SEC Drops Fraud Case Against Tron Founder Justin Sun After $10 Million Settlement

The SEC's decision marks a significant shift in the agency's approach to regulating the cryptocurrency industry under President Trump's administration.

The case against Sun, one of the most high-profile figures in the crypto world, began in March 2023 with allegations that he sold unregistered securities and engaged in market manipulation through wash trades.

Regulators claimed that Sun directed employees to carry out over 600,000 wash trades between April 2018 and February 2019 to artificially inflate volume for Tronix tokens.

The SEC also accused Sun of paying celebrities like Lindsay Lohan, Akon, Ne-Yo, and Jake Paul to promote his tokens on social media without disclosing the payments, which broke federal disclosure rules.

As part of the settlement, Rainberry Inc. agreed to pay a $10 million penalty and admitted no wrongdoing, while Sun himself was dropped from the case.