The 'Live Your Life' rapper has been ordered to pay $75,000 and not participate in the sale of digital-assets securities for the next five years due to his involvement.

• Sep 12, 2020

AceShowbiz - T.I. has been caught in legal trouble. The Atlanta rapper and four others have been charged in a case connected to a cryptocurrency investment scheme as he's accused of promoting fraudulent initial coin offerings (ICOs) in connection with a company called FLiK.

Securities and Exchange Commission claimed in a press release that Tip claimed to be the co-owner of FLiK and encouraged his social media followers to invest in the company, which was advertised as creating a streaming media platform with products that could be purchased with digital tokens. Not only that, but the "Ant-Man and the Wasp" actor was also accused of recruiting his "celebrity friends" to promote FLiK as well, while his manager was accused of selling the tokens via Tip's Instagram account.

Even though the complaint against Tip is not criminal, it still carries a penalty. The "Live Your Life" rapper is required to pay $75,000 and not participate in the sale of the digital-assets securities for the next five years. Through his attorney, Tip has agreed to pay the money and expressed his regrets over his involvement. His attorney also claimed that the star never received a dollar from the failed venture and immediately removed his name from it once he learned that the project was undeveloped.

Meanwhile, film producer Ryan Felton was accused of being the mastermind behind the scheme. The complaint alleged that Ryan racked in around $2.2 million after he dumped the tokens on the secondary market and vanished. According to the complaint, he used the money for personal use such as buying a $1.5 million home and a Ferrari. He was indicted on September 9.

Tip has become the latest celebrity after Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and DJ Khaled who have been sued by the Wall Street regulator for hyping initial coin offerings.