On Thursday, a group of investors whose funds are still stuck in crypto exchange FTX filed a lawsuit against several Youtube influencers, accusing them of pushing unregistered securities on their followers and viewers while marketing the fallen exchange.
The lawsuit was brought against famous content creators with at least a million Youtube subscribers, including Ben Armstrong, Graham Stephan, and BitBoy, among seven others. Stephan didn’t respond to our request for comment, but Armstrong said he has never received a coin from FTX, suggesting plans to countersue very soon.
The lawsuit, however, insists that Armstrong and Co were paid to promote FTX, which according to these investors, was a fraudulent scheme intended to exploit crypto users across the world. So now, they are seeking $1 billion in damages.
Claims Made in the Lawsuit
An Oklahoma resident named Edwin Garrison led the lawsuit. Although it was filed in a Florida-based court, the complainants include citizens of Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom. They claim that the defendants in the case are accountable for damages due to “omissions and misrepresentations” regarding the now-bankrupt crypto exchange FTX.
These investors also claim that the content creators played a huge role in boosting FTX’s business. The lawsuit states that the exchange couldn’t have thrust to such great heights without the help of the mentioned influencers, who kept hyping the fraudulent exchange for undisclosed payments.
In addition, the lawsuit notes that since the collapse of FTX, the defendants have removed from their Youtube channels the videos promoting the exchange and praising its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, while replacing them with apology video clips.
Other FTX Promoters Facing Lawsuits
The latest lawsuit isn’t the first to be filed against promoters of FTX. Celebrities like Supermodel Gisele Bundchen, Comedian Larry David, and retired football quarterback Tom Brady have all seen lawsuits brought against them in the past few weeks.
FTX was once among the biggest crypto exchanges before its downfall last November, resulting from poor management. Most of the former executives have since been charged with various counts ranging from wire fraud to money laundering.
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