NBA, NFL & NASCAR: Crypto Fraud Claims

And federal court in the United States dismissed a class action lawsuit filed in 2022 against businessman Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks for alleged promotional practices of a cryptocurrency platform. The decision was issued by Judge Roy K. Altman of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida on December 26, and relied on the lack of personal jurisdiction over defendants.

The demand had been Started by former Voyager Digital customers, a cryptocurrency lending service that filed for bankruptcy. The plaintiffs They alleged that Cuban, in his capacity as a public figure and then majority owner of the Mavericks, had induced them to open accounts on the platform through public statements and promotions linked to the team.

Mark Cuban’s controversial promotion

In their pleading, the plaintiffs referenced a Mavericks press conference in October 2021 in which Cuban claimed to have personally invested in Voyager, as well as a social media campaign offering Bitcoin incentives to those who register and carry out operations on the platform.

Lawyers for Cuban and the Mavericks defended their clients, arguing that the billionaire had warned the public about financial risks, that Voyager’s assets were not securities subject to promotion regulationand that the Florida court did not have jurisdiction to try the case.

Altman’s ruling concluded that Cuban and the Mavericks’ contacts with the judicial forum were not sufficient to establish personal jurisdiction under Florida law, which invalidated the legal basis for pursuing litigation in that state.

Other athletes involved

Among the defendants originally named in the lawsuit were sports figures such as former NFL player Rob Gronkowski, former NBA player Victor Oladipo and NASCAR driver Landon Cassill, who had resolved their cases with prior agreements.

Cubanknown for his career as an investor and for his role as owner of the Mavericks until he sold his majority stake, In recent years, it has faced multiple litigation related to the promotion of services linked to the cryptocurrency sector.an area that has been the focus of lawsuits following the collapse of platforms such as Voyager.