FTX Celebrity Promoters’ Lawsuit Gets Backing From Former Exec

Class action against FTX US over sports marketing centers in Florida

According to the class action lawyers’ proposed amended complaint that was filed in a Florida District Court, Friedberg provided evidence that FTX promotional activity originated in Florida. Friedberg served as both the chief compliance officer of FTX US, the exchange’s American subsidiary, and the chief regulatory officer of FTX. A crucial defense advanced by some of the defendants, namely that the Miami court lacks jurisdiction and the claims have no connection to Florida, could be refuted by the declaration.

Friedberg testified in sworn testimony that FTX US vice president of business development Avinash “Avi” Dabir was based in Miami and was in charge of FTX’s brand ambassadors, which included defendants in the case like former basketball player Shaquille O’Neal, comedian Larry David, retired NFL player Tom Brady, and FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried. He said Dabir worked from a FTX office in Miami “early in 2021.” According to the class action lawyers, this contradicts the defendants’ claims in their motions to dismiss.

Before they signed the alleged promotional agreements, some of the alleged promoters claimed that “no conspiracy could have been “engineered in Florida” because FTX did not even plan to move to Miami until late September 2022.”

Friedberg named in U.S. lawsuit over failed FTX

In an effort to address the defendants’ jurisdictional claims, the class action lawyers are amending their lawsuit with the new evidence. Midway through November, shortly after the exchange’s collapse, the lawsuit was first filed. Brady’s then-wife and model Gisele Bündchen, entrepreneur Kevin O’Leary, basketball star Steph Curry, and his team, the Golden State Warriors, are among the other alleged celebrity promoters. An amended complaint added Friedberg as a defendant. The previous consistent head has supposedly assisted other judicial procedures against the trade he used to work for.

Examiners with the New York Head prosecutor, the Equity Division, the Government Department of Examination (FBI) and the Protections and Trade Commission (SEC) purportedly got insights concerning FTX from Friedberg half a month after the trade fell.