FaZe Clan suspends players allegedly involved in crypto-pump-and-dump program

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FaZe Clan is reeling from the drama again, and this time the damage could be longer lasting. Decrypt notes that FaZe punished four players for their alleged involvement in a pump-and-dump scheme involving the Save the Kids cryptocurrency project. The eSports team suspended Jarvis (pictured), Nikan and Teeqo, and permanently removed Kay from the organization.

Save the Kids (aka KIDS) was touted as a charity that would donate 1% of each transaction fee (which itself represents 3% of the total transaction) to a foundation focused on children. The creators asked FaZe influencers to promote KIDS ahead of its launch in early June, only to see the price drop nearly 90%.

Affected clan members denied any deliberate involvement. Kay said he had “no malicious intent” in promoting KIDS and made a mistake in participating without controlling the effort with the team.

This isn’t even the first time that members of the FaZe team have been accused of participating in scams. Kay and the clan co-founder were paid to promote another coin, BankSocial, in May, to sell out shortly before leaving the partnership. Banks have not disclosed the financial link in Twitter messages he has since deleted.

The crackdown highlights the growing number of esports players making money outside of competitive games, both individually and as a team. Gucci, for example, made a diving watch with the Fnatic badge. While that’s not surprising given how quickly players gain the kind of celebrity status typically associated with conventional sports stars, it opens them up to similar temptations.

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