Former NFL Team Owner Sentenced to Six Years in Prison for Providing ‘Shadow Bank’ Services to Crypto Exchanges

June 7, 2023 The Daily Hodl

Ex-NFL team owner Reggie Fowler gets 6 years for crypto ‘shadow banking’

June 6, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Bank Fraud

United States Attorney Damian Williams says the lies of the former Minnesota Vikings co-owner exposed the U.S. financial system to “serious risk.”

Reginald Fowler, a former NFL team owner, has been sentenced to six years of prison for operating as a “shadow bank” to the crypto sector, which involved over $700 million in unregulated transactions over a 10-month timespan in 2018.

The 63-year-old, who was a co-owner of the Minnesota Vikings, was sentenced to a total of 75 months on bank fraud and money laundering charges, according to a statement from the United States Attorney’s Office in New York on June 5.

Former co-owner of Minnesota Vikings sentenced to 75 months in prison for providing shadow banking services to cryptocurrency exchangeshttps://t.co/Nc2PVhEajw
— US Attorney SDNY (@SDNYnews) June 5, 2023

It marks the end of a five-year long case that began when he was arrested in 2019 for alleged shadow banking. Shadow banking is a term used to describe (often illegal) bank-like activities that are carried out by non-bank entities.

Fowler initially pleaded not guilty to all charges in 2020, but changed his plea to guilty in April 2022.

In his latest statement, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said that a string of lies enabled Fowler to mislead and deceive several banks:

“Reginald Fowler evaded federal law by processing hundreds of millions of dollars of unregulated transactions on behalf of cryptocurrency exchanges as a shadow bank. He did so by lying to legitimate U.S. financial institutions, which exposed the U.S. financial system to serious risk.”

Williams then said Fowler “victimized” the Alliance of American Football (AAF) — a former professional football league — by lying about his net worth in order to own a “substantial” stake in the league.

“Let it be clear: this Office is committed to prosecuting people who lie to banks and skirt the law as a means to conduct their business,” the federal prosecutor stressed.

According to Williams, Fowler managed to pull off his crimes by establishing Global Trading Solutions (GTS) around February 2018, which worked with Crypto Capital and other crypto firms operating out of Israel.

There, Fowler, GTS and the crypto firms sidestepped a license by lying to banks in order to open accounts that were used to process crypto transactions.

OK -now at crypto Fowler sentencing. It was set for 10: FOwler just came in at 10:19 am. Inner City Press is covering the case https://t.co/S97h82I3FP and will live tweet, thread below pic.twitter.com/HapbKHoHaz
— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) June 5, 2023

Fowler opened a dozen of these accounts to facilitate these crypto transactions without the banks’ knowledge and failed to disclose GTS’s relationship with the crypto firms, Williams said:

“At no point were FOWLER, GTS, nor any of the Crypto Companies ever licensed as a money transmitting business in the United States, as required by federal law.”

One of the crypto firms involved was iFinex Inc — the parent company of crypto exchange Bitfinex and stablecoin issuer Tether, it claimed.

Other convictions included bank fraud conspiracy, operation of an unlicensed money-transmitting business, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business, and wire fraud.

In addition to the prison sentence, Fowler was ordered to forfeit $740 million and pay over $53 million in restitution to the AAF.

Magazine: Unstablecoins: Depegging, bank runs and other risks loom

Tom Brady’s Estranged Wife Gisele Bundchen Claims FTX Collapse ‘Blindsided’ Her

March 25, 2023 Bitcoin.com

Texas to probe FTX endorsements by Tom Brady, Stephen Curry and other celebs

November 22, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

The Texas State Securities Board is scrutinizing payments received by celebrities to endorse FTX US, as part of a wider probe into FTX's collapse.

NFL quarterback Tom Brady and NBA point guard Stephen Curry are reportedly among the celebrities facing a probe from the Texas financial regulator over their promotion of the now-bankrupt crypto exchange, FTX.

