Shaquille O’Neal was served with two different complaints while working for TNT covering Tuesday night’s Eastern Conference Finals in Miami.
O’Neal, according to plaintiff’s attorney Adam Moskowitz, was served with respect to a complaint related to an NFT company created by him and his son Myles.
It is alleged that O’Neal ‘violated federal securities laws’ in the process, with the NFTS holding ‘unregistered securities’ in his company, ASTRALS.
The NBA legend also received a copy of the FTX case, which he was eventually served with last month. Both cases are now before Miami Federal Court.
“It seems absurd to have to go to such lengths to serve Mr. O’Neal, who is the deputy of the law,” said Moskowitz, who represents the investors in FTX and ASTRALS.
O’Neal was served with a new lawsuit regarding an NFT company he co-created, according to the plaintiff’s attorney, while working for TNT and covering the NBA’s Eastern Conference Finals
The NBA legend was a ‘paid spokesperson’ for the now bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange
“These allegations are now very serious, and so it is good that we can start with the merits, rather than the stupid service sideshow that Mr. O’Neal unfortunately created.”
O’Neal also faces a class-action lawsuit involving high-profile FTX endorsers, including Tom Brady, Gisele Bundchen, Steph Curry and Larry David.
The suit was filed last November by Edwin Garrison, who claims he opened an account with the now-bankrupt crypto exchange after being “exposed to” celebrity endorsements and their alleged “misrepresentations and omissions.”
Moskowitz also accused O’Neal of being deceitful in an FTX commercial so he could make “millions of dollars”.
O’Neal hosted a Super Bowl Party at Shaq’s Fun House in partnership with FTX in February 2022, ahead of Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles.
FTX was a high-profile cryptocurrency exchange that made big inroads with investors, thanks to celebrity endorsements. On November 11, it filed for bankruptcy.
The following month, O’Neal told CNBC that he was just a “paid spokesperson.”
“A lot of people think I’m involved, but I was just a paid spokesperson for a commercial,” O’Neal said.
Retired QB Tom Brady and ex-wife Gisele Bundchen both promoted FTX during their marriage
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried on stage with Gisele Bundchen at a conference during 2022
In September 2021, speaking about cryptocurrency to CNBC Make It, O’Neal said: “I don’t understand it, so I’ll probably stay away from it until I get a full understanding of what it is… From my experience , it’s too good to be true.’
Other defendants listed in the suit are tennis player Naomi Osaka, Miami Heat’s Udonis Haslem, former MLB star David Ortiz, LA Angels pitcher Shohei Ohtani, Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence, comedian Larry David, entrepreneur Kevin O’Leary and FTX founder Sam Bankman -Fried.
The lawsuit argues that the exchange’s interest-bearing accounts were technically collateral, and demands that their backers disclose details of their compensation from FTX.
“They never disclosed the nature, scope and amount of compensation they personally received in exchange for the campaign,” the complaint alleges.
