• A class action lawsuit has been filed against celebrities who promoted bankrupt FTX, including Shaquille O’Neal, Tom Brady and Naomi Osaka.
• Former FTX Chief Compliance Officer Daniel Friedberg provided evidence tying the celebrities to Florida.
• Sam Bankman-Fried, former CEO of FTX, is facing criminal and civil charges in the US.
Class Action Lawsuit
A class action lawsuit against big-name celebrities who promoted bankrupt FTX including Shaquille O’Neal, Tom Brady and Naomi Osaka was recently filed in the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Florida. The suit claimed that 12 celebrities misled customers and engaged in deceptive practices to sell FTX yield-bearing digital currency accounts, resulting in “American consumers collectively sustaining over $11 billion dollars in damages” amid the collapse..
Evidence Tying Celebrities To Florida
Lawyers representing the plaintiffs claim that former FTX Chief Compliance Officer Daniel Friedberg has provided evidence tying Florida to the defendants. The lawyers said in a court filing on Thursday that “there appears to be no state that has more connections to the FTX Brand Ambassador Defendants than the state of Florida.”
FTX’s Connections To Florida
The complaint laid out several connections between FTX and the state of Florida; among them being that it had organized its worldwide headquarters located there.
Sam Bankman-Fried’s Criminal Charges
Sam Bankman-Fried is facing criminal and civil charges in the US for his role with FTX. Most recently he asked a New York judge to dismiss most of his criminal charges calling some of them “dramatic”. He faces eight criminal charges, including wire fraud and conspiracy to commit bank fraud which could result in him receiving more than 100 years in prison if found guilty.
Conclusion
The outcome of this case is still undecided but it looks like there are some serious consequences for those involved with promoting what turned out to be a fraudulent company. It will be interesting to see how this develops as more information comes out about what exactly happened leading up this situation and what will happen next for those involved with it.