American basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal is facing a new lawsuit for promoting the Solana-based crypto project, Astrals.
According to the class action lawsuit filed with a Floridan court by plaintiff Daniel Harper, Shaquille shilled the Astrals token through posts and videos on several of his social media handles.
O’Neal Faces Lawsuit Over Astrals Project
According to the lawsuit, Astrals is a 3D-modeled NFT collection founded by the NBA celebrity alongside his son, Mylers O’Neal. Shaq’s son headed the role of “Investors Relations” while his music manager, Brian Bayati, acted as the project’s CEO.
Building on the Solana network, Astrals seeks to onboard users into an ecosystem that offers gaming and metaverse experiences. These services are accessible through the Solana-based NFT marketplace Magic Eden.
Encouraging users to engage with Astrals’ native cryptocurrency, the project launched the Shaq Signature Pass as an exclusive 50-piece collection of NFTs. These collectibles can only be claimed with the native token.
Harper’s lawsuit, which claims that Astrals tokens are unregistered securities, means that the assets will be subjected to the Howey test. This is a process used to determine whether a cryptocurrency (or any other type of asset) falls under the category of security or an investment contract.
If the Astrals token passes the Howey test, it will be classified as a security and must be registered with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). As such, the SEC will likely take legal action against Astrals and its executives, demanding a settlement.
Not the First
Since joining the industry, O’Neal has found himself in several crypto-related lawsuit cases. Earlier this month, he was involved in a court case regarding the collapsed crypto exchange FTX.
After being summoned to the court regarding his interaction with FTX, the NBA celebrity stated that the notice was inadequate, as it was tossed at his moving car and not served at his home.
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