The S.E.C. said in a statement released on Wednesday afternoon that celebrities who promoted coin offerings could be violating multiple laws, including antifraud regulations and rules that govern investment brokers.

Image The Centra founders, from left, Sam Sharma, Raymond Trapani and Robert Farkas.



Credit... Scott McIntyre for The New York Times

In language that suggested that the S.E.C. could take enforcement action against these celebrities, the statement promised that the agency would “focus on these types of promotions to protect investors and to ensure compliance with the securities laws.”

The regulatory warning followed an article in The New York Times in the past week about such celebrity endorsements. The article focused on a troubled project, known as Centra, that was promoted by the boxer Floyd Mayweather and the rapper DJ Khaled.

Centra raised $30 million with the help of the famous names. But the project’s founders appear to have misled investors on several points, including the ability of the project to issue debit cards, its primary product.

The S.E.C. said in July that the entrepreneurs in charge of coin offerings could end up in trouble for violating securities law. But the statement on Wednesday focused on people promoting the coins. It said celebrities could be violating the law if they did not disclose that they were compensated for making an endorsement.