Well, VirtualStax is now under investigation after allegedly misleading people to be a part of their project which it claims is worth $15 billion, according to Forbes.
The South African company was started in 2019 and announced that fundraising for VirtualStax digital trading cards would shock the world, bringing in $97 billion.
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Also, CEO and Founder Rudolf Markgraaff allegedly told investors that LeBron James was a part of the project. James’ supposed involvement is what motivated Shaun Kelley, one of the lawsuit’s plaintiffs, to participate in the venture. The former Motocross pro is one of the people that has accused TheXChange — a platform that lists the trading cards — of fraud and for owing them $12 million in unpaid royalties, according to a lawsuit filed in Harris County District Court, per Forbes. “Everybody got misled,” Kelley said, according to Forbes. “They thought LeBron James was in it.”
A former TurnCoin employee confirmed to Forbes that Markgraaff had led people to believe James was involved. A spokesperson for James responded to the news in a statement: “LeBron has never endorsed, invested, or had any relationship with these companies.”
Ahead of the lawsuit, Kansas City Chief Star Patrick Mahomes, former “American Idol” judge Randy Jackson, and Orlando Magic NBA player Wendell Carter Jr. reportedly endorsed VirtualStax’s cards. However, most of the celebrities’ Stax cards have yet to be auctioned and have been delayed for another three months.
According to Forbes, Markgraaff said that its reporting was “either misstated, misunderstood, misrepresented or worse, false.”
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LeBron James had numerous endorsements from various companies. According to Forbes, as of May 2021, his endorsement deals were worth an estimated $65 million annually. Some of his major endorsement partners at that time included Nike, Coca-Cola, Beats by Dre, Blaze Pizza, Rimowa, and 2K Sports, among others, but VirtualStax wasn’t apart of the list.
It’s been a rough stretch for crypto companies. FTX collapsed last year after being promoted by Tom Brady, Steph Curry, and Shaquille O’Neal. Shaq was finally served legal papers related to the fallout on Sunday after lawyers accused him of “running from us for months.”
On Sunday, the firm said it served legal papers to him outside his house, an encounter captured on video surveillance cameras. “We made it very clear that he is not to destroy or erase any of these security tapes, because they must be preserved for our lawsuit,” the law firm tweeted.
Wow this rudolf markgraaff seems like the next madoff. He has a track record of misleading ventures raising millions without any product.