NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal has agreed to pay $ 1.8 million to arrange a lawsuit stating that he has misled investors by promoting Crypto Exchange FTX. The settlement, if approved, will resolve a Class Action case that has been submitted to the Federal Court of Florida.
What happened?
The collapse of FTX at the end of 2022 shook the entire cryptocurrency market. O’Neal, together with other celebrities, had endorsed FTX as a legitimate platform for crypto -trade. He appeared in commercials, live events and promotions on social media that encouraged fans to trust the platform.
But behind the scenes, FTX is said to not offer registered effects and enter into fraudulent activities – which led to billions of losses to customers.
Despite the fact that he initially denies misconduct, the Shaq team has now moved to arrange the case without admitting liability.
“We are pleased to have this issue behind us,” said Shaq’s legal adviser.
What does the coverage of $ 1.8 million cover?
Shaq’s proposed $ 1.8 million payment will cover:
- Legal costs
- Administrative costs
- Investor -Payments
This scheme too Protects O’Neal against future liability And Strengthens him from the search for reimbursement of FTX.
The Class Action includes all investors and holders of the indigenous tokens of FTX, including FttBetween May 2019 and the end of 2022.
Shaq’s role and earlier claims
While other famous endorsers such as Tom Brady, Steph Curry and Gisele Bündchen saw their affairs reject, Shaq remained until good fire until good in 2023.
In his defense, O’Neal said in an interview from 2022:
“I was just a paid spokesperson for a commercial.”
However, claimants argued that he and others’helped in promoting an aggressive market‘From non -registered effects.
This is not the first crypto-related regulation of Shaq-Hij has paid earlier $ 11 million To solve claims about his Astrals NFT project.
Background: FTX and Sam Bankman Fried
FTX, once a crypto-power patient, implied in November 2022. The founder Sam Bankman-Gefruurde was later sentenced to 25 years in the federal prison and ordered to forfeit $ 11 billion For orchestrating one of the greatest financial fraud in American history.
The downfall of FTX revealed how controversial notes could lure investors to risky platforms, from which of many later collapsed.