KOLs & promotion
TRX and BTT: the 2023 celebrity-promotion cases
Named settlements must be separated from the allegations against Justin Sun and his companies.
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People & projects
In this article
The SEC's March 2023 action alleged unregistered offerings, wash trading and undisclosed promotion involving Justin Sun, his companies, TRX and BTT. It also charged eight celebrity promoters. The announcement named Lindsay Lohan, Jake Paul, Soulja Boy, Austin Mahone, Kendra Lust, Lil Yachty, Ne-Yo and Akon.
According to that announcement, all except Soulja Boy and Austin Mahone agreed to settle the promotion charges, collectively paying more than $400,000 without admitting or denying the findings. The allegations against Sun were allegations in a complaint. The celebrity settlements were separate resolutions.
This entry describes the 2023 record; it does not assert that every allegation was subsequently adjudicated or that the original case posture remains current. Its relevance is the combination of promotional distribution and alleged artificial activity. An audience seeing popularity and volume together may mistake two commercially generated signals for independent confirmation. See wash trading and manufactured social proof.
Sources
Research checked 5 September 2026. Historical cases retain the date and legal status of the cited record.