The lawyers finally managed to serve two class-action lawsuits to the NBA superstar.
Shaquille O’Neal, a former NBA basketball player, is embroiled in legal controversies over the alleged promotion of the crypto exchange FTX and the Solana-based Astrals NFT project.
According to the May 23rd report from The Wall Street Journal, O’Neal was successfully served with the suits at the former FTX Arena (now the Kaseya Center) while the man was providing commentary during a basketball game.
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Representing both cases, lawyer Adam Moskowitz confirmed that the FTX class action and a separate lawsuit related to O’Neal’s alleged promotion of Astrals were delivered.
Providing further details, Moskowitz indicated that the process server had secured tickets to the May 23rd basketball game, where O’Neal provided commentary. Despite successfully delivering the lawsuits, the server was reportedly expelled from the arena at O’Neal’s direction.
Process servers attempted to serve O’Neal with a class-action lawsuit for months over his supposed endorsement of FTX.
In a recent twist, an additional lawsuit has been filed against O’Neal, accusing him of founding and endorsing the Astrals NFT project, deemed by the complaint to be “unregistered securities.”
As per the suit, the NFTs were “investment contracts” as per the Howey Test. The plaintiffs allege they “invested” in Astrals and have “suffered investment losses” due to O’Neal’s actions. They also question his continued involvement with the project, noting his absence from its Discord channel since January.
Adding fuel to the fire, the FTX class action lawsuit draws attention to multiple celebrities, including O’Neal, Steph Curry, Tom Brady, Larry David, and FTX’s founder Sam Bankman-Fried, all alleged to have endorsed the now-insolvent crypto exchange.
During one of the interviews, O’Neal humorously thanked Curry for getting him into hot water, cautioning him to stay quiet before swiftly steering the conversation elsewhere.
It’s important to note that this isn’t the first attempt to serve O’Neal. Previously, he had expressed in court that the servers for the FTX suit had allegedly “tossed” the papers in front of his moving car, leaving him to abandon them on the road.
It is worth noting that in April, FTX victim lawyers asked the NBA superstar to have “courtesy and honor” to accept the complaint.
The crypto community will be watching these developments closely, as they could have far-reaching implications for celebrity endorsements within the crypto sphere.
