Shaquille O’Neal, an NBA Hall of Famer and one of the most famous basketball players ever, stands accused of hiding out in his mansion to avoid getting served a class-action suit filed against everyone who endorsed the failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
The famous NBA personality was only one of the many high-profile celebrities who endorsed the cryptocurrency, prompting people to invest in it and eventually lose millions after its collapse. O’Neal is listed in the lawsuit filed by one of the investors, Edwin Garrison, alongside other celebrities such as Steph Curry, Gisele Bundchen, Larry David, Tom Brady, and Naomi Osaka.
Garrison claimed in the lawsuit that his cryptocurrency account went bankrupt after FTX collapsed, saying he only invested because of the celebrity endorsements.
According to Garrison’s legal team, all the celebrities named in the suit have already been served with the papers except for O’Neal. They say that he was avoiding lawyers and noted that the allegations against him in the lawsuit were very damning.
Speaking to Forbes, Garrison’s attorney, Adam Moskowitz, said he was “astonished” by the measures O’Neal had taken to avoid being served the complaint. According to Moskowitz, the irony was that the basketball legend had himself admitted that the facts against him in the case were probably the most damning among all other FTX brand ambassadors.
The attorneys emailed the defendants on Tuesday, March 7, and called out O’Neal for his evasion tactics, adding that he was the only one who had chosen to evade being served, either to draw out the proceedings or to avoid responding to the allegations.
The basketball star was among the celebrities encouraging people to invest in FTX last year and even hosted a Super Bowl Party in partnership with the crypto company at his LA home.
The star promoted the company online, including on Twitter, and in June last year, he appeared as an official FTX ambassador. His appearance in commercials encouraged many people to join what promised to be the largest and greatest cryptocurrency exchange.
FTX lived a short life as it came crashing down on November 11 after the CEO, Sam Bankman, filed for bankruptcy. He was arrested in December and charged with fraud after being accused of defrauding investors of billions of dollars.
O’Neal has tried to distance himself from FTX, saying he was simply a hired spokesperson. According to the lawyers, the 7’1” man managed to hide from the process servers who have appeared at his door.
Defendants have until April 14 to respond to the suit.
Shaq has now shown up! He tweeted on March 19 from his hospital bed after having hip replacement surgery.
