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Shaq, Carrollton Resident, Allegedly Avoiding Lawsuit

The former NBA pro is one of many celebrities named in the lawsuit
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Photo: Ron Adar | Shutterstock

Basketball icon and actor Shaquille O’Neal is facing a lawsuit involving a cryptocurrency exchange collapse. But the Texas resident is allegedly evading four companies that tried to serve him papers. 

According to Forbes, lawyers were not able to serve papers to Shaquille O'Neal for a lawsuit involving an FTX collapse. The lawsuit alleged the company and its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, deceived and took "advantage of unsophisticated investors," and celebrity endorsers failed to do their due diligence before marketing FTX's products to the public.

The suit, separate from the federal case against FTX, argued that celebrities should be held responsible for attracting billions of dollars in investments meant to “keep the whole scheme afloat.” The suit also claimed that the defendants violated SEC endorsement laws by failing to disclose “the nature, scope, and amount of compensation they personally received in exchange for the promotion of the Deceptive FTX Platform.” 

Forbes reported the basketball star is allegedly “hidden” inside his Collin County home. The lawyers claimed they contacted O’Neal’s last known litigation counsel to no avail. Four companies attempted to serve the papers for a month.

“We have spent great efforts (4 different service companies) trying to get you all served with our Complaint,” Garrison’s lawyers David Boies and Adam Moskowitz wrote in an email to defendants. “Only one, however, has chosen to evade service, in order to draw out these proceedings, or to otherwise attempt to avoid answering for these allegations.”

The “one” is O’Neal. 

O’Neal hosted a carnival event in February 2022 called “Shaq’s Fun House Los Angeles Presented by FTX,” with Lil Wayne and DJ Diplo. He also promoted the crypto company on Twitter. Only one month later the company faced collapse, and O’Neal attempted to step away from his role as ambassador. 

“A lot of people think I’m involved, but I was just a paid spokesperson for a commercial,” he told CNBC. However, the lawsuit appears to argue his involvement. 

O’Neal is just one of many defendants in the class action lawsuit that was filed in November 2022. Other defendants include Giselle Bündchen, Tom Brady, Larry David and Stephen Curry. Defendants are expected to respond to the complaint by April 14.

Local Profile could not confirm the whereabouts of O’Neal.