T.I. was recently on social media encouraging his 13 million followers to invest the money they received from the government in property. That’s why it was ironic when the Securities and Exchange Commission revealed that the rapper has to pay a pretty penny for his involvement in alleged trading fraud.

The SEC charged Tip for aiding Atlanta-based film producer, Ryan Felton, to raise money for a fraudulent company on social media.

T.I. and his social media manager, William Sparks, Jr., were all named in Felton’s scheme, where he sought funds to invest in his digital companies FliK and CoinSpark.

But unfortunately, Felton was using the money to splurge on luxury items like a Ferrari, a million-dollar house, and diamond jewelry. He even traded for his own personal benefit.

Felton’s investment ventures is completely non-existent and unfortunately, T.I. got caught up in it.  

The SEC outlined the charges:

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.

T.I. agreed to pay the SEC $75,000 in civil penalties and isn’t allowed to participate in any digital assets trading or promotion for the next five years.  His social media manager also has a $25,000 penalty.

This is more proof that rappers shouldn’t be idolized and assume the positions as leaders. We should do our own research because we have access to the world wide web at the palm of our hands, and listen to people with the expertise in the field you’re interested in. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.

The post T.I. to Pay $75K in Civil Penalties for Involvement in Social Media Investment Fraud appeared first on The Source.

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