NFL superstar Tom Brady and basketball player Stephen Curry and other US celebrities are facing an investigation by the Texas financial regulator regarding the insolvent crypto exchange FTX.
Texas Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Director of Law Enforcement Joe Rotunda confirmed to Bloomberg today, Nov. 22, that his agency is looking into what payments the two athletes and the other celebrities received for promoting FTX US. In this context, it will also examine what kind of recommendations were made and how transparent they were to investors.
Rotunda, while stressing that regulators will “take a hard look” at the celebrities’ advertising deals, also points out that this is not a “top priority” but rather part of a larger investigation surrounding FTX’s collapse.
But it’s not just on a criminal level that FTX’s advertising could prove costly for Brady and Curry, as a civil class action lawsuit was already filed on November 15 against the crypto trading platform, its business operations, and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.
The two athletes are also accused of promoting FTX and actively participating in its business activities.
In addition, the lawsuit also includes model and Brady’s wife Gisele Bündchen, the Golden State Warriors basketball team, basketball player Udonis Haslem and comedian Larry David.