Kim Kardashian might face a setback in her efforts to become a lawyer after getting fined by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. According to Andrew Stoltmann, a professor of securities law at Northwestern University, Kim’s career ambitions could face a “speed bump” after the 41-year-old star recently agreed to pay a $1.26 million fine for advertising the cryptocurrency EthereumMax on her Instagram page.
“There is a character and fitness evaluation that everybody who wants to become a lawyer has to go through and they look for things like arrests, they look at things like being sued. And this is a pretty significant issue for her. So, is it a potential speed bump to becoming a lawyer? Yes. Do I think it will preclude her from becoming a lawyer? No,” he explained.
Kim passed California’s baby bar last year, and she will have to disclose the fine “at the time she officially tries to become a lawyer.” Andrew told E! News, “This could potentially prevent her from getting licensed as a lawyer. I don’t think it will, but it could.”
Kim was fined after she failed to disclose that she’d been paid to promote EthereumMax on social media. Andrew thinks the fine may have made a point to other celebrities and social media influencers.
He said, “The SEC wants to make certain that when celebrities pitch an investment, investors know whether they are being paid or not. That’s important because that goes to the motivation of the person making the recommendation, since we tend to look differently at paid recommendations.”
Andrew also dismissed suggestions that the fine was excessive. The expert added, “I think she had to pay back the $250,000 that she was paid to hype this crypto investment. And then there were penalties, disgorgement [giving up illegally obtained profits], and interest on top. I think the SEC wanted to deter other celebrities from doing something similar, and that’s why they imposed the fine.”
