Landon Cassill, Rob Gronkowski, and Oladipo have reached a settlement with the plaintiffs in their ongoing lawsuit against Voyager Digital.
In a settlement agreement, three prominent American athletes have reached a joint payment of $2.42 million to address allegations that they assisted in the promotion of the defunct cryptocurrency exchange Voyager Digital.
The largest contribution of $1.9 million will be made by retired NFL star Rob “Gronk” Gronkowski, per a class action settlement formally filed on May 3.
NASCAR driver Landon Cassill will contribute $25,000. NBA player Victor Oladipo will contribute $500,000. All three athletes have reached settlements without explicitly denying or confessing to the allegations.
All U.S. citizens who purchased VGX tokens or enrolled in a Voyager Earn Program Account between October 2019 and the preliminary approval date are included in the proposed settlement.
In addition to obtaining consent for the $2.4 million settlement, the plaintiffs intend to request an approximate $792k award of attorney fees.
According to a press release from the time, Gronkowski, who introduced an NFT collection in 2021, assumed the roles of Voyager partner, “brand ambassador,” shareholder, and VGX token holder in September 2021.
According to Adam Moskowitz, legal counsel for Investor, the settlements are primarily attributable to the athletes, who “sincerely desired to assist their fans.”
“Gronk had a sincere empathy for all of his fans, even though he lost money with Voyager as well. It is no surprise he continues to be such a trusted and respected spokesperson,” he explained to Law360.
Class Action Against Dallas Mavericks Owner Mark Cuban was initiated by a group of investors in 2022; Gronkowski and other Voyager promoters were added to the suit in 2023.
In negotiating the settlements via mediation, the promoters’ solicitation of investors and whether the Voyager products constituted unregistered securities were the two most significant issues to be resolved.
The cryptocurrency trading platform initiated bankruptcy proceedings in July 2022, following market instability caused by the Terra/Luna collapse in May and loan defaults to the Three Arrows Capital (3AC) hedge fund.
In April, Voyager Digital secured $484 million through settlements with FTX, Three Arrows Capital, and Directors and Officers (D&O) insurance claims, thereby making some progress toward compensating its creditors.
