SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) - NBA legend Stephen Curry finds himself a defendant in a recent class action over the failed crypto exchange FTX.
Curry is joined as a defendant by his team, the Golden State Warriors, for whom he has helped win four NBA championships. Several cases have been filed against FTX, and another named NFL quarterback Tom Brady as defendant.
Sam Bankman-Fried and Gary Wang founded FTX in 2019 and two years later it was the third-largest cryptocurrency exchange. However, it filed for bankruptcy in November 2022, and legal problems ensued - leading to the creation of a multidistrict litigation proceeding in Florida federal court.
Any sophisticated investor vetting FTX for an investment of partnership opportunity should have noticed the red flags with the company, the suit says.
"Indeed, how the FTX Group could pass, for example, the due diligence process of the teams of executives and analysts who worked on the Golden State Warriors, or, frankly, the due diligence process for any of the sophisticated FTX Brand Ambassadors, like Curry, when he put his image, likeness, persona and credibility on the line to induce Plaintiffs and the Class to invest in the Deceptive FTX Platform... is beyond the pale," the suit says.
"The fact that these FTX Brand Ambassadors jumped at the opportunity to work with the FTX—and be paid millions, tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions in cash, equity stakes, and/or cryptocurrency to do so—is strong circumstantial evidence that these FTX Brand Ambassador Defendants had actual knowledge that the FTX Group was a fraudulent Ponzi scheme that was converting its customers’ funds for its own use.
"Yet, they still participated in the FTX Group’s scheme, and proximately caused the damages to the Plaintiffs and the Class."
Curry appeared as a brand ambassador in a commercial for FTX, saying "With FTX, I have everything I need to buy, sell and trade crypto safely." The complaint cites several other promotions on social media involving Curry.
The firm Boies Schiller Flexner filed the lawsuit.