some nightclubs as payment for table reservations
- Fitzgerald called it ‘literally untrue’ and concluded that Kardashian had been misleading in a new filing
A Los Angeles judge has refused to dismiss a lawsuit accusing Kim Kardashian, Floyd Mayweather and Paul Pierce of touting now worthless crypto tokens in a “pump and dump scam”.
The three celebrities have been embroiled in the lawsuit for allegedly touting tokens sold by EMAX in order to raise its price and make a profit “at the expense of their subscribers and investors.”
On Tuesday, Los Angeles District Judge Michael Fitzgerald dismissed arguments from Kardashian’s attorneys that he should dismiss the false advertising allegations against her.
Kardashian reportedly shared posts on social media in which she said EMAX tokens would be accepted at select nightclubs as payment for table reservations.
The judge said the investors had correctly alleged that the posts were “literally untrue”. He also found a Kardashian post suggesting that EMAX tokens were scarce to be misleading.
Kardashian, pictured here in February, had been promoting the EMAX cryptocurrency on her Instagram Story
In his 84-page ruling, Fitzgerald ruled that Mayweather could not be sued for stating his “belief” about EMAX’s growth because it would be “a quintessential non-actionable puff” and his comments had been “harmless.” .
Judge Michael Fitzgerald, pictured here, dismissed arguments from Kardashian lawyers that he should dismiss the false advertising claims
Despite this, investors who say they paid “inflated prices” for the digital asset will be given the opportunity to revise and refile their claims that the former boxing champ didn’t disclose he was being paid for it. promote EMAX.
Fitzgerald noted that attorneys for the investors had “artfully remedied” some shortcomings in their previous version of the complaint.
He warned that he was only giving them one more opportunity to fill in the remaining gaps in some claims or they would be permanently rejected.
In addition to targeting celebrity promoters, investors have sued several EMAX co-founders and consultants.
The original lawsuit was filed by a New York resident who bought EMAX tokens and lost money and was offered as a class action.
In June 2021, Kardashian promoted Ethereum Max cryptocurrency on her Instagram Story.
Kardashian promoted crypto on her Instagram Story
Mayweather promoted EMAX on his boxing trunks in a widely watched exhibition bout with YouTube star Logan Paul
Former NBA player Paul Pierce, pictured here, also promoted EMAX in a Twitter post
She wrote: ‘Do you like crypto? This is not financial advice but a sharing of what my friends just told me about the Ethereum Max token!
“A few minutes ago, Ethereum Max burned 400 trillion tokens, literally 50% of their admin wallet, giving back to the entire E-Max community.
‘Kardashian added the hashtag #AD, which signaled that the post had been paid for.
Meanwhile, Mayweather promoted EthereumMax on his boxing trunks in a widely-watched exhibition fight with YouTube star Logan Paul in June, among others.
The boxing match aired on Showtime and garnered up to 650,000 pay-per-view (PPV) purchases in the United States alone.
On Tuesday, Fitzgerald said consumers might have concluded that Mayweather had a real stake in EMAX because he allowed his fight against Paul to be a token launch pad.
Former NBA player Paul Pierce also promoted EMAX in a May 26 Twitter post.
Pierce had attempted to argue that his tweets were inconsequential “puffs” and that no investor would reasonably rely on them as financial advice.
Fitzgerald warned that plaintiffs’ attorneys should explain exactly the alleged deceptive promotion of celebrities that had affected EMAX’s values.
All of the famous defendants provided no argument to tip the scales in their favor, according to the judge.
Last October, Kardashian was ordered to pay $1.26 million in fees to the Securities and Exchange Commission after failing to disclose that she had received $250,000 to promote the token.
She was also ordered to stop promoting the cryptocurrency for three years by the SEC.
At the time, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler said, “Federal securities laws clearly state that any celebrity or other person who promotes a crypto asset security must disclose the nature, the source and amount of compensation she received for the promotion.”
