A class action lawsuit continues to loom over Shaquille O’Neal.
As AFROTECH™ previously reported, he was named in a class-action lawsuit filed against the Astrals Project, which he created alongside Music Manager Brian Bayati, who serves as the CEO, and his son Myles O’Neal, who is the head of investor relations.
They launched to the public the “Shaq Signature Pass,” a non-fungible token (NFT) series that was labeled as the “first consumable NFT of its kind, and the signing technology is one that we think will have wide-ranging applications.”
Coindesk mentions Astrals consisted of 10,000 NFT 3D avatars and a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) for “incubating innovative projects” with the Galaxy token serving as the governance token.
In a class action filed in Florida federal court in 2023, it stated the project was in violation of securities law as the company sold unregistered Astrals tokens, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Investor Daniel Harper, who allegedly lost money when he purchased Astrals tokens, claims O’Neal “should have known of potential concerns about regulatory issues concerning the sale of unregistered crypto securities,” per the outlet. The lawsuit also states O’Neal had “extensively promoted various cryptocurrency projects, including FTX and the Astrals Project, to his 30.4 million followers on Instagram and followers on other social media platforms,” according to Bloomberg Law.
There is now an update pertaining to the legal matter. Per Coindesk, the Florida court dismissed the allegation that O’Neal was a “control person” in the project. However, his actions were determined to be that of a “seller,” the court confirmed.
Additionally, the court did not dismiss the allegation that the Astrals NFTs and Galaxy tokens are in violation of securities.
By Sept. 12, 2024, O’Neal and the Astral project are expected to respond to the recent allegations.
“We are extremely fortunate that District Judge Moreno authored the first extensive ruling on cryptocurrency and celebrity promotions … bringing clarity and understanding in all of the other crypto class actions litigation, many are pending in this District,” the investors’ attorney, Adam Moskowitz said, per Coindesk.
