O’Neal was amongst a number of high-profile celebrities and athletes accused of endorsing FTX.
Different celebrities named in comparable authorized actions embrace NFL quarterback Tom Brady, supermodel Gisele Bündchen.
That is O’Neal’s second high-profile crypto-related settlement in current months.
Shaquille O’Neal has reached a confidential settlement with traders who alleged losses tied to the collapse of cryptocurrency alternate FTX, in accordance with an April 23 submitting within the US District Court docket for the Southern District of Florida.
The phrases of the settlement stay confidential, with particular particulars anticipated to be disclosed as soon as plaintiffs file for preliminary courtroom approval.
O’Neal was amongst a number of high-profile celebrities and athletes accused of endorsing FTX and allegedly contributing to investor losses by means of promotional exercise previous to the alternate’s chapter.
The lawsuit is a part of a broader multidistrict litigation in search of as much as $21 billion in damages from FTX insiders, advisers, and promoters—an quantity that far exceeds the $9.2 billion anticipated to be obtainable by means of the continuing chapter course of.
Celeb promoters underneath scrutiny
Different celebrities named in comparable authorized actions embrace NFL quarterback Tom Brady, supermodel Gisele Bündchen, investor Kevin O’Leary, former NBA participant Udonis Haslem, baseball legend David Ortiz, and tennis star Naomi Osaka.
All had been accused of lending credibility to FTX in promotional campaigns, allegedly deceptive retail traders.
O’Neal initially drew headlines within the case for evading service of authorized paperwork, with plaintiffs’ attorneys accusing him of “operating from the lawsuit.”
Authorized groups reportedly spent months trying to serve him, even trying supply throughout NBA broadcasts and at his residences.
Settlement follows NFT authorized decision
That is O’Neal’s second high-profile crypto-related settlement in current months.
He just lately agreed to pay $11 million to resolve a class-action lawsuit regarding his function in selling the Astrals NFT challenge, a Solana-based initiative that includes 10,000 NFTs, a metaverse known as Astralworld, and a governance token often called Galaxy.
That lawsuit alleged the NFTs had been unregistered securities and that O’Neal misled traders by means of his endorsements.
He was served in that case throughout a Could 2023 NBA playoff recreation at Miami’s Kaseya Heart—previously named FTX Area.
