Soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo has been accused of a billion dollars for promoting the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance.
According to a document filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, plaintiffs accuse Ronaldo of promoting, aiding, and participating in the offer and sale of unregistered securities in collaboration with Binance.
Ronaldo accused of promoting Binance
Ronaldo entered into a multi-year partnership with Binance in June 2022 to introduce Web3 and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to his multi-million fan base. Since then, the duo has launched three NFT collections, unveiling the latest, CR7 ForeverZone, in October.
Plaintiffs, Michael Sizemore, Mikey Vongdara, and Gordon Lewis, claimed that users lured to Binance with Ronaldo’s NFTs likely used the crypto platform for other activities such as investing in unregistered securities, including Binance Coin and yield programs offered on the platform.
According to the plaintiffs, influencers like Ronaldo played a significant role in promoting securities in exchange for multi-million dollar payouts. By encouraging investments on behalf of Binance, the exchange recorded an increase in influence. They claimed that the sale of the soccer star’s NFTs was successful and subsequently resulted in a 500 percent increase in Binance searches.
– Evidence now reveals that Binance’s fraud managed to reach such heights simply by offering and selling unregistered securities, with the willing assistance of some of the wealthiest, most powerful, and recognized organizations and celebrities around the world, just like the defendant Ronaldo – stated the plaintiffs.
