8 ms·

Floyd Mayweather-backed cryptocurrency ICO was fraud, SEC says

42 points by thisisit 9y ago

debacle 9y ago
There's an important lesson for entrepreneurs in the crypto timeline: You can make a lot of money on a bad idea.
- endangered 9y ago
  It wasn't even a bad idea (indeed there was no real idea at all). They specifically set out to defraud investors.
xkjkls 9y ago
I'm absolutely shocked by this turn of events.
nkrisc 9y ago
Taking investment advice from someone who gets hit in the head for a living was never a sound strategy. Eagerly awaiting to see if more arrests come down the line for some of the more recent "ICOs"
- anoncoward111 9y ago
  Taking investment advice from someone who types polemics on HN all day was never a sound strategy. See, one data point does not necessarily disprove the worth of another. Floyd was promoting a scam in this instance, but that doesn't mean he is completely incapable of uttering the words, "buy an asset that slowly and predictably and sustainably rises faster than inflation."
  - stryk 9y ago
    I can almost guarantee you Floyd Mayweather does not know what an ICO is. Nor does he likely understand what Cryptocurrency is on anything other than a supremely basic level. Mayweather cares about one thing: money. This company probably payed him a metric shit-ton of it to promote their ICO in a tweet, that is all. Floyd Mayweather can barely read. I''m not exaggerating, it's actually kind of sad. But, on the other hand Floyd Mayweather doesn't have to read. He spends his life training and making more money in one night than many of us probably will in 20 years.
  - nate_meurer 9y ago
    Ease up on the reins there cowboy, I think you took that comment waaaay too seriously. That said, I've been following Mayweather closely as a boxer for many years. He's a boxing prodigy, but he's also a genuine imbecile. I wouldn't be surprised if actually doesn't grasp the concept of inflation. Really, no exaggeration.
    - nate_meurer 9y ago
      I feel compelled to add that, in addition to being a man of modest intellect, Floyd Mayweather is also an unapologetic serial wife beater (or girlfriend beater as the case may be) [https://nesn.com/2017/08/why-has-floyd-mayweathers-domestic-violence-history-been-ignored-in-fight-run-up/ https://nesn.com/2017/08/why-has-floyd-mayweathers-domestic-...]. When confronted, one of his favorite excuses is that "only God can judge me". Class act there.
- hinkley 9y ago
  I think there's a special place in Hell for people who offer financial advice to people who get hit in the head for a living. These sorts of stories seem to happen often. I don't know if there's a group of predatory finance people out there or if athletes don't want to hear what the responsible ones have to say and they end up with the charlatans.
sitepodmatt 9y ago
It's a shame he hasn't been charged directly, him and all the other high profile "social influencers" that don't make it clear they're being paid to plug some dog shit and haven't done a single bit of due diligence. $32m fine should just about do that. Pure greed.
- Alex3917 9y ago
  > It's a shame he hasn't been charged directly The SEC is currently only prosecuting the people running the ICOs, prosecutions for the promoters will likely come at a later date.
- justaguyhere 9y ago
  And this is a guy who is already worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Yesterday there was a report that John McAfee charges $100K+ for a single tweet. There is no limit for human greed I suppose.
- wyattpeak 9y ago
  Should Federer have to to due diligence on Rolex before slapping one on his wrist? How? What would it involve, and what standards would he be held to when pulled up on charges? This is what the SEC is for - discovering fraud. How is a sportsperson supposed to do due diligence on a security? I could (and probably would) get behind a law requiring people to acknowledge paid endorsements, but requiring them to investigate just seems untenable.
  - aje403 9y ago
    Intent. Let the SEC do its due diligence as well and see what turns up to determine culpability.
    - geezerjay 9y ago
      You're admitting that a state institution dedicated to investigate fraud will have to work just to determine if there was actually a problem worth investigating. How on earth could a potential sponsor like the figurative Federed do the same prior to signing an advertisement contract? And should actors shooting ads be subjected to the same demand, or even the typical "9 out of 10 dentists"?
Dangeranger 9y ago
The SEC could still pursue charges against Mayweather for his actions in the ICO, [0] which I hope that they do. In fact I hope they are looking at all the celebrity endorsements over the last 18 months, and considering actions against them.[1] [0] https://www.sec.gov/news/public-statement/statement-potentially-unlawful-promotion-icos https://www.sec.gov/news/public-statement/statement-potentia... [1] https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/27/technology/how-floyd-mayweather-helped-two-young-guys-from-miami-get-rich.html https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/27/technology/how-floyd-mayw...
- debacle 9y ago
  What was his level of involvement in the promotion, barring holding up a debit card and endorsing them? Did he have knowledge that it was a fraud?

