Investors sue basketball player Shaquille O'Neal for promoting NFT Astrals

Article Reading Time:
1 min.

Investors have filed a class-action lawsuit against basketball player Shaquille O'Neal, accusing him of promoting non-fungible tokens (NFT) Astrals and violation of securities laws.

According to the complaint filed by investor DanielHarper in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Shaquille O'Neal actively promoted NFT Astrals, which are unregistered securities. 

Harper said that by following the recommendationsfamous basketball player, he bought Astrals tokens, which were presented in the form of 3D avatars of the world famous artist. These collectible tokens were supposed to be used in the metaverse. However, when their rate fell, the investor lost his invested money.

Harper is seeking a refundcompensation for damage caused and the introduction of consumer protection measures. The complaint also states that the basketball legend promoted other cryptocurrency projects among his 30.4 million followers on Instagram and various social networks, including the FTX exchange.

Note that O'Neill is on the listcelebrities named in a separate lawsuit over the collapse of FTX, which he helped promote. Earlier, lawyer Adam Moskowitz, who represents the plaintiffs in both lawsuits, accused the basketball player of evading trial. In April, lawyers finally managed to serve O’Neill with a subpoena.

Last year, the State Securities BoardTexas began to study the legality of advertising of the American division of the FTX exchange by celebrities, how clearly they told users about the risks of using such platforms.