TAMPA, Fla – It’s bad enough that Tom Brady went through a divorce and is suffering through a miserable season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who lost again on Sunday and now face a losing campaign.
Now, he’s being blamed for Sam Bankman-Fried’s hijinks on the crypto-currency market.
On Friday, a fan of Brady’s former team, the New England Patriots, sued the legendary quarterback.
Michael Livieratos filed a lawsuit against Brady, alleging that “he was convinced to invest in FTX [SBF’s crypto exchange] after seeing Ton Brady in commercials endorsing the cryptocurrency.”
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“As a New England Patriots fan my entire life,” Livieratos said, “you can imagine the influence that Tom Brady would have.”
Brady had appeared with SBF and cut an ad for FTX. In the commercial, Brady tells viewers, “FTX is the safest and easiest way to buy and sell crypto.”
Another Twitter video showed Brady appearing with SBF at a company crypto conference in the Bahamas.
Brady owned a stake in the company, which went bankrupt after.
In his lawsuit, Livieratos also sued “Shark Tank” co-host Kevin O’Leary for his endorsement of the now-failed company.
According to 100% Fed Up, Livieratos asserts that Brady and O’Leary “promoted, assisted in, and actively participated in” FTX’s “offer and sale of unregistered securities.”
As a result of him following his NFL hero down SBF’s financial rabbit hole, Livieratos lost $30,000 “literally overnight” after “FTX imploded,” the website reported.
The plaintiff also argues that both Brady and O’Leary furthered “misrepresentations and omissions” while they were “aggressively marketing” FTX’s “deceptive” procedures.
Brady’s ex, model Gisele Bündchen, also appeared in ads for FTX.
Yet neither she nor other celebrity endorsers, including athletes Shaquille O Neal, Steph Curry, and David Ortiz, face legal action by Livieratos.
The website 100% Fed Up, however, predicted a “wave” of such lawsuits by other FTX investors is likely in the works.
The FBI arrested SBF last week — conveniently a month after he helped Democrats in the midterm elections by donating almost $40 million to their congressional campaigns — on charges of wire fraud, securities fraud, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and securities fraud.
If convicted, he faces up to 115 years in prison.