Many celebrities, including Jimmy Fallon, Gwyneth Paltrow and Madonna, have been accused of Hawking fraud Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTsaccording to a recent federal lawsuit.
Plaintiff’s Group Alleges A-listers Peddle Non-fungible token – have value plummeted Last year — without disclosing their investment in the company behind them, Yuga Labs.
According to the complaint filed in U.S. District Court on Thursday, “our entire business model relies on insidious marketing and promotional activity from A-list celebrities who (without disclosing) receive substantial compensation. is driving demand for Yuga Securities.” Central District of California.
The proposed class action lawsuit states that well-known NFT proponents committed fraud “by convincing potential retail investors that the prices of these digital assets will be appreciated.”
Some of these investments are now worth about 10% of their original value.
Other celebrities named in the suit include Justin Bieber, Kevin Hart, Stephen Curry, Serena Williams and her husband Reddit CEO Alexis Ohanian, Snoop Dogg and The Weeknd. , which includes DJ Khaled. Adidas and Jimmy Fallon’s production company Election Hot Dogs are also named as defendants.
Talent manager Guy Oseary was behind most of the promotions, recruiting celebrities in exchange for payment through cryptocurrency firm Moonpay, in which he invested, according to the complaint. also helped.
Fallon did a segment about NFTs on NBC’s “The Tonight Show” in November 2021, telling viewers that he had acquired the first Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT through Moonpay.
The talk show host and NBC failed to tell the audience that “this organic segment of The Tonight Show was actually a paid ad for NFT and MoonPay’s BAYC collection.”
The lawsuit also alleges that Bieber purchased NFT for $1.3 million, but that it was actually gifted to him in exchange for a promotion.
Yuga Labs said in a statement that it believes the lawsuit is without merit.
“In our view, these claims are opportunistic and parasitic. We strongly believe they have no merit and look forward to proving that,” said Yuga. said Labs. hollywood reporterfirst reported the lawsuit.
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