Soccer icon Cristiano Ronaldo is facing a $1 billion class-action lawsuit related to his business ties with cryptocurrency exchange Binance. The legal action, filed on Nov. 28 in the District Court for the Southern District of Florida, asserts that Ronaldo was involved in promoting and selling unregistered securities in collaboration with Binance. The lawsuit, brought by lead plaintiff Michael Sizemore, alleges that Ronaldo’s endorsements encouraged investments in unregistered securities, targeting consumers who purchased such securities from Binance. This lawsuit adds to Binance’s existing legal challenges, including a previous SEC lawsuit and a recent $4.3 billion settlement for alleged sanctions and money-transmitting law violations. Ronaldo’s association with Binance began in 2022 through a partnership for a non-fungible token (NFT) collection. The legal filing claims that Ronaldo received substantial compensation, potentially in digital assets from the Binance platforms, for his promotional activities. The lawsuit also references SEC warnings about virtual tokens as securities and the obligation for celebrities to disclose payment for promoting securities. CoinDesk’s request for comment from Cristiano Ronaldo remains unanswered at this time.
Superstar Player Christiano Ronaldo Faces a Billion Dollar suite over Binance Endorsement
