By
Temitope Olatunji
May 15th, 2024
Gronkowski, Oladipo, and Cassill may have settled, but the main defendant in the class action lawsuit remains Mark Cuban.
Three prominent American athletes have reportedly agreed to pay a collective settlement of up to $2.42 million in an ongoing promotion Voyager lawsuit. The trio, identified as retired NFL star Rob “Gronk” Gronkowski, NBA’s Victor Oladipo, and NASCAR driver Landon Cassill, alleged played huge roles in promoting the now-bankrupt crypto exchange Voyager Digital.
According to court documents, the retired Gronkowski will take the biggest part of the settlement with a payment of $1.9 million. The former New England Patriots tight end partnered with Voyager as a brand ambassador in September 2021. The partnership also saw him become a shareholder in the company as well as a VGX tokenholder.
However, despite losing a sizeable amount of money to Voyager himself, it is believed that Gronkowski’s sincere empathy for his followers and fans is the reason behind his willingness to settle.
NBA player Victor Oladipo will also be contributing $500,000 to the settlement pool, while Cassill will pay the smallest share of $25,000.
The total settlement of $2.42 million is expected to provide relief to the US individuals who enrolled in a Voyager Earn Program Account or purchased VGX tokens from October 2019 to the preliminary approval date. While all three of them have agreed to the terms of the filing, it might be worth noting that they did not exactly admit to the accusations of the plaintiffs.
Meanwhile, other than the amount that the trio has agreed upon, plaintiffs are looking at an additional fee of about $792,000 that will cover the attorneys’ cost.
Main Defendant Remains in Voyager Lawsuit
Gronkowski, Oladipo, and Cassill may have settled, but the main defendant in the class action lawsuit remains Dallas Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban. Back in 2022, a group of investors initially filed a class action against Cuban only. However, things took a different turn when the plaintiffs added Gronkowski and other Voyager promoters in 2023. The trial against Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks is set for November 2024.
Notably, the agreed settlements were carried out through a mediation that was set to achieve two things. Firstly, it aimed to establish whether Voyager products were unregistered securities. It also sought to know if the promoters solicited investors or not.
Voyager Digital filed for bankruptcy in July 2022 following Terra’s crash that had an industry-wide effect. In April, however, the failed platform made some reasonable progress in its bid to compensate its creditors. It was able to raise $474 million through settlements with FTX, Three Arrows Capital, and Directors and Officers (D&O) insurance claims.