Celebrities involved in a class action lawsuit for promoting cryptocurrency exchange FTX have asked the court to dismiss the case, according to motions filed April 14th.
Celebrities include comedian actor-director Larry David, Tom Brady, Gisele Bundchen, Stephen Curry, Udonis Haslem, Trevor Lawrence, Kevin O’Leary, Shohei Ohtani, David Ortiz, Naomi Osaka, and the NBA team Golden State Warriors.
Celebrities appeared in several FTX-related ads, including a Super Bowl ad, and promoted the exchange on social media throughout 2021 and 2022.
motion to dismiss
The numerous motions to dismiss filed on behalf of some of the celebrities argue that the case is without merit as the investors have not filed a valid claim against the celebrities.
He presentation states that the plaintiffs do not differentiate in the case between the celebrities involved in the ads and “FTX insiders” such as Sam Trabucco and Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF). In addition, it argues that the investors have failed to clarify how the celebrities caused their losses or provide any evidence that celebrity promotions influenced their investments.
According to the presentation:
“There is no plausible connection between FTX-related advertising, publications, or sponsorships generally and Claimants’ specific alleged lost deposits.”
Lawyers said in the filing that the celebrities were doing a job and that such a lawsuit would make each actor liable for selling securities by appearing in a brokerage advertisement. They also argued that celebrities did not promote investing in profitable accounts (YBAs), which is the crux of the case for investors, as they claim losses on such accounts.
“Plaintiffs were simply not injured by Petitioners (the celebrities). As their complaint discloses, FTX, not the Petitioners, allegedly encouraged the Plaintiffs to open YBA.”
Garrison v. Bankman-Fried et al.
He class action lawsuit was filed in the Court for the Southern District of Florida in November 2022 by Edwin Garrison on his behalf and on behalf of all “similarly situated” investors.
The lawsuit alleges that FTX was a fraudulent platform from the start that was designed to take advantage of “unsophisticated investors” across the United States who use their phones to participate in investing.
In addition, it claims that the celebrities promoted a fraudulent platform and did not disclose the amount of compensation they received, which is against securities law.
The charge Tom Brady, other celebs ask court to throw out lawsuit over promoting FTX first appeared in CryptoSlate.