Joe Rotunda, director of enforcement at the Texas State Securities Board reportedly told Bloomberg in a Nov. 22 report that the Texas State Securities Board is scrutinizing payments received by celebrities to endorse FTX US, what disclosures were made and how accessible they were for investors.

Rotunda however noted that while the watchdog was taking a "close look at them," the celebrities’ endorsements of FTX were not an "immediate priority,” but would be part of the “regulator's larger probe into FTX's collapse."

Both Brady and Curry have also been named in a Nov. 15 class-action lawsuit against FTX, along with former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.

The lawsuit alleged that they “controlled, promoted, assisted in, and actively participated” in FTX Trading LTD and West Realm Shires Services Inc.

Others named in the class action include model Gisele Bundchen, the Golden State Warriors basketball team, NBA player Udonis Haslem and co-creator of Seinfeld Larry David.

Cointelegraph reached out to the Texas State Securities Board for comment but did not receive a reply before publication.

In the past surveys have found that nearly half of retail investors will follow digital asset advice from the social media accounts of celebrities and influencers without question, and this has seen more than a few use their influence to shill crypto products and projects.

In October, reality TV star Kim Kardashian was fined by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for “touting on social media” about the EMAX without disclosing she was paid $250,000 to post about it.

Kardashian has neither admitted to nor denied the SEC’s allegations, but settled the charges and agreed to not promote any cryptocurrency assets until 2025.

Steph Curry files trademark for the ‘Curryverse’ where players earn NFTs

November 1, 2022 Coin Telegraph

chain

NBA superstar Steph Curry filed a trademark application for the “Curryverse" metaverse on Oct. 26.

National Basketball League (NBA) megastar Steph Curry looks set to introduce his own version of the Metaverse to NBA’s 650 million fans — filing a “Curryverse” trademark application on Oct. 26.

If approved, the United States-based trademark application, filed by SC30 Inc. will grant the four-time NBA champion exclusive rights for “entertainment services, namely, personal and virtual and metaversal appearances.”

According to the filing, the “Curryverse” will also provide “online gaming services in the nature of virtual worlds,” where players will be able to earn both fungible and nonfungible tokens (NFTs), which will be able to be bought or sold at an “online marketplace.”

The application also covers virtual clothing and goods, business management and investment services, charitable fundraising services, and software as a service (Saas) featuring software platforms for designing, promoting, selling, and exchanging NFTs, among others.

While more specific details of the Curryverse haven’t been announced, the NBA star’s metaverse will likely garner a lot of attention given his 47 million fan base on Instagram and 17.1 million followers on Twitter.

While the Metaverse-related trademark appears to be a first for Curry, it definitely isn’t his first move into Web3.

In August 2021, Curry first became a part of the NFT community following a $206,000 Bored Ape Yacht Club purchase.

The Golden State Warriors player’s liking for golf also led him to invest in LinksDAO — a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) that aimed to build the “world’s greatest golf community.”

The NBA superstar has also featured in an FTX advertisement in March as part of his ambassador role with the popular crypto exchange.

NBA’s Miami Heat gets Web3 sponsor

Meanwhile, just eight days after landing a multi-year partnership with National Football League (NFL) team New England Patriots, blockchain infrastructure firm Chain has just become the official “Web3/Blockchain infrastructure partner” of the Miami Heat.

Chain stated in its Nov. 1 press release that its partnership will aim to “bridge the gap between the sports industry and Web3 technology” by providing a suite of products and services that “address the complexities of overall blockchain management.”

The partnership will also see Chain’s logo be imprinted on the Miami Heat player’s pre-game shooting shirt, with the blockchain solutions company also set to prominently feature on the NBA team’s social media platforms.

Things are HEATing up this fall. Chain is proud to announce a partnership with the @MiamiHEAT as their official Web3/Blockchain infrastructure partner. Read more: https://t.co/7mgQVHPmAR pic.twitter.com/FhBeabooAp
— Chain (@Chain) October 31, 2022

In Mar. 2021, FTX entered a $135 million partnership with the Florida-based team to secure naming rights to the Miami Heat’s 21,000 seat stadium until 2040 — which is now officially called FTX Arena.

