NFL quarterback Trevor Lawrence, alongside YouTube influencers Kevin Paffrath and Tom Nash, has agreed to settle a lawsuit related to their endorsement of the now-defunct FTX cryptocurrency exchange, Bloomberg reported on Sept. 16, citing a court filing.
The terms of the settlement remain undisclosed. These settlements mark the first resolutions among over a dozen celebrities and firms accused of assisting Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX, in duping investors. Bankman-Fried is set to face his criminal trial in Manhattan next month.
Other high-profile individuals, including Tom Brady, Gisele Bundchen, Steph Curry, Shaquille O’Neal, and Larry David, who endorsed FTX, are also facing lawsuits. These class-action suits are consolidated in a federal court in Miami, along with complaints against venture capital and private equity firms that invested in FTX, such as Sequoia Capital and Thoma Bravo.
FTX garnered significant attention through celebrity endorsements, including naming rights to the Miami Heat’s arena and a Super Bowl commercial featuring Larry David. Lawyers representing the plaintiffs in the $1 billion case against endorsers told Bloomberg that they are “engaged in ongoing confidential, settlement discussions” with other defendants, and there is a “likelihood that other FTX settlements will be reached.”
The lawsuit alleges that FTX’s celebrity endorsements contributed to the platform’s rise but asserts that the endorsers failed to disclose details of their deals and compensation to investors. At the time of filing, the lawsuit stated:
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Author: Monika Ghosh