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April 16, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Beth Shaw

The Moskowitz law firm has been standing outside NBA superstar Shaquille O'Neal's studio all week to "hand deliver" their legal complaint with no success, according to a recent statement.

The law firm representing victims affected by the FTX collapse has made a public plea to NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal, asking him to show “courtesy and honor” by actually acknowledging their legal complaint after several unsuccessful attempts.

In an April 14 tweet, The Moskowitz Law Firm revealed its team have been standing outside O’Neal’s TNT studios in Atlanta “all week” to serve him on behalf of FTX investors, in regard to his previous endorsement of the now-defunct crypto exchange.

However, it was noted that O'Neal's security guards have not let them in.

You’ve been running from us for 3 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
— The Moskowitz Law Firm (@moskowitzesq) April 14, 2023

It was emphasized that O’Neal is the only one among the “FTX celebrities” – referring to the class action lawsuit filed against several celebrities for endorsing FTX, including Tom Brady, Steph Curry and Larry David – who has not yet been served.

The law firm stated that O’Neal has been "running" from them "for 3 months" and should show the courtesy and honor by allowing their process servers to deliver the legal complaint on his behalf, so he can defend his "actions in this matter."

This comes after an April 7 court filing stated that numerous attempts have been made in various locations to serve O’Neal, but all have been unsuccessful. The filing stated:

“Mr. O’Neal is the sole remaining defendant in this matter who has still not been served. Despite Plaintiffs’ dozens of attempts in multiple states and countries, to either effect service on him or have him (or a designated agent) accept service of process.”

According to the court filing, the legal courier in Texas received a threatening message after making the "eighth most recent attempt" to serve O’Neal at his Texas residence.

The message mentioned the process server's wife, Beth Shaw, stating, “shaq lives in the Bahamas u stupid fuck give beth shaw my regards.”

*Source: Case No. 1:22-cv-23753-KMM : dgmagstatic.com*

The plaintiffs further stated that it is “finally time” to start attempting to contact O’Neal via other means, such as “direct messages to his verified social media accounts," according to the court filing.

This comes after it was reported on March 9 that U.S. District judge Kevin Moore is considering dismissing both O'Neal and tennis athlete Naomi Osaki from the lawsuit, after pointing out that it is unclear whether the two had been served.

A paperless order was issued by Moore, giving FTX customers until December to provide justification on why both stars should be included in the lawsuit.

Magazine: Can you trust crypto exchanges after the collapse of FTX?

Celebs who got burned endorsing crypto and those that got away with it

January 4, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

Screen actors and sports stars copped most of the backlash for 2022’s crypto endorsements, while soccer legends appear to have gotten away with it.

Celebrities had a shaky year promoting crypto firms and projects throughout 2022.

Many found themselves named in lawsuits over their alleged promotion of since-failed projects, while others have been relentlessly mocked on social media for their involvement in the first place.

From movie stars to television actors, sports stars to musicians, many celebrities may be regretting their endorsement deals last year, though that’s not to say that there haven’t been exceptions.

Who got burned?

In February last year, American comedian Larry David, who co-created the television series Seinfeld, appeared in a Super Bowl commercial for now-defunct crypto exchange FTX that encouraged users not to “miss out on the next big thing.”

David has since been named in a class-action lawsuit that alleges that he, along with other celebrities, had promoted FTX to unsophisticated investors without performing any due diligence on the exchange.

He’s also being investigated by the Texas State Securities Board regard payments received by FTX for his endorsements, among other celebrities.

Meanwhile, the movie star known for his role in the “Bourne Identity” film series, Matt Damon, has continued to be mocked for his part in the $100 million promotional campaign for Crypto.com.

Damon was even satirized by the animated series South Park in the season 25 premiere in February 2022.

If you bought $1,000 of bitcoin the day Matt Damon's "Fortune favors the brave!" commercial came out, it would now be worth $375 pic.twitter.com/rp5IdjBD3m
— Jon Schwarz (@schwarz) June 13, 2022

In the sporting world, Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka signed on to be an ambassador for FTX on March 21.

Like Seinfield’s co-creator, Osaka is also named in a lawsuit along with other high-profile celebrities who endorsed FTX including basketball legends Shaquille O’Neal and Stephen Curry, and NFL quarterback Tom Brady.

Professional boxer Floyd Mayweather was also named in a crypto promotion lawsuit in 2022 over his alleged promotion of EthereumMax, though the lawsuit was eventually dismissed by a federal judge in December.

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In the world of music, American rapper and hip hop artist Snoop Dogg has been named in a class action lawsuit for allegedly promoting Bored Ape Yacht Club nonfungible tokens (NFTs), along with other musicians including Madonna, Justin Bieber, Post Malone and DJ Khaled.

The lawsuit names over 40 people and companies as defendants, also including Tennis professional Serena Williams, actress Gwyneth Paltrow and comedians Jimmy Fallon and Kevin Hart.

Who got away with it

Interestingly, not all celebrity endorsements of crypto firms have been viewed in a negative light, nor have they attracted the scrutiny of class-action lawyers.

On Jun. 30, 2022, Binance announced it had snapped up the popular TikTok personality, Khaby Lame, as an ambassador.

The deal was seen as positive for the crypto sector, as Lame’s ambassador deal is part of Binance’s mission to increase Web3 awareness and adoption around the world.

Musician DJ Steve Aoki jumped into the NFT world with fantasy sports and sports betting operator DraftKings announcing the hitmaker as the brand ambassador for its NFT market.

American rapper Eminem performed alongside Snoop Dogg during the VMA’s to perform their NFT track "From The D 2 The LCD" featuring Otherside and Bored Ape NFTs.

In the sporting world, David Beckham became the global ambassador for blockchain company DigitalBits, launching his own range of NFTs in the process.

He appears to have avoided any accusations of wrongdoing despite the founders of DigitalBits being accused in an investor lawsuit for “diverting money needed for development” to expensive sports deals and luxury travel, according to a January 2022 report from The New York Times.

Meanwhile, legendary soccer player Lionel Messi has done deals with Singapore-based Bitget, fantasy sports platform Sorare and digital fan token company Socios.com.

Cristiano Ronaldo's foray into crypto sponsorship also appears to have gone down well in the community, working with Binance for the launch of an exclusive NFT collection allowing collectors the chance to receive perks including a personal message from Ronaldo and signed merchandise.

Shaquille O’Neal