Big-time celebrities like Kevin Hart, Madonna, Jimmy Fallon, Justin Bieber, Paris Hilton, Serena Williams, DJ Khaled, and Gwyneth Paltrow, alongside others, have been named in a lawsuit as co-conspirators in promoting the Bored Ape Yacht Club non-fungible tokens (NFT) of fraud.

The Suit was submitted on behalf of “investors” who bought Yuga Labs NFTs like Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) or ApeCoin by John T. Jasnoch of Scott Attorneys at Law LLP on Thursday in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

What is the Suit all about? 

The Suit claims that Yuga labs, in conjunction with these celebrities, misled their followers into buying BAYC NFTs with other unregistered securities; the investors were allegedly told to believe in anticipation of a pump that never came. The Suit is poised to bring the Golden State Warriors superstars and their partners accountable for shilling Ape Yacht Club NFTs in exchange for an undisclosed payment. 

This development is coming less than a month after the likes of Tom Gisele Bundchen, Guy Oseary, Stephen Curry, Larry David, and others in the current Yacht Club NFTs case were named for being part of the promoters of the collapsed FTX exchange. 

Two members of the plaintiff team, Adonis Real and Titcher described the “defendants” promotional campaign as a successful campaign that generated billions of dollars for them because of the celebrity influence in promoting the BAYC NFTs and its “Otherside metaverse” increased investors interests thereby making them commit and eventually losing out financially. 

The Suit also named Guy Oseary, a high-profile music manager, as the arrowhead of the pack; he is allegedly the brain behind the recruitment of the above-named BAYC NFT promotion celebrities. He even used his payment platform (Moonpay) to facilitate payments for these celebrities covertly.

In the words of the Suit: 

“the Executive Defendants and Oseary used their connections to MoonPay and its service as a covert way to compensate the Promoter Defendants for their promotions of the BAYC NFTs without disclosing it to unsuspecting investors,”

Reactions from the defendants’ side

In the wake of the lawsuit and the previously severe effects of the crypto winter, BAYC NFTs have dropped by 93% from their initial worth, and ApeCoin tokens, too, have dipped to 90% of their actual value. 

Meanwhile, celebrities like Paltrow,

Fallon, Bieber, and associates like Moonpay and Universal have declined all comments requests. 

But an unnamed Yuga labs spokesperson, while reacting to the Suit, said:

“In our view, these claims are opportunistic and parasitic.We strongly believe that they are without merit, and look forward to proving as much.”