- A Bloomberg report says Ben Armstrong and NBA player Jimmy Butler have agreed to a US$340,000 settlement to resolve allegations of promoting unregistered securities through Binance.
- The settlement, which still requires judicial approval, allows Binance securities purchasers to raise objections during a hearing before it is finalised.
- Armstrong denied the news, stating that he had settled the case a year ago, but his claims were met with widespread scepticism.
The controversial crypto influencer Ben “BitBoy” Armstrong and Miami Heat’s NBA player Jimmy Butler have agreed to pay US$340K (AU$504K) to resolve allegations of promoting unregistered securities through Binance.
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According to a Bloomberg report, the Moskowitz Law Firm confirmed the settlement, which is part of a larger class-action lawsuit filed in March of last year.
In the Crosshairs
The lawsuit contends that Armstrong and Butler facilitated the sale of unregistered securities, precisely Binance’s native token, BNB, and its stablecoin, BUSD, which Paxos Trust once issued under the Binance brand.
These financial products were allegedly promoted without proper regulatory approval, raising concerns about compliance with securities laws. Armstrong and Butler are among several high-profile defendants named in the lawsuit (spearheaded by the Moskowitz Law Firm in collaboration with Boies Schiller Flexner).
Other defendants include Binance’s founder and former CEO, Changpeng Zhao, and Binance.US, the American subsidiary operating under BAM Trading Services.
Shilling Crypto Can Be Risky
The lawyers representing the plaintiffs have asked a federal judge in Miami to grant preliminary approval to a settlement reached after months of mediation. The proposed settlement, which awaits judicial approval, would allow Binance securities purchasers to raise objections during a hearing before the judge finalises the agreement.
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According to Bloomberg, Darren Heitner, the attorney representing Armstrong, confirmed that a resolution had been reached on his client’s behalf. As part of the settlement, both Armstrong and Butler maintain their innocence.
However, BitBoy recently took to Twitter to say the settlement is fake. He said he settled the Binance lawsuit over a year ago for US40k (AU$59K) and “never did anything wrong.” Yet, users in the comments were sceptical about these claims.
Talking about basketball players getting sued for promoting crypto products, a class action lawsuit against Shaquille O’Neal was partially dismissed last week, but a US court found that O’Neal could be guilty of offering and selling investors unregistered securities.
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