“I Was a Paid Spokesperson For FTX Commercial ” – Shaquille O’Neal Discuss
One of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, FTX, is being sued, and a number of well-known people have been named as defendants.
A class action complaint was filed last month against the defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX, allegedly naming Shaquille O’Neal, a businessman and Basketball Hall of Famer at age 50, as a defendant.
CNBC Make It reports that in June, O’Neal endorsed the company in a commercial, and that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission later claimed that Bankman-Fried had fraudulently used customer cash to enrich himself and his crypto hedge fund, Alameda Research.
Shaquille O’Neal, claimed that he was nothing more to FTX than a famous face in an advertisement.
O’NEAL said, “A LOT OF PEOPLE THINK I’M INVOLVED, BUT I WAS JUST A PAID SPOKESPERSON FOR AN ADVERTISEMENT.”
In a commercial that will air in June for FTX, the legendary basketball player will be heard saying, “I’m pleased to be teaming with FTX to help make crypto accessible to everyone.” Following that, he said, “I’m all in. So, you’re not?”
In addition to Shaquille, other well-known names, such as quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tom Brady, guard of the Golden State Warriors Stephen Curry, and comedian Larry David, were dragged into the suit, accusing FTX of using celebrities to target “unsophisticated investors from across the country.”
It was claimed that representatives of FTX “either controlled, encouraged, assisted in [or] actively engaged” in an effort to “aggressively market” the company.
“People know me to be very, very honest,” Shaquille said.
That’s because there’s nothing to hide. If I were actively participating, I’d be the first one shouting, “Hey.” However, I was only acting in my capacity as a paid spokesman.
Shaquille told the media outlet that he agreed to be in the commercial in large part because of his connection with NBA player Stephen Curry.
O’Neal told Front Office Sports last year that he avoids “too good to be true” deals, including those involving bitcoin.
Companies are continually offering me $900,000 in cryptocurrency in exchange for a single tweet, and I’m constantly getting emails promising me such sums, saying things like, “Hey, we’ll give you $900,000 in crypto to send out a tweet.” To which I can only respond, “OK, if you’re going to give me a million dollars’ worth of crypto, then why do you need me?” According to what O’Neal said.
“At one time, a few of my pals fell for a scam like that.”
Sam Bankman-Fried was reportedly arrested by Bahamian officials on many counts of conspiracy and fraud, which will lead to his extradition and trial in the United States, as reported by CNBC. Prosecutors in the Southern District of New York have reportedly filed at least eight accusations against the FTX founder.
