Popular Finance YouTubers Who Hyped Crypto Company FTX Are Being Sued

There's no better time to be alive than now. I don't know about you but I love to watch the famous Judge Judy as she deals with different lawsuits. Since then we've seen the rise of several court shows from Divorce Court to Paternity Court. These shows have made me realise that suing someone is a common thing and it's happening for just about anything.

Cryptocurrency is a digital currency that has totally changed the perception we have on performing transactions. Without a doubt, any new forms of technology and advancements commonly come with scams. Cryptocurrency has also been a victim to such.

Recently some popular finance YouTubers promoted a crypto-currency company FTX  and now face a lawsuit of about $1 billion. Those being sued include Meet Kevin whose channel operator is Kevin Paffrath and former real estate agent Graham Stephan.

Kevin, 31 has a following of 1.4 million and also releases videos on travel credit cards,  saving tips and how to manage your real estate property. His recent video released on Thursday called “Being Sued” was a little change from the genre we’re used to.

Kevin's response was to the $1 billion proposed action lawsuits against him and Graham Stephan as well as Ben Anderson an Australian influencer owner of the BitBoy crypto channel.  For the role, they play in promoting the collapsed crypto company FTX. 

In November FTX experienced a high number of withdrawals as investors rushed to get their money. The company declared bankruptcy and its founder stepped down as CEO. Later on, sources revealed that the crypto exchange had been transferring customer funds into Alameda Research owned by Bankman Fried.

Bankman Fried was arrested in the Bahamas (which is also FTX’s base) on the 12th of December 2022. He pleaded not guilty to eight counts of defrauding customers,  violating campaign finance laws, and money laundering. 

Kevin argues that even though he promoted the company he didn't have any responsibility or gain from anyone's loss. In the comment section of his video viewers had split opinions. some commenters praised him for his transparency while others just didn't buy it. Others mentioned that content creators should be careful with whom they endorse especially if these endorsements are paid for. 

The lawsuits were filed in the Southern District of Florida alleging that the influencer management firm Creators Agency and a group of YouTubers promoted and assisted in the sale of the unregistered securities. 

An Oklahoma resident Edwin Garrison is the lead plaintiff. in the case against the YouTubers, Garrison was joined by FTX investors from all over the world including the UK and Australia. Adam Moskowitz the plaintiff’s attorney told BuzzFeed News that influencers are paid similarly to other promoters and they must be held accountable. 

This comes as no surprise as most of these lawsuits surface when something goes wrong with cryptocurrency trading platforms. A solution would be to deal with the problem before  these platforms declare bankruptcy and disappear. 

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