VIP Crypto Scandals: From Logan Paul and Paul Pierce Scams to NBA Hacks – The Crypto Party Ended in a Legal Hangover

The digital gold rush attracted celebrities like flies to honey, but the crypto party is ending with multimillion-dollar lawsuits, SEC investigations, and reputations in flames. From Logan Paul to Paul Pierce and NBA hacks, we explore how glamour and greed collide in the Wild West of crypto.

The cryptocurrency world, with its promises of quick riches and anarchic decentralization, has proven to be a celebrity magnet. However, what began as a lucrative avenue for promotion and an apparent foray into the "new economy" is quickly turning into a minefield of lawsuits, regulatory investigations, and considerable reputational damage, both for the celebrities involved and their gullible followers.

The case of Logan Paul and his CryptoZoo project is emblematic. What was sold as a blockchain game where players would buy NFT “eggs” to hatch unique animals and earn tokens never materialized as promised. Now, Paul not only faces a class-action lawsuit from investors alleging that CryptoZoo was a scam , but he’s also embroiled in a defamation lawsuit against YouTuber Coffeezilla, who exposed the project as a fraud. While Paul offered $2.3 million in refunds (conveniently tied to an agreement not to sue) and has countersued his business partners, blaming them for the failure, the stench of a scam is hard to dispel.

As we've already detailed, NBA legend Paul Pierce was forced to pay over $1.4 million to the SEC for illegally promoting EMAX tokens and making false statements about his own investments and earnings. His case is a clear example of how the SEC is intensifying its scrutiny of celebrities who act as cryptocurrency shills.

"Logan Paul's lawsuit against Youtuber 'Coffeezilla'… relates to Findeisen's comments regarding Paul's 'CryptoZoo' project, which Findeisen alleged to be a scam."

The vulnerability of the crypto ecosystem was made clear by the hacks of the official X (formerly Twitter) accounts of the NBA and NASCAR in March 2025. Scammers posted fake announcements about the launch of non-existent coins ($NBA and $NASCAR Coin) on the Solina blockchain, attempting to trick fans into investing in fraudulent assets. If organizations of this caliber can fall victim, what hope is there for the retail investor? These incidents add to a landscape where crypto scams generated at least $9.9 billion in 2024.

Many of these celebrity-backed crypto projects appear to operate under a sophisticated version of the “greater fool theory”: an asset’s value is based on the belief that it can always be sold to a “greater fool” for a higher price. Celebrities, with their enormous reach and the trust they inspire in their (often financially naive) followers, act as powerful amplifiers of this dynamic. They convince their fans to invest, thereby inflating the price so that insiders (potentially including the celebrities themselves) can cash out their profits. The promised “utility,” as in the case of CryptoZoo, is often an afterthought or never materializes. The SEC is increasingly vigilant, applying the Howey Test to determine whether these assets are securities and going after those who fail to comply with disclosure and registration regulations. The implication is clear: celebrities are not just passive promoters; They may become active participants (consciously or unconsciously) in schemes that exploit their fans' trust for financial gain.

Analyzing the financial ties between celebrities and these projects—how much they were paid, whether they received discounted tokens, when they sold—reveals a more predatory dynamic than simple bad investments.