Shaquille O’Neal Settles NFT Promotion Lawsuit for $11M

Shaquille O’Neal will pay $11 million to settle a class action lawsuit over promoting the Astrals NFT project, accused of being unregistered securities.

According to a filing on Monday, basketball player Shaquille O’Neal has consented to pay $11 million to resolve allegations in a class action lawsuit concerning the Astrals NFT initiative, which he promoted. Shaq was accused by the plaintiffs of selling securities that were not registered.

Shaquille Agreeing on settlements

O’Neal’s settlement is the most recent addition to the expanding roster of celebrities who have encountered legal obstacles as a result of their promotion of questionable cryptocurrency ventures.

Despite the fact that the sports icon and TV commentator made numerous attempts to dismiss the case, which was filed in a Florida district court during the market depression of 2023, the overseeing judge determined that it could continue due to the plausibility of the twinned NFTs and governance tokens as securities.

At the heart of the case were 10,000 Astrals NFTs based on Solana and the “Galaxy” token, which was associated with a decentralized autonomous organization. In August, O’Neal was identified as a plausible “seller” under Section 12 of the Securities Act by Chief U.S. District Judge Federico Moreno in Miami, who ruled that both resembled securities.

In the initial filing, plaintiffs assert that O’Neal served as the “face” of the Astrals project, persuading individuals to invest in the project on the basis of his celebrity status and encouraging them to remain until the market collapsed in November 2022, following the collapse of the FTX crypto exchange.

On Discord, O’Neal posted a .gif from the movie The Wolf of Wall Street, reading, “I’m not F***ing Leaving.” However, the plaintiffs allege, O’Neal ultimately abandoned the project. 

The NFT series has more than 2,300 unique proprietors, as per OpenSea.

O’Neal is also one of the celebrities named in a significant case involving the promoters of the defunct FTX crypto exchange, which also involves former quarterback Tom Brady and comedian Larry David.

O’Neal attempted to evade service in both cases, according to Adam Moskowitz of The Moskowitz Law Firm, who represents both the Astrial NFT plaintiffs suing O’Neal and the FTX class action. He was ultimately subpoenaed while broadcasting an NBA game at the former FTX Arena in Miami.

The $11 million settlement will assist in the reimbursement of Astrial investors and the payment of their attorney fees if Moreno accepts it.