Ticket Marketplace Giant Ticketmaster Chooses Flow Blockchain for NFT Push

August 31, 2022 Bitcoin.com

Nifty News: NFL All Day opens to the public, Boss Beauties go to Hollywood and more…

August 19, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Boss Beauties

Oscar-winning actor Anthony Hopkins is jumping on the NFT train, while lovers of fine art are set to enjoy a fancy exhibition event in Decentraland next week.

NFL fans at large will now be able to get their hands on digital keepsakes of their favorite football stars after Dapper Labs’ NFL All Day NFT finally opened to the public after a seven-month-long closed beta.

On Aug. 18, The National Football League (NFL), the NFL Players Association (NFLPA), and Dapper officially launched the project and announced the first public NFT drop, a pack of four NFTs dubbed “Headliner” consisting of four different new player moments.

Users will have the chance to get their hands on NFTs depicting popular players such as Tom Brady, Trevor Lawrence, Javonte Williams, and Jalen Ramsey. There will be a total of 22,500 packs on sale for $59 a pop.

The NFTs come in different rarity tiers of common, rare and legendary, with just 187 packs containing a highly sought after legendary NFT.

Welcome to #NFLALLDAY ‼️

Own the best Moments, featuring exclusive digital video highlights from your favorite players & teams.

Our first public Pack Drop is Friday! Sign up and get a limited edition NFL collectible, starring @PatrickMahomes. ➡️ https://t.co/sol88uYqUS pic.twitter.com/xJKu8SoZSC
— NFL ALL DAY (@NFLALLDAY) August 18, 2022

Much like Dapper’s first officially licensed NBA Top Shot project, NFL All Day offers tokenized player and team collectibles depicting various in-game video highlights known as “moments”. There are also GameFi elements added to the experience via avenues such as collector challenges to earn rewards in NFTs, game tickets, VIP experiences, Jersey’s etc.

The project has been in closed beta since February, and has generated more than $37 million worth of sales to date according to data from CryptoSlam.

“Last year’s soft launch brought in a surge of early adopters who began collecting video highlight NFTs of NFL plays and we plan to grow the number of users significantly with the official launch of the platform,” noted Joe Ruggiero, the senior vice president of consumer products at the NFL.

NFT start up pens Hollywood deal

NFT start-up Boss Beauties has penned a representation deal with major Hollywood talent agency WME.

As part of the deal, WME will rep the company across the entertainment sector as it works to secure Boss Beauties intellectual licensing (IP) deals in film, Wb3, gaming, events, brand partnerships etc.

The Boss Beauties project consists of 10,000 unique tokenized digital art portraits depicting female avatars with various career choices such as CEOs, pilots, doctors and astronauts. The collection reportedly sold out in 90 mins after launch in September.

JUST IN! ⚡️

Boss Beauties signs with world renowned @WME to push BB and Super BB out into film, TV, digital and gaming. Exclusive story on @Variety https://t.co/VmLf2ydH3O pic.twitter.com/krewii3wDB
— Boss Beauties (@BossBeautiesNFT) August 17, 2022

The project has generated more than $48.3 million worth of sales to date, with a portion of the proceeds from primary and secondary sales going towards empowering women via mentorships and scholarships.

CryptoPunks creators Larva Labs signed a similar deal with competing agency UTA back in September.

Metaverse Art Week 2022

Decentraland, one of the biggest Metaverse platforms in the blockchain sector, is set to host the third-annual Metaverse Art Week event in its virtual world between Aug. 24 and Aug. 28.

The event will see a wide array of curated NFT art being featured from big names such as Sotheby’s, OpenSea, Artnet, while there will also scheduled panel discussions, a virtual outdoor sculpture garden and a 3D interactive art wall.

“The third annual Metaverse Art Week will explore how the human spirit is hardwired to elicit an emotional response when presented with art inspired by mathematical designs present in nature, and how metaverse technology is pushing the boundaries of programmatic art and redefining what an immersive experience is,” the Decentraland team wrote in an announcement shared with Cointelegraph.

