Benzinga - Former NBA star Shaquille O'Neal, has been sued once again over his involvement in cryptocurrency promotions.
What Happened: This time, O'Neal is facing a proposed class action in Florida federal court, alleging that he violated securities laws by selling unregistered tokens in connection to Astrals NFT Project.
Investor Daniel Harper alleges that O'Neal had knowledge of potential concerns about regulatory issues regarding the sale of unregistered crypto securities but promoted them anyway to further his crypto empire.
"O'Neal knew or should have known of potential concerns about regulatory issues concerning the sale of unregistered crypto securities such as those marketed and sold through the Astrals Project.”
“Nevertheless, O'Neal extensively promoted various cryptocurrency projects, including FTX and the Astrals Project, to his 30.4 million followers on Instagram and followers on other social media platforms," the lawsuit read.
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Why It Matters: As per the filing, "The Astrals project was O'Neal's brainchild, which he personally developed, along with his music manager, Brian Bayati, as CEO, and his son, Myles O'Neal, as the head of Investor Relations."
Harper also alleged that "prior to founding Astrals, O'Neal built his crypto credibility through his involvement with various Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) projects, including his own NFT series."
The filing noted that O'Neal repeatedly promoted Astrals NFTs on various social media accounts. In one post, he urged investors to "hop on the wave before it's too late."
O'Neal has been allegedly trying to distance himself from the FTX by saying that he was "just a paid spokesperson" when he appeared in ads. The lawsuit against O’Neal comes amid a dispute over accusations that he has been dodging, with lawyers for the investors claiming they have been trying to serve him the lawsuit papers for months outside his home, workplace, and car.
Price Action: At the time of writing, ETH was trading at $1,828.56, down 1.76% in the last 24 hours, according to Benzinga Pro.
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