Lindsay Lohan, Jake Paul, Ne-Yo and rapper Lil Yachty are among the eight notable names who have been hit with Securities and Exchange Commission charges for violating securities laws in touting crypto currencies.

The SEC on Wednesday disclosed that charges were filed against eight celebrities in connection with the broader investigation of crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun and three of his companies: Tron Foundation Limited, BitTorrent Foundation Ltd., and Rainberry Inc., which marketed crypto asset securities under the brand names Tronix (TRX) and BitTorrent (BTT).

The eight boldface names were charged with “illegally touting TRX and/or BTT without disclosing that they were compensated for doing so and the amount of their compensation,” according to the SEC.

The list also includes rapper Soulja Boy, singers Austin Mahone and Akon and adult film star Kendra Lust. All but Mahone and Soulja Boy (aka DeAndre Cortez Way) have reached settlements with the SEC that involve “more than $400,000 in disgorgement, interest, and penalties to settle the charges, without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings,” per the SEC.

“This case demonstrates again the high risk investors face when crypto asset securities are offered and sold without proper disclosure,” said SEC chair Gary Gensler. “As alleged, Sun and his companies not only targeted U.S. investors in their unregistered offers and sales, generating millions in illegal proceeds at the expense of investors, but they also coordinated wash trading on an unregistered trading platform to create the misleading appearance of active trading in TRX. Sun further induced investors to purchase TRX and BTT by orchestrating a promotional campaign in which he and his celebrity promoters hid the fact that the celebrities were paid for their tweets.”

The SEC complaint, filed in New York’s Southern District federal court, accuses Sun of instructing the eight celebrities to not disclose that they were being paid to tout TRX and BTT assets on social media platforms.

A representative for Lohan said the actor was unaware of any disclosure obligations.

“Lindsay was contacted in March 2022 and was unaware of the disclosure requirement. She agreed to pay a fine to resolve the matter,” said spokeswoman Leslie Sloane.

Sun is accused of taking numerous steps to manipulate the market for those currencies through “wash trading,” which is explained by the SEC as a process that “involves the simultaneous or near-simultaneous purchase and sale of a security to make it appear actively traded without an actual change in beneficial ownership.” From April 2018 to February 2019, Sun engaged “allegedly directed his employees to engage in more than 600,000 wash trades of TRX between two crypto asset trading platform accounts he controlled,” according to the SEC. Sun also generated $31 million in proceeds through secondary market sales of illegal and unregistered sales of the token, per the SEC.

“While we’re neutral about the technologies at issue, we’re anything but neutral when it comes to investor protection,” said Gurbir S. Grewal, director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “As alleged in the complaint, Sun and others used an age-old playbook to mislead and harm investors by first offering securities without complying with registration and disclosure requirements and then manipulating the market for those very securities. At the same time, Sun paid celebrities with millions of social media followers to tout the unregistered offerings, while specifically directing that they not disclose their compensation. This is the very conduct that the federal securities laws were designed to protect against regardless of the labels Sun and others used.”

(Pictured: Lindsay Lohan, Jake Paul and Lil Yachty)

Tekashi 6ix9ine was hospitalized after being ambushed by a group of attackers in the bathroom of a gym in South Florida on Tuesday, Variety has confirmed.

The 26-year-old rapper, whose real name is Daniel Hernandez, sustained injuries to his face and bruises, according to his attorney, Lance Lazzaro.

Lazzaro said the rapper was attacked in and outside the LA Fitness gym sauna by three or four men who beat him up, though he tried fighting back. “He had cuts to his face and bruises,” Lazzaro said. The attorney said that the perpetrators fled after employees heard the disturbance.

Police in South Florida were called, and Hernandez was transported via ambulance to a local hospital, according to Lazzaro. As of now, it is unclear if the rapper remains hospitalized.

Lazzaro told TMZ he plans to ensure Hernandez gets some protection, since he was released from federal prison in April 2020. Hernandez was arrested and sentenced to two years in prison in 2019 on nine charges, including racketeering, drug trafficking and firearm offenses in relation to his involvement with the Nine Trey Bloods gang. Hernandez received a shortened prison sentence after he cooperated with federal officials to imprison his associates. He was released early due to COVID-19 concerns, after a judge called the rapper a “model prisoner.”

In a video leaked on Twitter, one of Hernandez’s assailants is heard saying, “Take a picture. I’m gonna be famous now.” Another video captured a bloodied Hernandez walking out of the gym.

According to several media reports, Hernandez was ejected from a Miami baseball stadium Friday for being intoxicated and disturbing fans.