A federal judge in Brooklyn, New York, unleashed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to collect more than $250,000 from Steven Seagal after the ’90s action star failed to pay up for his alleged role in promoting a cryptocurrency.
U.S. District Judge William Kuntz ruled Friday that the federal agency can go through the actor’s business manager to collect the remainder of the $330,000 he had agreed to pay. The “Under Siege” actor, who lives in Moscow and is a Russian citizen, last year settled allegations that he failed to disclose he was being paid to promote a digital token.
Seagal was allegedly promised $250,000 in cash and $750,000 in tokens for promoting an initial coin offering for Bitcoiin2Gen, according to the SEC. The offering was one of as many as 20 similar crypto frauds run by a group of Serbian nationals who bilked some 500 investors out of millions, prosecutors have said.
Seagal has so far paid just $75,000 and is delinquent on the rest of the settlement, according to a lawyer for the SEC, Bloomberg reported.
The devoted fan of Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin moved to Moscow in 2016. Putin then issued a presidential decree making him a Russian citizen. Since 2018, Seagal has been Russia’s goodwill ambassador to the U.S.
In 2018, the Los Angeles Police Department launched a sexual assault investigation into Seagal. More than a dozen women have accused the actor of sexual misconduct. He has denied the allegations.
There was no immediate comment from Seagal.