Kevin Hart, Gwyneth Paltrow, Madonna, Jimmy Fallon and others wow with “Insidious” NFT Endorsements Suit; Executives Guy Oseary and Universal TV were also named as defendants

It seems that good old-fashioned celebrity money-making advocacy has gotten a little more strained these days when it comes to the digital marketplace.

Less than a month after the likes of Larry David, Tom Brady, Gisele Bundchen and Stephen Curry were sued for using their well-paid star power to launch the now-defunct cryptocurrency firm FTX, a new filed a class action lawsuit in federal court. purported purpose is to entice the Golden State Warriors superstar and a pantheon of big names in the financial woodshed to ping Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs for hidden payouts.

It’s a move that not only puts Curry back in the spotlight, but also Kevin Hart, Madonna, Jimmy Fallon, Justin Bieber, Paris Hilton, Serena Williams, DJ Khaled, Gwyneth Paltrow and more. In addition to Universal TV also being named as a defendant, high-profile music executive Guy Oseary was named as the mastermind behind the entire alleged big-money scam.

“Defendants’ advertising campaign was extremely successful and generated billions of dollars in sales and resales,” states Adonis Real and Adam Titcher’s lawsuit, filed Dec. 8 in U.S. District Court in California. “The fabricated celebrity endorsements and misleading promotions related to the launch of an entire BAYC ecosystem (the so-called Otherside-Metaverse) were able to artificially inflate the interest and price of the BAYC NFTs during the relevant period , which led investors to buy these losing investments at drastically inflated prices,” adds the jury seeking a ten-count lawsuit (read here).

Essentially on her various platforms, through public statements and in Fallon’s case beyond The Tonight Show In late November 2021, the celebrities publicly praised the Yuga Labs-backed BAYC NFTs by claiming to be clients themselves. Now, the appeal of non-swampable tokens may have waned significantly in recent months (known as a nosedive), but BAYC buyers who jumped on board last year quickly found themselves “losing investment at dramatically inflated prices.”

“The truth is that the company’s entire business model relies on the use of underhanded marketing and promotional activities by highly paid A-list celebrities (without disclosing it) to increase demand for the Yuga effects by luring potential… Retail investors whose price is digital.assets are convinced will appreciate,” the 95-page fraud complaint reads.

While Oseary-backed crypto firm Moonpay partnered with Yuga to secretly collect payments to the A-list talent grooming firm, Hart, Fallon and Paltrow gave BAYC NFTs the seal of approval without the celebs receiving the regular hefty compensation received what they received. .

“During the Class Period, the Defendants engaged in a scheme, scheme, conspiracy and conduct whereby they knowingly or recklessly engaged in acts, transactions, practices and transactions intended to defraud and mislead the Plaintiffs and the other members.” of functions of the class,” the document explains. disclosing to unsuspecting investors,” she added.

A spokesman for Comcast-owned Universal TV said the company would not comment on legal matters. “In our view, these claims are opportunistic and parasitic,” a Yuga Labs spokesperson said in a statement today. “We believe they are unfounded and look forward to proving it.”

Represented by San Diego-based attorney John T. Jasnoch, plaintiffs Real and Titcher have defined the potential class in a potentially expensive lawsuit for everyone who invested in Yuga Financial Products between April 23, 2021 and now. You are seeking “actual, general, special, incidental, statutory, punitive and consequential damages and remedies.”

And it will be in rock hard US Treasury printed cash, not crypto, if you know what I mean?