{"id":21273,"date":"2023-08-17T23:29:18","date_gmt":"2023-08-17T23:29:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nftandcrypto-news.com\/nft\/sothebys-joins-growing-list-of-defendants-in-bayc-class-action-lawsuit\/"},"modified":"2023-08-17T23:29:38","modified_gmt":"2023-08-17T23:29:38","slug":"sothebys-joins-growing-list-of-defendants-in-bayc-class-action-lawsuit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nftandcrypto-news.com\/nft\/sothebys-joins-growing-list-of-defendants-in-bayc-class-action-lawsuit\/","title":{"rendered":"Sotheby\u2019s Joins Growing List of Defendants in BAYC Class-Action Lawsuit"},"content":{"rendered":"
Sotheby\u2019s auction house was recently named as a defendant in an ongoing class-action lawsuit that was filed by Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) investors against its parent company, Yuga Labs.<\/p>\n
The class-action lawsuit, filed in December 2022, named more than 40 defendants with allegations that they were artificially inflating the prices of BAYC NFTs through celebrity promotions without the proper disclaimers required by the anti-touting provision of the Securities Act.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Celebrities named in the lawsuit included Justin Bieber, Paris Hilton, Jimmy Fallon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Serena Williams, Madonna, Steph Curry, and more who have all publicly vouched for BAYC in the past.\u00a0<\/p>\n
One of the biggest catalysts of the heated scrutiny against celebrity endorsements of crypto and NFT projects began with Kim Kardashian, who in 2021, illegally promoted a cryptocurrency called EthereumMax (EMAX). She ended up settling with the SEC a year later by paying $1.26 million USD in penalties, disgorgement, and interest due to her failure to disclose that she was paid $250,000 USD to promote EMAX.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Other celebrities who have also been under fire for having promoted other crypto projects, including the now fallen FTX exchange, included Ne-Yo, Lindsay Lohan, Justin Sun, Soulja Boy, Floyd Mayweather, Jr., DJ Khaled, and more.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Amended Complaint, filed on August 4, alleges that Sotheby\u2019s, in collaboration with Yuga, engaged in a scheme back in September 2021 to \u201crun a deceptive auction\u201d of 101 BAYC NFTs, called \u201cApe In!\u201d<\/p>\n