Shaquille O’Neal can finally breathe sigh. The Basketball Legend has turned a merchant and a television personality agreed to pay $ 1.8 million to resolve a class activity process on his role in promoting the now defunct Cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
While the payment closes a legal chapter for the former Lakers, it also marks a turning point in how courts deal with famous approvals in the volatile world of Crypto, a space where Stardhouse once offered both Hype and cover.
O’Neal is among the first big names to reach a compromise in the high-profile FTX case, which also appoints football legend Tom Brady, his former wife Gisele Bündchen, NBA superstar Steph Curry, tennis player Naomi Osaka, and Seinfeld creator Larry David. Some of the claims against these celebrities who say they were not aware of the risks were already dismissed.
But O’Neal’s decision to settle stands out.
He was accused of promoting FTX to his fans and investors, appearing in a string of marketing campaigns. In change, the company reportedly sponsored its musical festival business, Shaq’s fun house. According to the complaint, O’Neal promoted the partnership with social media and videos. He reportedly paid $ 750,000 for his approval.
“Plaintiffs are looking for a class relief from Mr. O’Neal, who has been an alleged influencer and celebrity paid by FTX to present FTX to their followers and event attendees as a secure and legitimate alternative to other crypto exchanges,” states the court document of Cryptocurrency, 3.
An initial settlement was reached last November. It was revealed in May by the Court, and on 9 June, the final agreement of $ 1.8 million was presented in the US District Court for the southern district of Florida by Adam Moskowitz, the plaintiff’s lawyer. O’Neal has to pay the amount within 30 days.
Ftx, who filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy on November 11, 2022, became a crypto Juggernaut thanks in part to its famous ambassadors. But behind the scenes, the platform used customer assets as a guarantee to borrow funds that were inserted into their sister company, Alameda Research, for trading and investments. When the Card House collapsed, both companies went, launched lawsuits against founder Sam Bankman-Fried, his internal circle and the stars, which supported the mark.
O’Neal’s compromise is not just about solving his personal responsibility. It is an awake call to celebrities who have inserted the crypto blast without fully understanding, or revealing, the risks.
“I don’t understand it,” O’Neal told CNBC in 2021 about Cryptocurrencies. “So, I will probably stay away from it until I understand a full understanding of what it is.” He added, “In my experience, it’s too good to be true.”
However, he did not stay away.
Since the FTXmployment, regulators such as the values and exchange commission and the Federal Trade Commission have been split from unknown paid crypto -approaches. The SEC now emphasizes “fair disclosure” and “financial literacy”, warning that fame is no longer a shield.
The message to celebrities is definitely: if you promote it, you now expect to “own” it, even if the company collapses.
And this is not the only crypto-related legal headache of Shaq. Last November, he was ordered to pay $ 11 million to resolve a separate lawsuit involving Astals, a failed non-fungal tokens (NFT) project, which he co-founded with his son Myles O’Neal. (NFTs are digital collectibles that can be owned, sold or exchanged online.) The project has promised a metave experience where users would interact with NFTs. But after the fall of FTX, Shaq is said to have distanced himself from the business, leaving investors to defend themselves.
Now, with $ 12.8 million in crypto settlements under his belt, O’Neal may think twice before lending his name to another crypto company.
