Shaquille O'Neal Sued Over Solana NFT Project

Former professional basketball superstar Shaquille Rashaun O’Neal, popularly known as Shaq, has been charged for violating securities laws, regarding the Solana-Based Non-Fungible Token (NFT) project, Astrals.

According to reports, Shaq is the target for a class-action lawsuit in a federal court in Florida for selling unregistered Astrals tokens. The famous superstar teamed up with his son and music manager to launch Astrals in 2022 and urged investors to purchase the collection after promoting it through his social media accounts. 

To determine if O’Neal’s Astrals tokens were unregistered securities, the lawsuit utilizes the Howey Test, which is a legal standard that assesses if an asset qualifies as an investment contract, subjecting it to U.S. Securities Laws. The test was established during a Supreme Court Case in 1946.

The lawsuit is led by the lead plaintiff, Daniel Harper, who is backed by a well-renowned lawyer, Adam Moskowitz. Adam is the founding and managing partner at the Moskowitz Law Firm who are also involved in numerous crypto-related cases, including those of FTX and Voyager. 

Adam, alongside other lawyers representing the Moskowitz Law firm, will see the lawsuit as a big breakthrough after several failed attempts against O’Neal for months. Meanwhile, after being named a defendant in the lawsuit against FTX founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, the accused is not a stranger to legal actions. O’Neal joins other top celebrities like Akon, Jake Paul, and Soulja Boy, who have faced charges of promoting cryptocurrencies. 

What is the Astrals NFT Collection? 

According to the protocol’s whitepaper, Astrals NFT comprises 10,000 metaverse-ready 3D avatars randomly generated by over 150 handcrafted traits and 16 unique races each with their own unique features. The project is made of two core components: A Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) for incubating projects and a Story-driven PlayToEarn Role-Playing-Game. 

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