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Class-Action Lawsuit Against MoonPay, Yuga Labs Names Sotheby’s As Defendants

A class action lawsuit is accusing cryptocurrency payment company MoonPay of colluding with Yuga Labs, the developer of Bored Ape Yacht Club, and several celebrities to inflate the value of NFTs. The witness claims to have been one of the few compliance employees at the company who was granted "additional access to files and data related to MoonPay customer financial transactions" during 2022. The complaint alleges that they were unable to find any information on celebrity clients, including basic personal profile information, compliance data, or any transaction history.

In addition, the plaintiffs accuse a representative of Sotheby's of misleading buyers by claiming that a "traditional" art collector had purchased 101 BAYC NFTs for $24.4 million, when in fact it was FTX that bought the NFTs. The lawsuit states, "Sotheby's representation that the undisclosed buyer was a 'traditional' collector led people to believe that the BAYC NFT market had shifted to mainstream audiences." Sotheby's said in a statement, "The allegations in this lawsuit are baseless, and Sotheby's is prepared to vigorously defend itself." 

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