Steven Seagal Has to Pay SEC Crypto Fine Despite Moving to Russia
Steven Seagal may be not be happy with the news he received this week. The 69-year-old actor received a judgment
Tristan Green
Steven Seagal may be not be happy with the news he received this week. The 69-year-old actor received a judgment from the SEC this week regarding unpaid crypto fines. Despite Seagal’s efforts to avoid the fines, even going so far as to move to Moscow, Russia, the actor will now have to pay those fines. The fines are related to an illegal promotion of an ICO – and it’s time to pay the piper.
Sec Issues Judgment
On August 27, a federal judge in Brooklyn ruled that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission can collect unpaid fines from Seagal. US District Judge William Kuntz ruled last Friday that Seagal would have to pay more than $250,000 in fines to the SEC. The original fines levied totaled more than $330,000 and the bulk remains unpaid.
HuffPost reports, “The Under Siege actor, who lives in Moscow and is a Russian citizen, last year settled allegations that he failed to disclose he was being paid to promote a digital token.
Seagal was allegedly promised $250,000 in cash and $750,000 in tokens for promoting an initial coin offering for Bitcoiin2Gen, according to the SEC. The offering was one of as many as 20 similar crypto frauds run by a group of Serbian nationals who bilked some 500 investors out of millions, prosecutors have said.
Seagal has so far paid just $75,000 and is delinquent on the rest of the settlement, according to a lawyer for the SEC, Bloomberg reported.”
Seagal Flees
Seagal, a huge fan of both former US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, had moved to Russia in the hope of putting his fines behind him. In 2016, Putin declared Seagal a citizen of Russia, and he has served as a goodwill ambassador to the US for the past few years.
Judge Kuntz has told the SEC that they may go through Seagal’s business manager to collect the unpaid portion of the fines. According to Bloomberg, since moving to Russia, Seagal has failed to respond to the SEC’s efforts to collect on the fines. Neither Seagal nor his lawyer appeared in court on Friday, despite an order from the judge to do so.
Bloomberg reports, “After Kuntz signed the order Friday afternoon, [SEC lawyer Maureen] Peyton King asked if she could serve the papers upon [Seagal]’s business manager.
‘Absolutely, yes,’ Kuntz said with a smile.”
It’s clear from the exchange that both the SEC and court are tired of Seagal’s responsibility-avoidance, and they believe it’s time to pay up.
Steven’s Plan to Invest in the Dominican Republic?
Although mum on the SEC case, Seagal hasn’t been laying low. The actor was photographed visiting the Dominican Republic recently, and may have made overtures towards the local film industry.
According to local rumors, Seagal has suggested that he would be willing to invest $300 million to create films in the DR. Dominican Today shares, “Famous actor Steven Seagal, who has been touring the Dominican Republic for several days, has ambitious plans to invest in the country’s film industry, attracted by the climate that the Caribbean nation offers.
The celebrity, who is also a musician, martial arts master, director and businessman, said he was impressed by the beauty, friendliness and potential of the Dominican Republic.”
Of course, there’s been no official word from Seagal on the potential investment. When you owe a government agency $250K, it’s not a good look promising to invest $300 million.