Naomi Osaka and Tom Brady among US sports stars named in FTX deceptive practices lawsuit
- The celebrities helped promote the cryptocurrency exchange, which declared bankruptcy in the US last week
- Supermodel Gisele Bundchen and basketball great Shaquille O’Neal were also named alongside FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried in the suit filed in Miami on Tuesday
High-profile US sports stars and personalities have been named in a lawsuit over deceptive practices targeting investors who became victims of the stunning collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
The celebrities helped promote the exchange, which declared bankruptcy in the United States last week in a meltdown that has reverberated across the digital currency landscape and drawn scrutiny from authorities in multiple countries.
American football star Tom Brady and his supermodel ex-wife Gisele Bundchen, basketball great Shaquille O’Neal, tennis grand slam champion Naomi Osaka, actor/comedian Larry David, and Shark Tank investor Kevin O’Leary were among those named alongside FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried in the suit filed in Miami federal court on Tuesday.
Plaintiff Edwin Garrison filed the suit in a Miami court on behalf of other investors, seeking to recover damages from losses suffered in the FTX implosion, accusing the company of “misrepresentations and omissions.”
“FTX’s fraudulent scheme was designed to take advantage of unsophisticated investors from across the country,” the lawsuit alleges.
“Some of the biggest names in sports and entertainment have either invested in FTX or been brand ambassadors for the company” and hyped the exchange on social media, the document said.
David appeared in a television ad during this year’s American football Super Bowl championship game, a coveted and costly promotional spot.
FTX “needed celebrities … to continue funnelling investors into the FTX Ponzi scheme, and to promote and substantially assist in the sale” of the accounts “which are unregistered securities,” the court documents said.
