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NRL and Youtube stars reach settlement in FTX class-action lawsuit: Report

NRL player Trevor Lawrence and YouTubers Kevin Paffrath and Tom Nash have reportedly opted to settle with investors who alleged they were misled by their FTX promotions.

NRL quarterback Trevor Lawrence and YouTube influencers Kevin Paffrath and Tom Nash have reportedly settled a lawsuit over alleged inadequate compensation disclosure in their promotions for the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX.

According to a Sept. 16 Bloomberg report, the three high-profile individuals have entered proposed agreements, however the settlement terms were not disclosed.

Among the high-profile celebrities and influencers entangled in the class-action lawsuit, Lawrence, Paffrath and Nash are reportedly the first to have reached a settlement.

Related: Influencer served settlement demand via NFT following $7M token presale

Other celebrity defendants in the class-action lawsuit include Tom Brady, Gisele Bündchen, Kevin O’Leary, Shaquille O’Neal, Naomi Osaka and David Ortiz

Meanwhile, Paffrath and Nash are among eight Youtubers accused of failing to disclose compensation. The other six include Graham Stephan, Andrei Jikh, Jaspreet Singh, Brian Jung, Jeremy Lefebvre and Erika Kullberg.

The talent management company behind the promotion of FTX, Creators Agency LLC is also named in the lawsuit.

On September 11, a court filing revealed that FTX is mulling over how it can reclaim the millions of dollars it paid to celebrity athletes and sport teams that promoted the crypto exchange before its insolvency in November 2022. 

According to the filing, Trevor Lawrence received $205,555, Shaquille O'Neal received approximately $750,000, and Kevin O'Leary topped the list with a fee of $2,348,338.

On March 15, the class-action lawsuit was initially filed, claiming that the influencers inadequately disclosed the true nature of their FTX promotions, which was, in fact, paid content rather than content stemming from genuine interest:

“Though FTX paid Defendants handsomely to push its brand and encourage their followers to invest, Defendants did not disclose the nature and scope of their sponsorships and/or endorsement deals, payments and compensation, nor conduct adequate (if any) due diligence.”

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Crypto influencer named in FTX lawsuit served via tweet

A law firm backing an FTX investor suit tagged a crypto influencer in a tweet to serve its lawsuit.

A cryptocurrency YouTuber has been served a lawsuit through a tweet after a United States court allowed the action as lawyers claimed they couldn’t serve him through other means.

A May 2 order from a Florida District Court Judge granted The Moskowitz Law Firm permission to serve legal notice to crypto YouTuber Tom Nash via a tweet.

Nash, who is believed to be residing in Georgia, is the last of ten defendants named in a class action lawsuit against influencers alleged to have promoted the now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX without disclosing their compensation.

On May 2, the firm tweeted its notice to Nash and mentioned his Twitter handle in the post, thereby giving him legal notice of the lawsuit.

The filing set out instructions on how Nash was to be served using Twitter.

A legal notice URL was required to be shared by the law firm through its official Twitter account and tag Tom Nash’s Twitter account.

Moskowitz was also required to send the URL in an email to his publicly known email address.

The filing states Nash’s frequent internet use suggests that it is a reliable way of contacting him. It noted:

“Nash has an established Internet-based business, utilizes electronic means, including Twitter, as reliable forms of contact; and has publicly acknowledged [a] personal email address.”

According to the filing, when lawyers previously emailed Nash on an email he had publicly posted, it didn’t bounce back, which suggested Nash received the suit and his “e-mail address is valid and operational.”

A federal ruling allows the district court to “order an alternate method for service to be executed on foreign defendants” provided it isn’t against international agreements and is likely to effectively notify the defendant.

It further explained that Georgia and the U.S. are parties to The Hague Convention which provides a standardized method for serving legal documents between countries that are signatories of the treaty.

Related: Taking down crypto influencers is one step that would help to heal the market

The other nine defendants comprise seven YouTubers including Graham Stephan, Brian Jung and Ben Armstrong, known as “BitBoy Crypto.” The talent management company that handled the promotion of FTX, Creators Agency LLC, and its founder Erika Kullberg are also named.

Armstrong had missed a court appearance on April 20 to address his alleged “harassment towards plaintiffs’ counsel.”

Instead of attending the court hearing, Armstrong posted pictures of himself on a beach in the Bahamas on Twitter and openly mocked the order.

Cointelegraph contacted Nash for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

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