42 points by thisisit 9y ago

debacle 9y ago

There's an important lesson for entrepreneurs in the crypto timeline: You can make a lot of money on a bad idea.

endangered 9y ago
It wasn't even a bad idea (indeed there was no real idea at all). They specifically set out to defraud investors.

xkjkls 9y ago

I'm absolutely shocked by this turn of events.

nkrisc 9y ago

Taking investment advice from someone who gets hit in the head for a living was never a sound strategy. Eagerly awaiting to see if more arrests come down the line for some of the more recent "ICOs"

anoncoward111 9y ago
Taking investment advice from someone who types polemics on HN all day was never a sound strategy. See, one data point does not necessarily disprove the worth of another. Floyd was promoting a scam in this instance, but that doesn't mean he is completely incapable of uttering the words, "buy an asset that slowly and predictably and sustainably rises faster than inflation."
- stryk 9y ago
  I can almost guarantee you Floyd Mayweather does not know what an ICO is. Nor does he likely understand what Cryptocurrency is on anything other than a supremely basic level. Mayweather cares about one thing: money. This company probably payed him a metric shit-ton of it to promote their ICO in a tweet, that is all. Floyd Mayweather can barely read. I''m not exaggerating, it's actually kind of sad. But, on the other hand Floyd Mayweather doesn't have to read. He spends his life training and making more money in one night than many of us probably will in 20 years.
- nate_meurer 9y ago
  Ease up on the reins there cowboy, I think you took that comment waaaay too seriously. That said, I've been following Mayweather closely as a boxer for many years. He's a boxing prodigy, but he's also a genuine imbecile. I wouldn't be surprised if actually doesn't grasp the concept of inflation. Really, no exaggeration.
  - nate_meurer 9y ago
    I feel compelled to add that, in addition to being a man of modest intellect, Floyd Mayweather is also an unapologetic serial wife beater (or girlfriend beater as the case may be) [https://nesn.com/2017/08/why-has-floyd-mayweathers-domestic-violence-history-been-ignored-in-fight-run-up/ https://nesn.com/2017/08/why-has-floyd-mayweathers-domestic-...]. When confronted, one of his favorite excuses is that "only God can judge me". Class act there.
hinkley 9y ago
I think there's a special place in Hell for people who offer financial advice to people who get hit in the head for a living. These sorts of stories seem to happen often. I don't know if there's a group of predatory finance people out there or if athletes don't want to hear what the responsible ones have to say and they end up with the charlatans.

sitepodmatt 9y ago

It's a shame he hasn't been charged directly, him and all the other high profile "social influencers" that don't make it clear they're being paid to plug some dog shit and haven't done a single bit of due diligence. $32m fine should just about do that. Pure greed.

Alex3917 9y ago
> It's a shame he hasn't been charged directly The SEC is currently only prosecuting the people running the ICOs, prosecutions for the promoters will likely come at a later date.
justaguyhere 9y ago
And this is a guy who is already worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Yesterday there was a report that John McAfee charges $100K+ for a single tweet. There is no limit for human greed I suppose.
wyattpeak 9y ago
Should Federer have to to due diligence on Rolex before slapping one on his wrist? How? What would it involve, and what standards would he be held to when pulled up on charges? This is what the SEC is for - discovering fraud. How is a sportsperson supposed to do due diligence on a security? I could (and probably would) get behind a law requiring people to acknowledge paid endorsements, but requiring them to investigate just seems untenable.
- aje403 9y ago
  Intent. Let the SEC do its due diligence as well and see what turns up to determine culpability.
  - geezerjay 9y ago
    You're admitting that a state institution dedicated to investigate fraud will have to work just to determine if there was actually a problem worth investigating. How on earth could a potential sponsor like the figurative Federed do the same prior to signing an advertisement contract? And should actors shooting ads be subjected to the same demand, or even the typical "9 out of 10 dentists"?

Dangeranger 9y ago

The SEC could still pursue charges against Mayweather for his actions in the ICO, [0] which I hope that they do. In fact I hope they are looking at all the celebrity endorsements over the last 18 months, and considering actions against them.[1] [0] https://www.sec.gov/news/public-statement/statement-potentially-unlawful-promotion-icos https://www.sec.gov/news/public-statement/statement-potentia... [1] https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/27/technology/how-floyd-mayweather-helped-two-young-guys-from-miami-get-rich.html https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/27/technology/how-floyd-mayw...

debacle 9y ago
What was his level of involvement in the promotion, barring holding up a debit card and endorsing them? Did he have knowledge that it was a fraud?