Soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo has been the subject of a class-action lawsuit by plaintiffs who claim they suffered losses from his promotional campaign for Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange now embroiled in legal trouble.
A lawsuit filed Nov. 27 in a U.S. district court in Florida claims that Ronaldo “promoted, assisted and/or actively participated in the offer and sale of unregistered securities in coordination with Binance.”
Binance entered into a multi-year partnership with Ronaldo in mid-2022 to promote a series of its own non-fungible tokens (NFTs), with at least three of the soccer star’s collections tied to Binance.
The complaint alleges that users who signed up for Ronaldo NFTs were more likely to use Binance for other purposes, such as investing in what they claim are unregistered securities, including BNB (BNB) from Binance and its performance programs [yield] of cryptocurrencies.
“Ronaldo’s promotions solicited or assisted Binance in soliciting investments in unregistered securities by encouraging his millions of followers, fans and supporters to invest with the Binance platform.”
Ronaldo was a key part of Binance’s growing popularity due to his influence and reach, with 850 million followers on social media, the complaint says. They allege that his NFT sales were “incredibly successful” in promoting the exchange, with a 500% increase in Binance searches the week following the initial sale..
Cooking something up with @binance https://t.co/FMAP5GAdxE
— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) November 28, 2023
The lawsuit alleges that Ronaldo knew or should have known that “Binance was selling unregistered crypto securities,” as he has “investment experience and extensive resources to obtain outside advisors.”
The suit cited U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) guidelines warning celebrities of the need to disclose payments received for promoting cryptocurrencies, something the suit alleges Ronaldo failed to do.
The plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit are Michael Sizemore, Mikey Vongdara and Gordon Lewis, who are seeking damages and funds to cover legal costs.
Meanwhile, Binance and its founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao are facing their own legal problems after pleading guilty and paying a $4.3 billion settlement to the US government for violating anti-money laundering laws and directing an unregistered money transfer business.
Zhao has resigned as CEO and faces up to 18 months in prison. Binance has agreed to have the US Department of Justice and the US Treasury Department monitor compliance for five years.
The SEC has also sued Binance, alleging — among other charges — that it sold unregistered securities and is reportedly investigating whether Binance misappropriated customer funds.
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2023-11-29 07:43:54
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