Jimmy Fallon, Gwyneth Paltrow When Justin Bieber were sued in a class action lawsuit accusing them and a number of other celebrities of advertising the Bored Ape Yacht Club’s irreplaceable fraudulent token.
According to the lawsuit, celebrities tricked their followers into buying unregistered securities issued by BAYC NFT and Yuga Labs to increase their value, causing buyers to “lose their investment at significantly inflated prices.”
“The truth is that the company’s entire business model is to offer large rewards (without disclosing such) in order to increase demand for Yuga securities by convincing potential retail investors of these prices. We are relying on the use of insidious marketing and promotional activities from A-list celebrities who have gained digital assets,” read a complaint filed in California federal court on Thursday.
the suit has a name Madonna, Kevin Hart, Stephen Curry, Snoop Dogg, Serena Williams, Post Malone, The Weeknd, Fallon’s production company Electric Hot Dog, Universal Television and more. Most of them allege they were recruited by talent manager Guy Oseary, who co-led a plan to pay discreetly for their endorsements through cryptocurrency firm Moonpay, according to the complaint. Oseary’s venture capital firm Sound Ventures was an early investor in Moonpay.
Oseary is said to have ties to several celebrity promoters, including Bieber, Paltrow and Hart, through his early investment in Moonpay. The growing demand for BAYC NFT and Yuga Labs’ Apecoin crypto token has also increased demand for Moonpay, the lawsuit claims.
“Oseary, MoonPay Defendants, and Promoter Defendants each share a strong motivation to use their influence to artificially create demand for Yuga securities, thereby allowing MoonPay to handle this new demand. “At the same time, Oseary will use MoonPay to reach out to a cohort of celebrities for direct or off-label promotion of Yuga financial products,” the complaint reads. You can also hide whether you paid.”
in an episode of The Tonight Show On November 11, 2021, Fallon announced that it has acquired its first NFT through a crypto company that bills itself as a white glove service designed to promote Moonpay and BAYC NFT collections and help celebrities buy digital assets. announced. He did not disclose any financial interest in Moonpay.
“Also, Electric Hot Dogs or Universal has confirmed that this purportedly organic segment of The Tonight Show is actually an NFT and It did not disclose that it was a paid advertisement for MoonPay’s BAYC collection, both on Yuga and MoonPay,” attorney John Jasnoch wrote in the complaint.
The lawsuit, named by Oseary and Yuga Labs, says the promotion encouraged investors to buy BAYC NFTs.
According to the complaint, the promoter defendants received digital assets with authorization from Moonpay or Yuga Labs, respectively. Bieber, for example, received his BAYC NFT worth about $1.3 million when it was issued against a fraudulent post on his Instagram that he bought it with his own money. Similarly, Paltrow addressed his investors on Jan. 26 by announcing that he had “joined” the BAYC community, thanking Moonpay for its services facilitating purchases. She also did not disclose that she had any financial interest in the company.
BAYC NFT trading volume is down 93% from its launch high. Similarly, the value of the ApeCoin token has dropped 90% from its all-time high.
“In our view, these claims are opportunistic and parasitic,” a Yuga Labs spokesperson said in a statement. “We strongly believe they have no merit and look forward to proving it.”
Fallon, Bieber, Paltrow, Universal and Moonpay did not respond to requests for comment.
Prominent crypto promoters, including Kim Kardashian, Larry David and Tom Brady, have been named in similar lawsuits, alleging fraud against their endorsements. dismissed the lawsuit A proponent of the cryptocurrency Ethereum Max accused of fraudulently misleading followers into buying the EMAX token and then selling the stake after its value ballooned. It raises “legitimate concerns” about its ability to persuade its unsuspecting followers to “purchase snake oil with unprecedented ease and reach,” but U.S. District Judge Michael Fitzgerald said: It found that “investors are expected to act rationally before acting on their ideas”… betting on the zeitgeist of the moment. ”
