$500,000,000 man Shaquille O'Neal forced to pay $11,000,000 to victims in fallout of FTX crypto scandal

In May 2023, Shaquille O'Neal was served a court order for his involvement in the FTX scandal. Less than a year later, the Hall of Fame big man has agreed to terms on a settlement.

Shaq was among many celebrities caught up in a legal battle after helping promote the cryptocurrency trading platform FTX. Now, he's paying a hefty price for his involvement.

According to reports, O'Neal has agreed to pay $11 million to a class action settlement fund. The money will go to investors who were impacted by purchasing NFTs O'Neal was promoting.

Since his NBA career ended, Shaq has arguably had an equally successful run in the business world. However, his involvement with FTX is a blemish among his profitable ventures.

Those who filed the lawsuit claimed they only purchased the Astral NFTs because of O'Neal's endorsement. After FTX went bankrupt, investors began seeking legal action against O'Neal and other celebrity endorsers.

Shaq tried to distance himself from FTX initially but reportedly agreed to pay the $11 million in a settlement agreement.

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Shaq set the record straight on his involvement with FTX

At the start of the FTX scandal, the LA Lakers legend made it clear how little his involvement with the company was.

When asked about his connections to FTX in a 2022 interview with CNBC, Shaq stated that he was nothing more than a celebrity in a commercial.

“A lot of people think I’m involved. But I was just a paid spokesperson for a commercial.”

Later in the interview, O'Neal went to greater lengths to separate himself from the scandal-filled company. He said he doesn't know much about NFTs and stays away from them in his own investments.

“I don’t understand it, so I will probably stay away from it until I get a full understanding of what it is. From my experience, it is too good to be true.”

As a prominent figure in sports and pop culture, O'Neal was sought out because of his notoriety. Despite not knowing much about the product, he now finds himself on the hook for a large payout.