A class action lawsuit filed in Miami last month by an FTX investor against Sam Bankman-Fried and celebrity promoters was dropped last week after the plaintiff filed a voluntary notice of dismissal in a Florida court.
The suit gathered widespread media coverage as it termed FTX “a Ponzi scheme”, a “house of cards” that was used by FTX entities to shuffle customers’ funds with the help of their “opaque affiliated entities.”
Former CEO of now-defunct crypto derivative exchange FTX Sam Bankman-Fried, and paid promoters of the platform — Comedian Larry David, NFL quarterback Tom Brady, and tennis player Naomi Osaka — were made defendants in the case. The suit had called for a jury trial and an unspecified amount of money in damages.
Separately, a class action lawsuit has been filed in California against Silvergate Bank for knowingly or negligently permitting FTX to direct customer funds to Alameda Research.
In another related development, TV personality and Shark Tank judge Kevin O’Leary receiving $15 million from FTX for being its spokesperson has been under sharp attack, most prominently, by Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao. In an 11-tweet-long thread, CZ said that the $15 million that he received from FTX not only changed his opinion about crypto but also made him align with a fraudster.
