A Florida District Court Judge has allowed The Moskowitz law firm to serve legal notice to cryptocurrency YouTuber Tom Nash via Twitter after the firm claimed it was unable to serve him through other means. The notice is in connection with the ongoing FTX case.
Nash is one of seven influencers listed as defendants
Nash is the last of ten defendants named in a class action lawsuit against influencers alleged to have promoted the now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX without disclosing their compensation.
The other defendants in the case include seven other YouTubers, including Graham Stephan and Brian Jung, as well as the talent management company that handled the promotion of FTX, Creators Agency LLC, and its founder Erika Kullberg.
The Moskowitz Law Firm had been trying to serve Nash with a legal notice for months but was unable to do so until the recent ruling. The court allowed the law firm to serve Nash via Twitter, as his frequent internet use suggested it was a reliable way of contacting him.
Additionally, Nash has publicly acknowledged his personal email address, and previous attempts to email him did not bounce back, suggesting that Nash had received the suit and that his email address is valid and operational.
The court ruling allows the district court to “order an alternate method for service to be executed on foreign defendants,” provided it isn’t against international agreements and is likely to effectively notify the defendant.
Georgia and the US are parties to The Hague Convention, which provides a standardized method for serving legal documents between countries that are signatories of the treaty.
Plaintiffs are seeking $100 million in damages
The case revolves around allegations that the defendants promoted FTX without disclosing their compensation, which is a violation of US law. The plaintiffs are seeking damages over $100 million.
Nash has not yet released an official statement in response to the order. The FTX case is not the first time that a defendant has made headlines for their behavior. Ben Armstrong, known as “BitBoy Crypto,” missed a court appearance on April 20 and instead posted pictures of himself on a beach in the Bahamas on Twitter and openly mocked the order.
Armstrong was later arrested for contempt of court and released on a $50,000 bond.
It remains to be seen whether the other defendants in the case will also be served with legal notice via Twitter or other alternate methods.
The FTX case highlights the growing scrutiny that influencers face for failing to disclose their compensation about cryptocurrency promotions, and the need for legal action to hold them accountable.
