A law firm representing FTX investors has served former NBA star Shaquille O’Neal in a class-action case against celebrities who endorsed the failed crypto exchange. The lawsuit accuses Shaq, along with other public figures and the platform’s founder, of defrauding people who put money into FTX.
Shaquille Served Legal Notice in FTX Lawsuit Outside His Home, Lawyers Say
Following multiple attempts in the past months, legal representatives of a group of FTX investors have managed to serve Shaquille O’Neal in a suit against several celebrities who promoted FTX. The latter was one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges before it filed for bankruptcy.
Plaintiffs in the class-action lawsuit served Shaq outside his house, the Moskowitz Law Firm announced Monday on Twitter, quoted by CNN. The lawyers also pointed out that the service has been recorded by his home video cameras.
UPDATE: Plaintiffs in the billion $ FTX class action case just served @SHAQ outside his house. His home video cameras recorded our service and we made it very clear that he is not to destroy or erase any of these security tapes, because they must be preserved for our lawsuit.
— The Moskowitz Law Firm (@moskowitzesq) April 17, 2023
Court documents show O’Neal was the last among the celebrities named in the case, including Tom Brady, Gisele Bündchen and Stephen Curry, to be served a legal notice. The lawsuit accuses them, along with FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, of defrauding investors.
According to the lawyers, the basketball star has repeatedly evaded agents hired to serve the documents in person. After an attempt to serve the notice to O’Neal via his official Twitter and Instagram accounts was denied by a judge last week, Adam Moskowitz commented:
Mr. O’Neal’s conduct over the last 5 months in evading service in this action is unprecedented, and frankly shocking.
The attorney has previously called FTX “a massive Ponzi scheme” the organizers of which enlisted the help of sports and entertainment figures to promote it. “A lot of people think I’m involved, but I was just a paid spokesperson for a commercial,” Shaq was quoted as saying in December.
The major crypto asset exchange collapsed in mid-November, last year, amid problems with liquidity. Former CEO Bankman-Fried and several other executives have been charged with running a large-scale financial fraud scheme. While some of them have pleaded guilty, he has denied over a dozen counts of fraud and conspiracy.
What do you think will be the outcome of the court case against celebrities accused of promoting FTX? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below.
Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons, Ron Adar / Shutterstock.com
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