US Crypto Investors Sue FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried, Company’s Celebrity Endorsers

The plaintiffs in a class-action suit claim that the heavily-marketed FTX yield-bearing crypto accounts were actually a Ponzi scheme.

Nov 16, 2022 at 8:00 p.m. UTC

Updated Nov 17, 2022 at 2:04 p.m. UTC

CDCROP: Larry David attends HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" Season 11 Premiere at Paramount Theatre on October 19, 2021 (Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic for HBO) — Comedian Larry David appeared in a Super Bowl ad for FTX (Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic for HBO)

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Crypto investors in the U.S. have filed a class-action suit accusing FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and the company’s host of paid celebrity promoters, including NFL quarterback Tom Brady, comedian Larry David, tennis player Naomi Osaka and NBA team the Golden State Warriors, with fraudulently promoting FTX yield-bearing account (YBAs).

The suit was filed in Miami on Tuesday by Oklahoma resident and FTX YBA holder Edwin Garrison on behalf of other account holders. The lawyers who filed on behalf of Garrison included famed attorney David Boies, Coral Gables, Florida-based Adam Moskowitz and Miami-based Stephen Neal Zack.

“The Deceptive FTX Platform maintained by the FTX Entities was truly a house of cards, a Ponzi scheme where the FTX Entities shuffled customer funds between their opaque affiliated entities, using new investor funds obtained through investments in the YBAs and loans to pay interest to the old ones and to attempt to maintain the appearance of liquidity,” the plaintiffs said in their complaint.

The complaint called for unspecified damages and a jury trial in the case.

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FTX Sam Bankman-Fried Lawsuit

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