The process server said they filmed the interaction with O’Neal to eliminate “ambiguity” as the TNT analyst has been dodging servers for months
Shaquille O’Neal was served with two complaints while broadcasting Tuesday night’s game between the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics.
In a statement shared with , attorney Adam Moskowitz said that O’Neal, 51, was served with the complaints on Tuesday, ironically at the formerly known FTX Arena in Miami.
“The process server filmed the event to ensure there was no ambiguity like Shaq has been arguing in the FTX case,” the statement said, adding that the NBA legend had the process server “kicked out” of the venue after he was served.
Moskowitz said the first complaint regarding O’Neal’s commercials for FTX has been pending since November 2022 in Miami Federal Court.
The second complaint, according to the attorney, accuses the TNT analyst of “violating federal securities laws” after he and his son, Myles O’Neal, founded their company ASTRALS.
Per the statement from Moskowitz, who represents investors for FTX and the father-son NFT venture, ASTRALS was selling “unregistered securities” and O’Neal failed to follow through on his promise to “always be around,” following the FTX lawsuit.
Moskowitz said the “great lengths” the process server has had to go through to serve O’Neal “seems absurd” and that the claims are now “very serious.”
Moskowitz said in the statement, “These claims now are very serious and thus it is good that we can start with the merits, instead of the silly service sideshow Mr. O’Neal unfortunately created.”
Representatives for O’Neal did not respond to request for comment.
O’Neal had been dodging process servers for months in the FTX lawsuit, which names several other celebrities, including Tom Brady, Gisele Bündchen, Steph Curry, Naomi Osaka and Larry David. The lawsuit was filed by investors who say the use of celebrity endorsements duped them into investing in the now-bankrupt FTX crypto exchange.
O’Neal, who has become one of the most prominent commercial spokespersons in the U.S. since retiring from the NBA in 2011, appeared in several commercials and advertisement campaigns for FTX. However, in recent months since the crypto exchange became embroiled in controversy and went bankrupt, O’Neal has tried to distance himself from the company.
“A lot of people think I’m involved, but I was just a paid spokesperson for a commercial,” O’Neal told CNBC in December.
Moskowitz’s office has called the now-defunct FTX company a “fraud” on social media and, according to CNN, “a massive Ponzi scheme” that used celebrities to recruit investors.
Forbes reported last month that Moskowitz’s office said it has used four different servicing companies to try and deliver the notice to O’Neal in recent months.