Former NBA star Shaquille O’Neal has reached a settlement agreement with FTX investors who accused him of enabling the failed crypto exchange’s fraud by acting as a celebrity promoter.
Shaquille O’Neal has reached a settlement agreement with a group of FTX investors who accused him of enabling the failed crypto exchange‘s fraud by acting as a celebrity promoter.
A class action suit filed against O’Neal and other celebrities, including athletes, comedians, and business moguls, claims that they enabled the fraud by promoting FTX to their massive followings. The plaintiffs are seeking up to $21 billion in total damages from O’Neal and the other defendants.
The FTX investors' lawsuit involves a multitude of allegations, including mismanagement, breach of fiduciary duty, and securities fraud.
The collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange has left thousands of investors reeling, with many seeking compensation for their losses.
The lawsuit alleges that FTX's leadership deliberately hid financial difficulties, used customer funds for personal gain, and made reckless investments.
Key players in the lawsuit include Caroline Ellison, Sam Bankman-Fried, and Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao.
The list of named defendants includes tennis player Naomi Osaka, baseball player Shohei Otani, basketball player Steph Curry, retired football player Tom Brady, comedian Larry David, Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary, and model Gisele Bundchen. These individuals were allegedly used to promote FTX to their fans, who then invested in the crypto exchange.
Several celebrities and influencers promoted FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange that filed for bankruptcy in 2022.
These promoters included NBA player Stephen Curry, NFL quarterback Tom Brady, and soccer star Lionel Messi.
They appeared in advertisements or social media posts touting the benefits of using FTX.
According to reports, some of these endorsements were paid deals worth millions of dollars.
The collapse of FTX has raised questions about the responsibility of celebrity endorsers for promoting failed financial products.
Seven other celebrity promoters and former executives reached a settlement agreement with FTX investors back in 2023, including Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence and YouTubers Tom Nash, Graham Stephan, and Andrei Jikh. The first tranche of settlements totaled $1.4 million.
O’Neal’s settlement with FTX investors is not his first tied to a promotion of a failed crypto project. Last year, O’Neal and several associates agreed to pay ‘$11 million’ to Astral non-fungible token (NFT) holders who lost money in the Solana-based project he founded and promoted.
In March 2022, Shaquille O'Neal was involved in an NFT (Non-Fungible Token) scandal.
He partnered with the company Autograph to release a series of digital collectibles featuring his likeness and signature.
However, some buyers claimed that they were misled about the authenticity of the tokens.
An investigation revealed that the digital signatures on the NFTs were not actually signed by O'Neal, but rather generated using AI technology.
The incident raised concerns about transparency and authenticity in the NFT market.
The details of O’Neal’s settlement agreement, including the amount he will pay, remain undisclosed. However, it is clear that this settlement brings an end to a long and contentious lawsuit against the former basketball star-turned-business mogul.
