Disgraced crypto bro to turn on Tom Brady, Larry David in lawsuit against FTX

Disgraced “crypto king” Sam Bankman-Fried is set to take on celebrities including Tom Brady and Larry David in a new class action after they endorsed his failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX.

Bankman-Fried is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence on fraud charges after being found guilty of lying to investors and clients of his company FTX.

The 32-year-old had amassed a massive fortune through FTX, which at its peak was worth $32 billion and had over one million users, but it all came crashing down in November 2022 when CoinDesk the report revealed that most of FTX’s holdings were held by a quantitative trading company he also ran called Alameda Research.

The revelation sent investors and customers scrambling to withdraw their funds, which later exposed an $8 billion hole in the company.

A group of investors and clients have since filed a class-action lawsuit against Bankman-Fried and the celebrities he hired to endorse FTX in an attempt to recoup some of their losses following the crypto firm’s collapse.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, alleges that Bankman-Fried and celebrities including NFL star Tom Brady and comedian Larry David are responsible for about $11 billion in losses to American consumers.

Brady and his now-ex-wife Gisele Bundchen appeared in an FTX commercial in 2022. In the commercial, Brady was filmed at home calling his friends to sign them up for FTX.

The company marketed the ad campaign with the tagline: “Tom Brady is in. Are you?”

Meanwhile, David starred in a multimillion-dollar Super Bowl ad for the company in which he dismissed cryptocurrency before viewers were told: “Don’t be like Larry.”

Sports stars Stephen Curry, Shaquille O’Neal and Naomi Osaka are also among those named in the lawsuit after appearing in ads promoting FTX.

Bankman-Fried was also named in the suit, but on Friday agreed to cooperate with the plaintiffs in the suit in exchange for them dropping their civil liability claims against him.

But the deal could turn him on some of his celebrity supporters.

The plaintiffs in the suit are proposing that Bankman-Fried cooperate in the prosecution of FTX influencers and assist in the recovery of victims by turning over all non-privileged documents and testimony provided during the criminal trial against him.

However, it is unclear what damages the celebrities may be liable for as they were paid by Bankman-Fried to raise the profile of his crypto empire.

The celebrities are described in the 41-page lawsuit as “parties that control, promote, aid and actively participate in” FTX’s operations, which are alleged to be in violation of Florida law.

The suit adds: “The fraudulent and failed FTX platform was based on misrepresentations and deceptive conduct.

“Although many incriminating FTX emails and texts have already been destroyed, we have found them and they prove how FTX’s fraudulent scheme was designed to take advantage of unsolicited investors across the country who use mobile apps to make their investments . As a result, American consumers collectively suffered over $11 billion in damages.

Bankman-Fried was indicted by a federal jury in New York in November 2023 on seven counts of fraud, embezzlement and criminal conspiracy.

In March, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison and ordered to forfeit $11.2 billion.

During the sentencing hearing last month, Bankman-Fried expressed regret for the demise of her firm.

“At the end of the day, I’ve failed everyone I care about and everything I care about,” the 32-year-old said just minutes before he was sentenced.

“My useful life is probably over. It’s been over for a while.”

But despite the so-called crypto kingpin’s claims, the judge said he still hasn’t taken full responsibility for his actions.

“Mistakes were made, but not a word of remorse for the commission of a terrible crime,” Judge Louis Kaplan said as he handed down the sentence.

“Following the collapse of FTX, Mr. Bankman-Fried has been extremely focused on returning the estate’s assets to clients, which could and should be rehabilitated at current prices,” said Mark Botnick, a spokesman for Bankman-Fried.