Lawsuit against FTX celebrity promoters gets backup from former exec

A class action lawsuit against a celebrity who allegedly promoted the bankrupt FTX enlisted former exchange executive and former compliance officer Daniel Friedberg.

May 11 Amendment Complaint In a lawsuit filed in Florida District Court by class attorneys, Mr. Friedberg said he provided evidence that the FTX promotion began in Florida.

Friedberg was FTX’s Chief Regulatory Officer and was also Chief Compliance Officer for FTX US, the exchange’s US arm.

The declaration could refute key defenses by some defendants who argued that the Miami courts lacked jurisdiction and the claims had nothing to do with Florida.

Friedberg said in sworn testimony that FTX US vice president of business development Avinash “Avi” Davier, based in Miami, named defendants in the case, including former basketball player Shaquille O’Neal. He said he was in charge of brand ambassadors for FTX, including. Comedian Larry David, former NFL player Tom Brady and FTX founder Sam Bankman Freed.

We can’t keep it a secret any longer! We partner with… only one… only one…@SHAQ! (aka Shaktoshi) pic.twitter.com/V37UQ5wsXI

—FTX (@FTX_Official) June 1, 2022

He said Davil was working from the FTX offices in Miami “in early 2021.” Lawyers in the class action said it refutes the allegations in the defendants’ motion to dismiss.

Some alleged promoters argued that “FTX didn’t even plan to move to Miami until late September 2022, so any conspiracy could not have been ‘made in Florida’,” but that This was before they signed a promotional deal.

Class action attorneys are trying to use the new evidence to amend the case and address jurisdictional claims by the defendants in the lawsuit.

The court will decide whether the evidence is sufficient.

Related: Shaquille O’Neal claims process server ‘threw’ FTX legal documents into moving car

The lawsuit was first filed in mid-November, shortly after the exchange collapsed. Other alleged celebrity promoters include Brady’s then-wife, model Gisele Bündchen, entrepreneur Kevin O’Leary, and basketball star Stephen Curry and his team, the Golden State Warriors. included.

We are proud to announce that Tom Brady has become an FTX Ambassador and Gisele has become FTX’s Environmental and Social Initiatives Advisor.

“There’s an opportunity here to create something really special,” says the Super Bowl champion and entrepreneur. @TomBrady https://t.co/yDLC1Q1KFG

—FTX (@FTX_Official) June 29, 2021

Friedberg was also named as a defendant in the December 16 amended complaint.

The former compliance officer reportedly helped with other legal proceedings against the exchange he once worked for.

Investigators at the New York District Attorney, the Justice Department, the FBI, and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) allegedly obtained details about FTX from Friedberg weeks after the exchange collapsed.

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