Shaquille O’Neal Sued for Allegedly Selling Unregistered Crypto Securities
Former NBA star Shaquille O’Neal has been sued in federal court in Florida for allegedly selling unregistered cryptocurrency securities through a project called Astrals.
The lawsuit was filed by a Virginia man, Daniel Harper, who claims he lost money investing in Astrals non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Harper is seeking class action status to represent all investors nationwide and in Florida and Virginia who purchased Astrals NFTs.
According to the complaint, Astrals was O’Neal’s brainchild, developed with his son Myles O’Neal and music manager Brian Bayati. Astrals aimed to promote investment in a virtual Astralverse where users could socialize, play games, and interact with avatars that could be traded on the Magic Eden NFT marketplace.
The lawsuit alleges that O’Neal touted Astrals extensively on social media and offered incentives like NFT giveaways to attract investors. However, the Astrals NFTs were never registered as securities with regulatory agencies.
The complaint argues that Astrals NFTs meet the legal definition of a security because purchasers invested money in a common enterprise with a reasonable expectation of profit based on O’Neal’s efforts to promote the project. As such, O’Neal allegedly violated federal and state securities laws by selling unregistered securities.
Harper claims he personally invested over $5,000 in 100 Astrals NFTs from March to December 2022 based on O’Neal’s promotions. The lawsuit states that O’Neal stopped posting about Astrals after the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, in which he was also invested.
The complaint alleges O’Neal is liable for selling unregistered securities under the Securities Act of 1933 and Florida securities laws. It also brings claims under Florida consumer protection statutes. The lawsuit seeks damages, attorney’s fees, and an injunction barring further sales of unregistered Astrals NFTs.
O’Neal has not yet responded to the lawsuit in court. The case will proceed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
A copy of the original filing can be found here.
