Shaquille O’Neal To Finally Settle FTX Lawsuit With $1.8M Payment
Shaquille O’Neal will pay $1.8 million to settle claims that he deceived investors by promoting a now-bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, CBNC reports. The case had been pending since November 2022.
The FTX Class Action Lawsuit
The class action lawsuit also includes notable celebrities such as Tom Brady, Gisele Bündchen, Steph Curry, Naomi Osaka, Larry David, and FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried. However, O’Neal was the only celebrity defendant to remain associated with the company after he was served legal papers.
After avoiding rocess servers for months, O’Neal was served with two complaints during a game between the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics at the Kaseya Center, formerly named the FTX Arena, in 2023.
O’Neal appeared in several commercials and advertisement campaigns for FTX, but he had attempted to distance himself from the company since its controversies and bankruptcy. In 2022, he told CNBC that he was merely a paid spokesperson for a commercial and not involved in the operations.
The Settlement
The proposed settlement, filed in a Florida federal court, claims that the use of celebrity endorsements lent credibility to the fraudulent FTX crypto exchange, ultimately leading to its downfall.
The class includes anyone who gave money to FTX or held its proprietary token, FTT, between May 2019 and late 2022. O’Neal will have to pay $1.8 million to cover all legal fees, notice and administration costs, and payouts to eligible investors, if the judge approves the deal. Additionally, the arrangement includes an extensive release from future liability, which excludes him from seeking reimbursement from the FTX bankruptcy estate.
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