The United States House Ethics Committee probes Rep. Madison Cawthorn and orders him to pay a penalty of $15,000 for illegal marketing of a crypto coin and failure to report transactions on time.
According to the House Ethics Committee report, Cawthorn acquired 180 billion LGB (Let’s Go Brandon) coins on December 21, 2021, for which he sent a check for $150,000 to Witness 1 based on an LGB Coin valuation from more than two weeks before.
Just before LGB coin announced that it would sponsor NASCAR driver Brandon Brown for the 2022 season, there was a transaction. On December 30, 2021, the sponsorship was made public.
On January 4, 2022, NASCAR revoked its endorsement. On December 31, 2021, January 4, 2022, and January 17, 2022, Representative Cawthorn sold almost all of his LGB coins in three separate batches.
After the Committee created the Investigative Subcommittee (ISC), Cawthorn did not reveal his LGB Coin purchases or sales. Furthermore, Cawthorn appeared to endorse or particularly encourage people to buy LGB Coin, even after the value of the LGB Coin he was holding plummeted.
Also Read: Ethics Comm to Investigate Madison Cawthorn’s Crypto Activities
The ISC also took into account claims that Representative Cawthorn may have engaged in cryptocurrency fraud, such as claims of insider trading or a plan to artificially inflate the value of LGB Coin.
Although the ISC questioned Representative Cawthorn’s justifications for his trading activities, the ISC was unable to find enough proof of fraud.
Despite being unable to agree on whether to advise the Committee to reprimand Representative Cawthorn, the ISC intended for its report to function as a reprimand for Representative Cawthorn’s actions.
It is mandated that Representative Cawthorn pay $14,237.49 to a proper charity by December 31, 2022, and pay $1,000 in late filing fees to the U.S. Department of the Treasury within 14 days of the release of this report.
Representative Cawthorn also filed a PTR disclosing his January 17, 2022, LGB Coin transaction within 14 days of the release of this report.
The Committee will deem this matter resolved after the release of this report, reimbursement of the value of the improper gift, payment of all relevant late fines for late files of House reports, and submission of a disclosure involving his January 17, 2022, LGB Coin transaction.
Also Read: Jim Cramer Calls on SEC to probe into Crypto Pump-and-Dump
