Tom Brady, Shaquille O’Neal Among Celebrities Sued in FTX ‘Ponzi Scheme’

Sam Bankman-Fried is not the only person facing the ire of customers burnt by FTX’s downfall. Celebrities who endorsed his now-bankrupt exchange are also in hot water.

NFL star Tom Brady and his supermodel ex-wife Gisele Bundchen, NBA legends Steph Curry and Shaquille O’Neil, tennis star Naomi Osaka, MLB’s David Ortiz and Shohei Ohtani, and the Golden State Warriors are named in a lawsuit for endorsing unlicensed securities.

An Oklahoma man and holder of an FTX account Edwin Garrison filed the lawsuit in Miami, Florida on Wednesday on behalf of “thousands” or “millions” of FTX customers.

This can bear a tremendous blow to the pockets of the named celebrities. The suit does not mention a specific dollar amount but claimed that the celebrities may be liable for “many billions of dollars in damages.”

“Defendants’ misrepresentations and omissions made and broadcast around the country through the television and internet render them liable,” the lawsuit stated.

The lawsuit alleges that Bankman-Fried designed FTX “to take advantage of unsophisticated investors” convincing customers to use the services to invest in crypto, adding that none of of the celebrities listed, who appeared in advertisements for exchange “performed any due diligence before marketing these FTX products to the public.”

Garrison who described FTX as a “ponzi scheme,” is represented by noted attorney David Boies–who recently represented Theranos entrepreneur Elizabeth Holmes in her trial for fraud.

Bankman-Fried and his executive team will testify on Capitol Hill in Washington in December to discuss the billions of dollars lost in FTX’s collapse.