Rapper Tip “T.I.” Harris has been ordered to pay $75,000 for his participation in a fraudulent cryptocurrency coin offering.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) fined Harris $75,000 for his role in the unregistered and fraudulent investment scam.
In a statement released on Friday, The SEC named T.I. in a complaint for promoting a fraudulent ICO venture alongside his social media manager William Sparks, Jr..
The SEC’s order requires Harris to pay a $75,000 civil monetary penalty and not participate in coin offerings or sales of digital-asset securities for at least five years.
“In a settled administrative order, the SEC finds that T.I. offered and sold FLiK tokens on his social media accounts, falsely claiming to be a FLiK co-owner and encouraging his followers to invest in the FLiK ICO. T.I. also asked a celebrity friend to promote the FLiK ICO on social media and provided the language for posts, referring to FLiK as T.I.’s “new venture.” The SEC’s complaint alleges that T.I.’s social media manager William Sparks, Jr. offered and sold FLiK tokens on T.I.’s social media accounts, and that two other Atlanta residents, Chance White and Owen Smith, promoted SPARK tokens without disclosing they were promised compensation in return.”
Harris, 39, did not comment on his most recent brush with the law. But he did pause during a recording session to share bad financial advice with his Instagram followers this week.
Harris noted the empty racks and shelves at high end stores, and he advised his followers to stop spending government PPP funds on brand names and buy property instead.
“All y’all getting all this money from the government… ain’t no more mink coats in the stores. And it’s summertime – ain’t that some sh*t? Ain’t no more Cartiers. It ain’t no more Louboutins, no more Louis [Vuitton]… Go get you some property please! Please y’all, go buy some property.”
