- Republican congressman Madison Cawthorn has been fined over $15,000 for promoting a pump and dump coin
- Cawthorn purchased $150,000 worth of LGBCoin knowing that a big announcement was coming
- The coin pumped the following day, and the House Committee on Ethics took a dim view of his involvement
Madison Cawthorn, a Republican congressman from North Carolina, has been fined over $15,000 after he promoted and held the Let’s Go Brandon (LETSGO) meme coin which pumped and dumped last year. The outgoing United States House Representative was fined by the House Committee on Ethics for his promotion of the cryptocurrency in which he had an undisclosed investment, with the seven-month-long investigation finding that Cawthorn “improperly promoted a cryptocurrency in which he had a financial interest”, a violation of its conflict of interest rules.
Cawthorn Knew of Imminent Sponsorship Deal
Cawthorn was a public supporter of the LGBCoin cryptocurrency, helping to build the hype around it while allegedly possessing privileged information about a sponsorship deal. LETSGO launched last year in the wake of the chant mocking U.S. President Joe Biden, with Cawthorn stating on Instagram on December 29 that he met with James Koutoulas, a hedge fund manager and the founder of the cryptocurrency, at a party and that the coin was about to go “to the moon!”.
Cawthorn was frequently pictured hanging out with LGBCoin leader James Koutoulas before and after the coin’s rise and fall.
Cawthorn posted on Instagram on Dec. 29: “LGB Legends … Tomorrow we go to the moon!” He was pictured posing alongside Koutoulas. pic.twitter.com/7AVIcN0jCt
— Andrew Kerr (@AndrewKerrNC) May 27, 2022
Indeed it did, jumping 75% the following day after an announcement by NASCAR driver Brandon Brown that the coin would be the primary sponsor of his 2022 season. Cawthorn’s promotion, which the committee called “direct and unambiguous”, was put out after an undisclosed purchase of $150,000 worth of the token by Cawthorn.
The Ethics Committee couldn’t agree if Cawthorn sought to profit from his promotion but he was nevertheless fined for doing so as well as not declaring a “gift” of the token. Koutoulas tried to revive the coin late last year but the ‘project’ has been long abandoned.
