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After an outrageous three-month manhunt, basketball star Shaquille O’Neal has finally been served for his involvement in the collapsing FTX exchange.
Shaq first appeared in a FTX ads Last June, claimed he wanted to help make digital assets accessible to the masses. “I agree. Are you?” he poses. Months later, FTX collapsed. Investors started going after all the celebrities promoting the exchange, including comedian Larry David, tennis star Naomi Osaka, NFL legends Tom Brady and Shaq.
Since the lawsuit was filed by FTX user Edwin Garrison three months ago, all other defendants have served except Shaq. The process server has tried to trap it in vain. With homes in Nevada, California, Florida, Georgia and the Bahamas, he proved a difficult target.
Finally, Shaq has been served. Moskowitz, the plaintiffs’ law firm, confirmed Sunday that he was finally pinned down when he left his Atlanta home. It said the proceedings had been recorded on his home camera and that Shaq would not “destroy or delete this security footage”.
UPDATE: The plaintiffs in a multi-billion dollar FTX class action case have just been served @SHAQ outside his house. His home video camera recorded our services and we made it abundantly clear that he may not destroy or delete this security footage, as it must be retained for our lawsuits.
— Moskowitz Law Firm (@moskowitzesq) April 17, 2023
Addressing one of the outlets, attorney Adam Moskowitz, who is representing the plaintiffs, stated, “We just served Shaquille O’Neal privately outside his home with copies of our complaint at 4pm. We took Judge Moore’s instructions very seriously and are delighted to finally put an end to this ridiculous spectacle.”
‘Stop ducking us’
It’s not unusual for the accused to circumvent the process server. However, Shaq’s case is curious because he is a public figure who in those five months has continued to appear in public. He has toured as a DJ, run a podcast, and even has a game show on national television.
“We have been standing outside your TNT studio in Atlanta all week, but your security guard won’t let us in, to address our legal complaint in person,” Moskowitz LLP alleged.
Shaq’s hunt even takes a dark turn when one of the process servers receives a threat, forcing it to quit.
“Shaq lives in the Bahamas, you moron, say hi to Beth Shaw,” said a text to the server, as revealed in court documents. Beth is the server’s wife. It’s still unknown who sent the message, but it was enough for the server to crash, fearing for the safety of his family.
While he hasn’t tackled the tort-services circus, the NBA Hall of Famer has distanced himself from Sam Bankman-Fried’s failed empire in the past. In an interview last December, he admitted that he had just been hired for the commercial.
“A lot of people think I’m involved, but I’m just a paid spokesperson for an ad,” he told CNBC.
Moskowitz serves Shaq on the phone: Florida Judge Michael Moore has set a Monday deadline for the plaintiffs to serve Shaq. The law firm became agitated and even asked to service him on social media, a request Judge Moore refused. Previously, a New York judge allowed the founder of digital asset hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC) to be served via Twitter.
Some jurists believe that avoiding court papers was a bad move on Shaq’s part because it unnecessarily angered the judge.
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