Floyd Mayweather, DJ Khaled Escape Lawsuit Brought By ICO Investors

Floyd Mayweather, DJ Khaled and two employees of the Centra Tech ICO project have been dismissed from an investor lawsuit by a federal judge.

AccessTimeIconMay 14, 2019 at 1:32 p.m. UTC
Updated Aug 18, 2021 at 11:24 p.m. UTC

Presented By Icon

Election 2024 coverage presented by

Stand with crypto

Boxer Floyd Mayweather, music producer DJ Khaled and two employees of an ICO project have been dismissed from an investor lawsuit by a federal judge.

According to a new court document, an omnibus order on motions to dismiss by Mayweather, Khaled, Steven Sykes and Steven Stanley, all of whom promoted or participated in the Centra Tech initial coin offering, was filed by federal Judge Robert Scola, of the Southern District of Florida. Scola said the plaintiffs failed to prove that they had bought Centra's CTR tokens as a result of the defendants' actions.

  • Bitcoin Mining in the U.S. Will Become 'a Lot More Decentralized': Core Scientific CEO
    13:18
    Bitcoin Mining in the U.S. Will Become 'a Lot More Decentralized': Core Scientific CEO
  • Binance to Discontinue Its Nigerian Naira Services After Government Scrutiny
    05:10
    Binance to Discontinue Its Nigerian Naira Services After Government Scrutiny
  • The first video of the year 2024
    04:07
    The first video of the year 2024
  • The last regression video of the year 3.67.0
    40:07
    The last regression video of the year 3.67.0
  • Mayweather and Khaled both notably promoted Centra Tech's offering, encouraging their respective fanbases to participate in what was later deemed to be an unregistered securities sale. They, along with Sykes and Stanley, were sued by investors in the offering, who alleged that the defendants violated securities law.

    In Monday's order, Scola said that one count, filed against Mayweather and Khaled, alleged they violated securities laws, but, in one analysis the plaintiffs failed "to establish that Mayweather reached out to the Plaintiffs and successfully solicited Plaintiffs to purchase CTR Tokens."

    The judge further said that there was no evidence that the plaintiffs even saw Mayweather's promotional materials, let alone bought Centra Tech's tokens as a result. The same analysis applied to Khaled.

    As for the allegations against Sykes, the judge wrote:

    "The allegations against Sykes are based on his involvement with the website. The Complaint, however, is devoid of any specificity with regard to the content of the website, when the website was launched, the alleged misstatements on the website, who determined the content on the website, and if the Plaintiffs ever even visited the website."

    Again, a similar analysis supported Stanley's motion to dismiss, the judge wrote.

    The lawsuit also includes allegations against Centra's founders, Raymond Trapani, Sohrab Sharma and Robert Farkas. The order to dismiss did not touch these counts, and that aspect of the lawsuit will continue.

    The three founders have also been sued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and accused of fraud by the Department of Justice.

    Disclosure

    Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information have been updated.

    CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk has adopted a set of principles aimed at ensuring the integrity, editorial independence and freedom from bias of its publications. CoinDesk is part of the Bullish group, which owns and invests in digital asset businesses and digital assets. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive Bullish group equity-based compensation. Bullish was incubated by technology investor Block.one.


    Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.