Lawyers taking part in a class action lawsuit against celebrities who helped promote cryptocurrency platform FTX have claimed that they have repeatedly tried and failed to bring former NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal to testify in court.
The lawyers said in the emails reached the Journal:ForbesThe former Los Angeles Lakers star, who helped popularize the platform and praises its features by “making cryptocurrency investment accessible to everyone,” has put up many hurdles to prevent him from being drawn into this case.
In late January, the US federal authorities confiscated more than $600 million from the accounts of the former head of the FTX platform, Sam Bankman Fried, accused of fraud.
It is expected that next October will witness the start of the trial of Bankman, who denies the charges against him, as he was released on bail of $ 250 million.
The New York Attorney General is accusing the businessman of embezzling funds from the FTX cryptocurrency platform.
According to the lawyers, O’Neill, who is 2.16 meters tall, hid inside his home in Texas, so as not to receive any requests to appear before the court, indicating that they tried to communicate with his lawyer to no avail.
Attorneys David Boies and Adam Moskovitz wrote that only one defendant “chose to evade the subpoena, in order to prolong the judicial process, or in his attempt to avoid responding to these allegations.”
“It’s really amazing what actions he (O’Neill) took to avoid filing our complaint,” Moskovitz told Forbes in an email.
He continued, “Ironically, the facts admitted against him are perhaps the most serious of the accusations leveled at the rest of FTX’s celebrity brand ambassadors.”
A spokesman for O’Neill declined to comment on these statements.
O’Neill had tried to downplay his role as VTX ambassador, saying in previous televised statements: “A lot of people think I’m involved in this case, but I was just a paid spokesperson for a commercial.”
It is not clear how much VTX paid to the former basketball legend.
The class action lawsuit, separate from the federal case against VTX, argued that the celebrities should be responsible for attracting billions of dollars in investments that were intended to “keep the entire scheme afloat.”
The suit also alleged that the defendants violated the SEC’s endorsement laws by failing to disclose “the nature, scope, and amount of compensation they personally received for deceptively promoting the platform.”
Lawyers for the celebrity defendants are expected to present their arguments by April 14.
The founders and directors of VTX and its sister company, Alameda Research, are currently being investigated for their roles in one of the largest cryptocurrency scandals to date.
Members of Bankman Fried’s inner circle at both companies pleaded guilty after being accused of misusing FTX clients’ funds to support Alameda’s investments.
VTX announced earlier this month that $8.9 billion in client funds were still missing.