Rob Gronkowski Could Be Dragged Into Crypto Lawsuit After Voyager Subpoena

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Rob Gronkowski followed Tom Brady from the New England Patriots in 2020 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and in 2021 again replicated another of the star quarterback moves: endorsing cryptocurrency.

It now appears the tight end will emulate Brady, the defendant in state and federal lawsuits aimed at his promotion of Bitcoin, in another way: Account holders in Voyager Digital, which is the subject of litigation at chapter 11, have their eyes on Gronkowski.

Plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit against the Dallas Mavericks and team owner Mark Cuban, who is being sued for promoting Voyager, issued a subpoena to Gronkowski last month, according to court documents. Gronkowski in September 2021 endorsed Voyager, becoming a brand ambassador.

Gronkowski has not been named as a defendant in the lawsuit, at least not yet. But in court filings and an email, plaintiffs’ attorneys make it clear that they plan to sue the likely Hall of Famer.

NFL, NASCAR’s Voyager brand ambassadors can be added even as the trial approaches,’ plaintiffs’ attorney wrote in a Dec. 30 email to Cuban attorneys. The eight-page email, added as an attachment to a motion filed last week, shows Gronkowski’s subpoena added as an attachment, although it is not available in the court filing. NASCAR driver Landon Cassill was also a Voyager endorser.

We have established the depositions of Rob Gronkowski, Adam Moskowitz, the plaintiffs’ attorney, wrote in the email.

When asked if the retired tight end is likely to be a defendant, Moskowitz wrote to The Athletic he is not yet a named defendant, but the court has given us until February 24 to file an amended complaint against Voyager (such as adding defendants, claims, and plaintiffs), we know that he was a brand ambassador for Voyager who promoted unsecured securities (interest accounts). We served him with a subpoena and named all of the FTX brand ambassadors in our ongoing federal class action lawsuit.

Gronkowski’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, declined to comment.

Moskowitz’s reference to FTX refers to a class action lawsuit he filed against Brady, his ex-wife Gisele Bndchen, Naomi Osaka, Shohei Ohtani, David Ortiz and other celebrities like Larry David, for their promotion of FTX, which, like Voyager, is also in Chapter 11 Proceedings. The attorney also has a Florida state case targeting Brady and Ortiz.

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These lawsuits all raise the question of the guilt of celebrity endorsers for touting a failed financial product. Could Brady, Gronkowski and their peers be at the mercy of losses as the cryptocurrency ecosystem craters?

A decision in a case brought against Floyd Mayweather, Kim Kardashian and Basketball Hall of Famer Paul Pierce suggested not. In dismissing a lawsuit alleging celebrity promotion of failed Ethereum Max cryptocurrency was fraud, federal judge Michael Fitzgerald wrote last year. ease and reach. But, while the law certainly imposes limits on these advertisers, it also expects investors to act reasonably before basing their bets on the zeitgeist.

When Voyager named Gronkowski an endorser, the press release touting the alliance quoted him saying, The Voyager app is so easy to use right from the start. It has a great selection of over 60 different coins and pays out up to 12% annual rewards, depending on the coins you hold. When I looked at the competition, it seemed like a no-brainer. Together, Voyager and I are bringing crypto to everyone.

Meanwhile, the underlying lawsuit to which Gronkowski could be added heats up, with plaintiffs accusing the Mavs and Cuban of seeking to travel a plaintiff who may have cancer for a deposition. Moskowitz in court filings is seeking to replace the allegedly ill named plaintiff with new litigants.

Mr. Gold is unable to pursue his claim or act as a class representative as he has unfortunately just been informed that he may have advanced prostate cancer and is struggling with significant medical issues in this regard, Moskowitz wrote of Sanford Gold. The defendants insisted on demanding that Mr. Gold surrender for his deposition on January 24, 2023.

In a response filed this week, Cuban lawyers call Gold a three-time convicted criminal with an undisputed history of financial fraud. And they wrote as recently as a discovery hearing on January 6, There was no indication at the hearing, however, that Sanford Gold might have any health issues, even if the time and place of his testimony were discussed.

The Cuban side does not oppose Gold’s removal, but opposes the addition of other named plaintiffs and requests a hearing into the dispute.

Cuba is accused of not only promoting Voyager through sponsorship of the Mavericks team with the platform, but also through crypto conferences held in Miami and online. The allegation, as with the FTX and other claims, is in part that the athletes were peddling unlicensed titles

In last week’s petition, Moskowitz wrote: The bold and, in some cases, abusive tactics on discovery (none of which are based on legal authority) are apparently a promise they made to their client. , namely that if they attack and attempt to discredit the plaintiffs’ current representatives in Florida, citing past events that had nothing to do with the purchase of the unregistered EPAs (Earn Program Accounts) will somehow prove that the plaintiffs do not have standing and will therefore quickly win the case before Mr. Cuban has to answer for the damages he caused them and the classes they seek to represent.

The court ruled that the Cuban plaintiff can file next month. Mavs executives Ryan Mackey (senior vice president of corporate partnerships) and Kyle Tapply (senior director of corporate partnerships) are also scheduled for depositions.

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(Photo: Kim Klement/USA Today)

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