Quick take:
- Shaquille O’Neal has been sued over his involvement with the Astrals NFT project.
- The former NBA star has been named in a class action case claiming he breached securities laws for selling unregistered Astrals tokens.
- O’Neal was previously named in another lawsuit filed against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried for endorsing the crypto exchange platform.
Shaquille O’Neal can’t seem to shake off the long arm of the law as he faces yet another lawsuit. The former NBA star has been named in a crypto lawsuit related to his NFT project Astrals.
According to Hollywood Reporter, the proposed class action alleges that O’Neal violated securities laws by selling unregistered Astrals tokens. According to investor Daniel Harper, the former NBA star should have been fully informed about the regulatory issues related to selling unregistered crypto assets.
Harper claims O’Neal neglected the legal implications of the situation, promoting the project to build his crypto empire.
O’Neal launched the Astrals NFT project in 2022 with his music manager Brian Bayati as CEO and his son Myles O’Neal as the head of investor relations. The project offered an immersive world where it promoted investments to a community of users and a marketplace where they could trade 3D avatars as NFTs, the complainant said in the lawsuit.
Astrals also allowed investors to purchase the NFTs from Astrals’ official marketplace for tokens.
O’Neal produced a series of NFTs dubbed “Shaq Signature Pass” which he claimed there was only going to be 50 in existence ever, with collectors only able to earn them by participating in the community or buying using Astral tokens.
“The Shaq Signature Pass is the first consumable NFT of its kind, and the signing technology is one that we think will have wide-ranging applications,” a promotion describing the limited edition NFT series read.
The former Lakers star reportedly ran the promo campaign across his social media accounts, urging investors to “hop on the wave before it’s too late,” in one of the posts.
This is not the first time O’Neal has crossed paths with the law. In November 2022, he was named alongside several celebrities in a class action lawsuit filed against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried for endorsing the collapsed crypto exchange platform.
However, O’Neal has since distanced himself from the company stating in December that despite appearing in some FTX adverts, he was “just a paid spokesperson.”
The US capital markets regulator has recently tightened the noose on crypto projects following the collapse of FTX, taking extra measures to protect unsuspecting investors from traps laid by actors that use influencers for their promo campaigns.
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- Source: https://www.nftgators.com/shaquille-oneal-faces-another-crypto-lawsuit-for-promoting-astrals-nft-project/
