Beloved ex-NBA baller, Shaquille O’Neal, has been called out for dodging lawyers seeking to serve him papers for a class action lawsuit. The suit is tied to the FTX cryptocurrency scandal that rocked the financial world in January.
FTX was seen as an overnight success, as founder Sam Bankman-Fried created the company in 2019, 2 years after creating his crypto hedge fund, Alameda Research. The company went on to balloon to a multi-billion dollar operation that attracted many investors and saw Bankman-Fried labeled a genius in the space by 2022. However, a leaked copy of the balance sheet for the company drew red flags that caused the equivalent of a bank run (similar to the massive withdrawals that led to the fall of SVB), starting with a rival exchange, Binance.
In the wake of the rapid collapse of FTX, criminal investigations and lawsuits have plagued the 31-year-old founder, with 13 felonies being levied against him by the DOJ.
O’Neal’s ties to FTX are in the form of him, as well as several other well-known celebrities and athletes, doing a series of commercials promoting the crypto. Among the top names listed in the lawsuit, former star quarterback for the Patriots Tom Brady and his ex-wife Giselle Bundchen, tennis player Naomi Osaka, and Golden State Warriors Stephen Curry appear, as well as others.
According to the law firm representing the investors filing the class action lawsuit, The Moskowitz Law Firm, all other celebrities named in the suit have responded except for Shaq. The firm has reportedly tried to track the very visible TV personality at his home, his ex-wife’s home, TNT studios where he films for their coverage of NBA games, and numerous other places, but Shaq remains elusive. There was even a claim that lawyers tried to toss the papers at Shaq’s SUV as he sped off.
“You’ve been running from us for three months & all other FTX celebrities have agreed to receive their complaints. Please have the courtesy & honor to simply allow our process servers tomorrow to deliver our legal complaint on your behalf, so you can defend your actions in this matter,” per a statement by the law firm via Twitter.
Shaq’s lawyers have denied any of these evasive maneuvers have taken place and attempted to have the suit thrown out, although a judge has since denied this motion.
