The Texas State Securities Board is allegedly scrutinizing Tom Brady of the NFL and Stephen Curry of the NBA for payments received to promote FTX exchange.
According to a report by Bloomberg on November 22, Joe Rotunda, director of enforcement at the Texas State Securities Board, said that the board is looking closely at the sums paid to celebrities to promote FTX US, the disclosures issued, and the investor accessibility of those disclosures.
The celebrity endorsements of FTX, according to Rotunda, were not an “urgent priority,” despite the watchdog taking a “hard look” at them; instead, they will be examined as part of the “regulator’s overall examination into FTX’s collapse.”
Along with the former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, Brady and Curry have also been named in a class action complaint filed against FTX on November 15.
They “managed, promoted, helped with, and actively engaged,” according to the complaint, in FTX Trading LTD and West Realm Shires Services Inc.
Model Gisele Bundchen, the Golden State Warriors basketball franchise, NBA star Udonis Haslem, and Seinfeld co-creator Larry David are all included in the class action lawsuit.
In the past, research has shown that over half of retail investors would blindly abide by the recommendations for digital assets made by celebrities and influencers on social media. As a result, a few have used their power to promote cryptocurrency goods and projects.
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) penalized reality TV star Kim Kardashian in October for “touting on social media” about the EMAX without revealing she was paid $250,000 to tweet about it.
Kardashian resolved the accusations and agreed to stop promoting cryptocurrency assets until 2025, but she has not confirmed nor disputed the SEC’s claims.
