NBA star Shaquille O’Neal, who previously endorsed the now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX, is currently facing a lawsuit, and his legal team has claimed that the legal documents were inadequately delivered.
The NBA star endorsed the now-bankrupt FTX
The legal team filed a document in the United States District Court in the Southern District of Florida on May 8, alleging that two process servers “tossed” papers in front of his moving car after previous failed attempts.
The NBA star did not stop to pick up the papers and left them on the road. The filing mentioned that this method of serving legal documents is insufficient under Rule 4 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and Georgia law, and the claims against Mr. O’Neal should be dismissed.
The NBA star was part of the few figures who acted as influencers for the exchange before its bankruptcy filing last year. The NBA star appeared in an advert where he claimed to be all in with the exchange.
Following the collapse and a potential legal action, the NBA star said he only acted as a paid spokesperson for the firm. In November, the Moskowitz law firm filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of Edwin Garrison and other FTX investors against influencers for their role in promoting the exchange.
Lawsuits filed against celebrities and influencers
A similar lawsuit filed by the same firm in March targeted crypto influencers, including a YouTuber known as BitBoy Crypto. The YouTuber allegedly promoted the company without disclosing that he had been paid to do so.
The law firm reported in April that the NBA star had been served with the legal complaint outside his house following several unfruitful attempts. However, his legal team is challenging the validity of the previous attempts, stating that throwing papers at a moving car and leaving them unattended on a public highway is insufficient under Georgia law.
Moskowitz has received authorization from the court to serve other individuals connected to the lawsuit, including by tweet in the case of crypto YouTuber Tom Nash. The court will decide on the validity of the legal documents served to O’Neal and the other individuals connected to the lawsuit.
