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In late 2021, Tom Brady starred in an FTX business along with his then-wife Gisele Bündchen, selling the “infinite prospects” for cryptocurrency. It was a dangerous monetary funding technique that was not FDIC-insured, and their endorsement could have gotten many individuals caught up within the crypto crash of 2022. Now, Ben McKenzie, former star of The OC and creator of Simple Cash: Cryptocurrency, On line casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud, is slamming celebs for his or her irresponsible influencing.
McKenzie, in an interview with TMZ, defined why this was a “misguided” pitch by stars. He shared that it was “completely regular” for celebrities to pitch merchandise, however he additionally revealed that there was a giant distinction in promoting a “monetary product” over issues like “cleaning soap” or “auto insurance coverage.” He added, “If you’re not a licensed monetary adviser, you aren’t supposed to present monetary recommendation. It’s really worse than that as a result of these are unlicensed, unregulated investments.”
Ben McKenzie. Photograph: Rod Lamkey – CNP/MEGA.
The 44-year-old actor in contrast cryptocurrency to an MLM, or multi-level advertising program, and a “Ponzi scheme.” The Southland star continued, “You want increasingly individuals to come back in to maintain the scheme going as a result of there is no such thing as a worth there. It’s a worthless funding contract. It is smart that you simply want essentially the most well-known individuals on this planet to promote to the most individuals.” Brady and Bündchen, who are actually divorced, most likely want that they had heeded McKenzie’s recommendation as a result of they’re now named in a class-action lawsuit for his or her roles within the “large Ponzi scheme bigger than the Madoff scheme,” in keeping with an e-mail to CNN Enterprise by lawyer Adam Moskowitz.
Moskowitz echoes McKenzie’s warnings, and calls the FTX platform endorsed by the A-list former couple, “a home of playing cards.” The lawsuit would possibly make different Hollywood heavyweights suppose twice about selling any kind of funding product, particularly within the age of heavy social media affect. McKenzie was sounding the warning bells for a very long time, however nobody listened.
Earlier than you go, click on right here to see a very powerful movie star lawsuits over the previous 15 years.
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