Tron founder Justin Sun has been issued a court summons by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over allegations that he violated securities law by conducting an unregistered sale of tokens and engaging in manipulative trading. The summons, which also cites musician Austin Mahone and rapper Soulja Boy, gives the group 21 days to contact the SEC’s attorney. Sun is also alleged to have orchestrated a manipulative wash trading scheme for TRX token sales to exaggerate investor interest. A number of celebrities, including Lindsay Lohan and Ne-Yo, were named in the suit for unlawfully promoting TRX, with Mahone and Soulja Boy yet to settle with the regulator.
Sun recently claimed to be in Hong Kong on Twitter, but his official address is listed as Singapore on the summons. If the defendants miss the deadline, a default judgement could be entered against them. Sun has stated that his team believes the case “lacks merit”, and called for further regulatory development in the digital assets industry. If the defendants can’t be served, the court will need to explore alternative methods of notification.
