Class-action lawsuit against MoonPay, Yuga Labs names Sotheby's as defendants

Odaily Planet Daily News An ongoing class action accuses encrypted payment company MoonPay of colluding with Bored Ape Yacht Club development company Yuga Labs and several celebrities to inflate the value of NFT. The lawsuit was recently amended to incorporate new testimony and add auction house Sotheby's to the list of defendants. According to the latest indictment, filed last week, the lawsuit now cites a "confidential witness" who works in MoonPay's compliance department. Witnesses claimed to have become suspicious of MoonPay’s activities after seeing “public reports of celebrities being investigated and prosecuted for illegally marketing crypto asset sales.” Later, during a "directed" search of MoonPay's customer database, witnesses told plaintiffs' attorneys they tried to find celebrity clients including Paris Hilton and Justin Bieber. Witnesses allege they were among a handful of company compliance employees granted “increased access to documents and data related to MoonPay customers’ financial transactions” during 2022. They failed to find any information about the celebrity clients, including basic profile information, compliance data or any transaction history, the indictment said. Additionally, the plaintiffs accused Sotheby’s representatives of misleading buyers by saying that a “traditional” art collector paid $24.4 million for 101 BAYC NFTs when in fact FTX purchased the NFTs. “Sotheby’s claim that the undisclosed buyer was a ‘traditional’ collector led to the perception that the market for BAYC NFTs had shifted to a mainstream audience,” the lawsuit said. "The allegations in this lawsuit are baseless and Sotheby's intends to vigorously defend itself," Sotheby's said in a statement. According to previous news on June 9, sources revealed that MoonPay will present Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT as a gift to top Hollywood stars at the end of 2021, hoping to increase their popularity. The company said it issues invoices and payments are made by VIP customers using the MoonPay concierge service. MoonPay denies this. An ongoing class action accuses Justin Bieber, Madonna, Stephen Curry and other celebrities of conspiring with MoonPay and Yuga Labs to inflate the value of NFTs. The class action accuses various celebrities of promoting BAYC NFTs without disclosing their financial interests or receiving any compensation. The lawsuit is currently awaiting a procedural ruling before it can move forward.