Crypto users propose dropping lawsuit against Sam Bankman-Fried to pursue FTX influencers

A group of cryptocurrency users has reached an agreement with former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried as part of a class-action lawsuit filed in Florida.

In an April 19 filing in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, plaintiffs who sued FTX influencers in 2022 announced they had reached a settlement with Bankman-Fried. According to the filing, the plaintiffs recognized the expense and length of proceedings should they continue to pursue judgment against SBF, opting instead to use some of the information presented at his criminal trial to continue their case against FTX promoters.

“[Bankman-Fried] has knowledge and other information that Class Representatives and Class Counsel believe will be valuable to Class Representatives’ cases against other defendants in the FTX MDL [multidistrict litigation], particularly relating to the underlying actions and their connection to Miami, Florida, where FTX’s U.S. headquarters were based, as well as each MDL Defendants’ knowledge of and assistance with the actions and connections to other states in which jurisdictions over those Defendants is asserted,” the April 19 filing said.

Source: PACER

Subject to court approval, the settlement would resolve the lawsuit between SBF and crypto users seeking recourse for losses during the fall of FTX. The filing suggested that the plaintiffs proposed the settlement on March 28 — the day a judge sentenced Bankman-Fried to 25 years in prison for his conviction on felony charges.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit proposed that Bankman-Fried assist in prosecuting FTX influencers and aid in victim recovery through documents and testimony provided during his criminal trial. The lawyers specifically cited information related to celebrities and companies responsible for endorsing the crypto exchange before its downfall, including sports stars Naomi Osaka, Tom Brady, Stephen Curry, and Shaquille O’Neal.

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The lawsuit, first filed in November 2022, shortly after FTX filed for bankruptcy, was consolidated into its present form in June 2023. The Moskowitz Law Firm, behind many crypto-based class-action lawsuits, represented the plaintiffs.

Bankman-Fried’s lawyers filed notice to appeal the former FTX CEO’s conviction and sentence on April 11. They also requested SBF remain at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn rather than a federal prison in the San Francisco Bay Area to assist in his defense.

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