From Golden Globes to NFTs: Sir Anthony Hopkins

Renowned 84-year-old actor Sir Anthony Hopkins has jumped aboard the NFT gravy train by announcing The Eternal Collection, a set of 10 digitally animated NFT pieces depicting Hopkins as various Jungian psychological archetypes.

The various 1-of-1 NFT artwork pieces feature realistic digital renderings of Hopkins’ face as the Hero, the Rebel, the Magician, the Sage, the Ruler, the Explorer, the Lover, the Creator, the Giver, and the Jester. The auctions are set to go live on OpenSea on September 16. The Face of each art piece will also be used to create 100 profile picture NFTs for each of the 10 pieces, equating to 1,010 NFTs in total. The project is in collaboration with Web3 media company Orange Comet.

*The Eternal Anthony Hopkins: Orange Comet*

Other Nifty News:

The Australian Football League (AFL)’s first limited edition drop of NFTs sold out in just under 12 hours on Wednesday. The project is called AFL Mint, and follows a similar format to NBA Top Shot and NFL All Day. The first “Ripper Skipper 2022” drop consisted of 3,800 packs which generated more than $130,000 in revenue for AFL Mint.

Solana-based wallet provider Phantom launched a new burn feature on Thursday which enables users to remove spam NFTs sent by scammers.

NFL Franchise Houston Texans to Accept Cryptocurrencies for Single Game Suites

August 17, 2022 Bitcoin.com

Houston Texans becomes first NFL team to sell game suite with crypto

August 17, 2022 Coin Telegraph

bitWallet

After penning a deal with Texas-based crypto wallet providers BitWallet, the Houston Texans join a long list of crypto partnerships and payment deals in the NFL.

National Football League (NFL) team Houston Texans has become the first organization in the league to sell single-game suites in exchange for crypto.

The move comes as part of a deal with Texas-based crypto firm bitWallet, which as of Aug. 16 became the official crypto wallet provider for the team. bitWallet will also provide intermediary services by exchanging crypto for cash for the Houston Texans.

According to an announcement from the Houston Texans, local digital marketing agency EWR Digital made the first single-game suite purchasing using crypto shortly after the offer launched, making it the first time a game suite has been sold in exchange for digital assets in the history of the sport.

It appears the crypto deal is just for suites, as there has been no mention of being able to purchase regular game day tickets with digital assets at this stage.

A game suite refers to a luxury private viewing box in the stadium that is often decked out with buffets, expensive alcohol, bathrooms, TVs, attendants, and a prime location to view the game.

The Houston Texans’ website doesn’t list a price for single-game or full season suites, instead asking people to first submit an inquiry to secure one. From The Seat estimates a single game suite for the team costing anywhere from $14,000 to $25,000.

bitWallet claims to be supported in over 160 countries and currently enables users to trade or hodl Bitcoin, (BTC), Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH).

NFL, crypto and blockchain

The Dallas Cowboys became the first team in the NFL to pen a crypto sponsorship deal in April, after Crypto.com signed on to be its official digital asset partner over a multi-year time frame.

The NFL and the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) also partnered with Flow blockchain creators Dapper Labs in late 2021 to launch the licensed NFL All Day NFT collectible project. The deal also saw the NFL and NFLPA take an equity stake in Dapper, and the duo likely have fetched a fair cut of the $36.8 million worth of sales NFL All Day has generated since February.

The league also has many crypto-friendly players that have opted to take either a chunk of their salary or contract bonuses in digital assets, including top names such as Green Bay Packers star quarterback Aaron Rodgers, former LA Rams wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and Carolina Panthers’ quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who was the top draft pick in 2021.

Iconic quarterback Tom Brady has also dabbled in the space by launching his own NFT marketplace Autograph in April 2021, and also famously gave a fan 1 BTC (worth $62,000 at the time) to get his historic 600th-touchdown-pass ball back in October.

Blockchain.com Inks Sponsorship Deal With the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys

April 13, 2022 Bitcoin.com

NFL