Shaq Gets Served FTX Complaint During NBA Playoff Game
Basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal, who had been evading process servers for months, was served with two complaints during a game between the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics at the Kaseya Center—formerly named the FTX Arena.
The complaints are related to his involvement with the now-bankrupt crypto exchange FTX and second NFT venture with his son.
The process server, who O’Neal later kicked out of the venue, captured the event on film to eliminate any ambiguity, attorney Adam Moskowitz told PEOPLE.
FTX Class Action Lawsuit
One of the complaints against O’Neal relates to his commercials for FTX, a case that has been pending since November 2022. Investors claim that the use of celebrity endorsements gave credibility to the fraudulent FTX crypto exchange, which ultimately led to its downfall.
The class action lawsuit includes other notable celebrities like Tom Brady, Gisele Bündchen, Steph Curry, Naomi Osaka, Larry David, and FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried.
Read: FTX Investors Sue Shaquille O’Neal, Naomi Osaka, Steph Curry
While O’Neal appeared in several commercials and advertisement campaigns for FTX, he has attempted to distance himself from the company since its controversies and bankruptcy. In December, he told CNBC that he was merely a paid spokesperson for a commercial and not involved in the operations.
But Moskowitz told Forbes that the admitted facts against O’Neal were likely the most damning among all the FTX brand ambassadors.
Months of hiding and driving away
The Washington Post reports that O’Neal’s repeated evasion of process servers had cost the attorneys over $100,000 and raised safety concerns for the servers.
Process servers had tracked O’Neal for four months, following him to his homes in Georgia, Texas, and Florida. Allegedly, the 7-foot-1-inch tall athlete would hide inside his home whenever the servers arrived at his door.
Contacting O’Neal’s previous legal counsel also proved unfruitful. The frustrated attorneys had even resorted to trying to serve him via social media, but the judge denied the motion.
The second complaint
Finally, during the Miami Heat game, a process server took the opportunity to serve O’Neal with both the pending FTX complaint and a new complaint related to his NFT venture, ASTRALS. Clients claimed they had been scammed and accused O’Neal and his son of selling “unregistered securities.”
“We got a two-for-one deal and served him the two complaints,” Moskowitz told The Washington Post.
As the case progresses, it remains to be seen how O’Neal and other celebrities will address their involvement and respond to the allegations against them.
