Shaq was finally served in FTX lawsuit over the weekend, after a 3-month chase
- Shaquille O'Neal was finally served in an FTX lawsuit over the weekend following a three month chase.
- The lawsuit alleges that O'Neal, among other celebrities, were promoting a "fraudulent scheme."
Shaquille O'Neal was served papers over the weekend in a lawsuit involving the fallen crypto firm FTX — after a three month chase, according to a law firm representing investors in the suit.
"Plaintiffs in the billion $ FTX class action case just served @SHAQ outside his house," The Moskowitz Law Firm tweeted Sunday night. "His home video cameras recorded our service and we made it very clear that he is not to destroy or erase any of these security tapes, because they must be preserved for our lawsuit."
In November, a group of investors filed a proposed class-action against a number of celebrities and public figures who endorsed FTX, the now bankrupt crypto exchange led by Sam Bankman-Fried.
Among those named in the suit, besides Bankman-Fried, were Tom Brady, Larry David, Naomi Osaka, and O'Neal. The suit accused the celebrities and others of engaging in false advertising for an enterprise the investors alleged "was ultimately a Ponzi scheme."
O'Neal had evaded getting served the lawsuit for three months, according to additional tweets from the law firm.
Over the weekend, he was officially served legal documents regarding the case at his Atlanta home, Coindesk reported. Adam Moskowitz, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, confirmed to multiple outlets that delivering the lawsuit to O'Neal amounted to an extended chase.
The former Lakers legend was reportedly "hiding and driving away" from the process servers working for the law fim, Moskowitz told Coindesk.
"We are glad this sideshow is over and we can get to the merits of these claims for the victims," Moskowitz told Insider in a statement.
Trying to got O'Neal's attention, The Moskowitz Law Firm's Twitter account had been active in calling out not only Shaq, but also various sports media accounts.
"We represent thousands of FTX victims who lost their savings in the massive FTX fraud," The Moskowitz Law Firm tweeted about a week ago, tagging O'Neal and his show "NBA on TNT." "We have been standing outside your TNT studios in Atlanta all week, but your security guards will not let us in, to just hand deliver our legal complaint."
In March, Moskowitz told Forbes that O'Neal had hidden inside his Texas home when process servers came by to deliver him legal papers.
"O'Neal is the sole remaining defendant in this matter who has still not been served," the investor plaintiffs wrote in a court filing earlier this month. "Despite plaintiffs' dozens of attempts in multiple states and countries, to either effect service on him or have him (or a designated agent) accept service of process."
The investors said that process servers attempted to serve O'Neal at his Texas residence eight times over the course of a month, in addition to 12 attempts at the NBA hall-of-famer's Georgia residence, according to their filing.
While the language surrounding the situation implies a wild goose chase, O'Neal was technically doing nothing illegal by avoiding process servers.
Following the collapse of FTX, O'Neal tried to separate himself from the fiasco, noting to CNBC that he was "just a paid spokesperson."
O'Neal and spokespeople for FTX did not respond to an immediate request for comment. A representative for Bankman-Fried declined to comment.
Bankman-Fried has twice pleaded not guilty in the federal case levying fraud and conspiracy charges against him, and is currently confined at his parents' Palo Alto home while awaiting trial.